Tucked away in the green foothills of Mount Rainier, overlooking serene Mineral Lake is a 110-year-old log structure, now known as Mineral Lake Lodge. Carolyn McKelvie, retired family practice physician, bought the property in 2012 to continue the building’s latest use as a bed and breakfast.
McKelvie gets animated as she happily shares the interesting history of the property. It was built in 1906 from hand-hewn logs. “Each one was hand-made to fit the one below it,” McKelvie gushes. They are alternating sizes, large then small, then large then small. “That keeps it from falling over,” she explains.
The building was used as a sanatorium “for the alcoholic, epileptic and mildly insane” as it was touted. “I think their definition of mildly insane and ours today may differ a bit,” McKelvie says. It served that purpose for five years.
Then a timber company bought it and turned it into a gambling hall where loggers and mill workers could come to drink and gamble. “They built out the top floor and between the second and third floor, it contained something like 25 to 28 rooms,” McKelvie explains.
That lasted until sometime after the Depression, around 1932. “Then the [timber] company shut down the gambling hall, gutted the third floor to lower property taxes and installed caretaker families to keep up the property,” McKelvie says.
The property was never abandoned, but it did get a little run down in the 1940s and 1950s. But in 1972, the family that lived in it as caretakers, completed a major renovation, and successfully got the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1984, the timber company sold it to a couple who turned the downstairs into a restaurant, removed a couple of guest rooms and put in guest kitchen. After 14 years, the husband died in 1998 and restaurant closed.
In 2002, another couple bought it, renovated it and opened a bed and breakfast in 2004.
McKelvie took a round-about way to ownership of the lodge. She had worked in Grand Teton National Park for three summers. She and her husband had always talked about running a B&B like the lodge. Sadly McKelvie lost her husband six years ago, before they could realize their dream. But she decided she wanted to move closer to family and it was either here in Washington or Colorado. “Six feet of snow and long winters or rain,” she says with a laugh. “It’s deceptive here. We’re only 31 miles from the summit of Mt. Rainier, but we’re only at 1,400 feet. If Seattle gets snow, we get maybe a couple more inches.”
“The lodge was basically turn-key when I took it over,” McKelvie explains. But she has put her touch on the property. Each room is decorated in a theme. There is the Bird House room, Victorian room, Americana, Gone Fishin’, Wilderness Retreat, Bear, Winter, and Moose Country. “I had a collection of 20 moose. What else was I going to do with them?” she says. Several rooms have a private bath, and some have shared bath.
The rustic look of the lodge is genuine. The beautiful fireplace, while it has had a slight facelift, is the same one as in a 1910 picture hanging on the wall. The warm, rich wood stair railing and ceilings feel like cozy arms welcoming guests to their temporary home.
Many extras are provided for guests, such as fishing gear and lawn chairs to use at the lake, and a small guest kitchen. Guests can’t cook there, but can keep lunch supplies in the refrigerator. On the first floor is a small TV room with a comfortable couch and fascinating coffee table holding an extensive rock collection. “My husband was a geologist,” says McKelvie.
The property goes across the street and down to the lake, where there is a dock and a fire pit. Also sitting on the lawn overlooking the lake is a former garage. McKelvie turned it into a wedding venue that can also be rented. When the bride and groom stand just right in front of a log podium provided, majestic Mount Rainier will be the backdrop for many pictures of their special day.
McKelvie plans to continue to operate the lodge as a bed and breakfast, as well as a place to host weddings, family reunions and retirement parties. While living there and basically running it by herself, she is appreciative of the help she has in the form of a house cleaner and neighbor boys who take care of the landscape. “The community is wonderful and very welcoming,” she says.
Oh, and the rumor about the place? “The die-hard story around here is that President Teddy Roosevelt spent the night in August of 1910. But it was too hot in his room so he slept out on the open air porch,” reports McKelvie. “No one knows for sure, but it really is a die-hard story.”
Mineral Lake Lodge
195 Mineral Hill Road
Mineral, WA 98366
360-492-LAKE (5253)
