- Buckner Mountain (summitpost.org)
Buckner Mountain, also commonly known as Mount Buckner, is a high-elevation peak located in the North Cascades of Washington. Standing at ~9112’ elevation, Buckner Mountain is the highest point of Skagit County and the sixth-highest county highpoint (CoHP) in Washington. The peak is considered an “Apex” county highpoint, one of the 20 most technically-demanding CoHPs to summit in the United States outside of Alaska. In fact, Buckner Mountain is considered the 17th-most technically-demanding CoHP in the lower 48 States and the 5th-most technically-demanding CoHP in Washington, behind Bonanza Peak in Washington’s Chelan County but ahead of Big Horn in Washington’s Lewis County.
- Fort Steilacoom (1849-1868) (historylink.org)
Fort Steilacoom, located in south Puget Sound near Lake Steilacoom, was established by the United States Army in 1849. Protection of settlers in the area had become an issue. As well, the United States was anxious to plant the flag on land claimed by Britain. (Britain had ceded the territory south of the 49th parallel in 1846, but claimed this land as a commercial enterprise. Fort Steilacoom was established in what was then Oregon Territory. Congress would create Washington Territory in 1853.) In August 1849 the U.S. Army moved onto the Joseph Heath farm to establish the fort, leasing the land from the British Hudson’s Bay Company. The fort served as a headquarters in the 1855-1856 Indian Wars, but there were no hostile actions here. A major event was the incarceration of Nisqually Chief Leschi (1808-1858) in the fort guardhouse. The post commander and other officers protested his trial and murder conviction, arguing that he was probably not guilty, as a state of war had existed. Fort Steilacoom was closed in 1868 and became the site of the Western State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. Today (2012) the Fort Steilacoom Museum is also located on the site.