Gold Bar’s origins sparkle. In 1869, a hopeful prospector found flecks of gold glinting in a gravel bar along the Skykomish River and did what any optimistic miner would do: He named the whole place after it. Thus, Gold Bar was born. The gold rush didn’t last, but the name stuck around, along with plenty of tall tales and river grit.
The town later became a construction camp for the Great Northern Railway, bringing in workers, saloons, and the kind of rowdy chaos that tends to follow both. In the 1890s, that chaos turned violent: A racially charged conflict erupted putting Chinese laborers at grave risk. In a bold and desperate move, engineer Eduard Bauer saved their lives by hiding them in coffins and smuggling them out of camp under cover of night. (The phrase “ride or die” was clearly not coined yet, but this would’ve qualified.)
Today, Gold Bar is better known for whitewater rafting and
stunning mountain views, so if you want to get your heart racing, the Skykomish
River still delivers, but in a much more Instagram-friendly way.
