The Silver City Resort, Past and Present
1925 - 2008
1925 - 2008
ith the demise of the mining culture, and the recreational attributes of the National Parks
taking shape at the turn of the century, there was one aspect of American life that changed
Mineral King and Silver City forever: the Automobile. At the end of the first quarter of the twentieth century, access to this former mining community was easier than ever, despite the numerous switchbacks of the Mineral King road, and the obvious limitations with regard to traffic speed. Nonetheless, Silver City and Mineral King had more visitors than ever before – thus the need for a place to stay…|
At some point between 1920 and 1930, Frank Blain leased property above the Mineral King Road to James A. Mehrten -- "Jimmy" as he was called among locals -- who built the present day Silver City Store and nine early rental cabins in 1929 and 1930. He and his wife Amy ran the resort for 17 years, living in the back part of the store. Jimmy and his wife are considered to be the “Founders” of Silver City Resort (SCR) as we know it today.
...A family tradition begins Walter Wells, Sr. bought the Silver City Store property in July 1934 from Frank Blain, and “Jimmy” Mehrten continued to operate the resort for him afterwards. World War II commenced and a family ownership change took place as the young men and women of the US armed forces came back from Europe, the Pacific and Asia. After serving in WWII, Walter Wells Jr. and his wife Peggy Altucker Wells purchased 160 acres from his father, Walter Wells Sr, which included the entire resort and several undeveloped land parcels surrounding the resort. In the beginning they ran the store for a few years, then leased out the store and the resort business out to several operators. Most of them were people from Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California, where they had close friendships. "Disneyland" was avoided… Some of the resort managers were the Forsythes, the Matheny family who ran Silver City for 14 years, the Scotts who managed for five years, the Buckmans and many others. Throughout the 1960s and 70s (Google for further historical background), it was assumed that the Walt Disney corporation would get the rights to build a world class ski resort in Mineral King, despite the fact that its eco-system is fragile and despite the fact that it was part of the Sequoia National Forest. It was also understood that Disney would buy out the store – thus no capital improvements were made during that period. Luckily common sense prevailed and President Jimmy Carter, the Sierra Club, the cabin owners association, the US Congress and good legal counsel ensured that the Mineral King Recreational area was annexed to the Sequoia National Park in 1978, ending the Disney Ski concept for good. There was now a future for the Silver City Resort (SCR), and Peggy Wells, her new husband’s nephew, Dale Jones (also Walter Wells Sr.'s grandson), and his wife Connie, came in 1981 to help run the resort "for a month." |
They brought their two young children – their son Forrest who was three and their 12 month old daughter Heather. The entire family lived at the resort, operating it as onsite management. They fell in love with the resort and continued leasing it from Peggy Wells, now Peggy Seaborn (because she re-married).
...And family ownership continued After running the resort for five years, Dale and Connie purchased it from Peg Seaborn and began to make the much needed improvements. They added decks to all the cabins and the store. They remodeled the Cozy Cabins -- now known as Family Cabins -- built three Chalets (1989 and 1993), a new women's restroom was built for the Historical Cabins, and generally upgraded the resort in every area. Dale Jones designed a hydroelectric power system that ran in years with a high stream-flow. Connie added wonderful menu items to the restaurant and bakery, expanding the variety and quality of the famous Silver City Pies, and stocked the store with a wide variety of new and interesting souvenirs, as well as useful day-to-day items. Connie and new husband, Norman Pillsbury, professor of Forestry and Hydrology at Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, California, eventually bought out Dale Jones and continued to run the resort themselves. Norman is a handyman-engineer-troubleshooter par excellence, so he was able to completely replace the infrastructure of the resort including a new environmentally-friendly (and quiet) generator, upgraded and replaced water lines (including double plumbing all chalets), upgraded and/or replaced sewer lines, septic tanks, electricity, facilitated internet access, telephones, tree management and much more. The Pillsbury’s were there, full-time, every summer with a staff of college students, greeting their loyal, mainly return guests, who never could get enough of the authentic SCR High Sierra experience. Despite their enthusiasm and total devotion to the Silver City Resort, after 27 years of non-stop operations, Connie Jones Pillsbury and husband Norman decided to semi-retire and sold SCR to High Sierra Conservation Resorts Inc. The Pillsbury's son, Forrest Jones, who grew up in Silver City and worked there many years with his parents, is today the General Manager of the Resort. |
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...................................................................................................................................................... * Historical data on the area can be obtained from the Mineral King Preservation Society and the Mineral King District Association. A book on the history of Silver City Resort by Connie Pillsbury, the owner-operator of Silver City Resort for 27 years, will soon be available. Please contact us for information. |
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