Holden Village Fully Evacuated, Sits Empty For First Time In 60+ Years

For the first time in roughly six decades, the small community of Holden Village sits eerily empty within the pines of rural Chelan County about 10 miles off the western shores of Lake Chelan.

The 130-year-old settlement evacuated 42 of its 53 staff members and retreatants on Dec. 13, after a strong storm caused heavy damage to areas in and around the Village, including the only road (FS-8301) which connects to the town from west.

The 11 stalwarts who stayed behind were planning to remain in Holden over the winter months to make certain that it didn't go dark and provide the day-to-day maintenance required to keep it up and running.

However, just four days after Holden Village waved goodbye to roughly 80 percent of its inhabitants, on Dec. 17, another storm pounded the region - downing hundreds of trees in the Copper Creek Valley.

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The Valley is home to a diversion dam which provides water for a hydroelectric plant that generates electricity for the Village, and one of the felled trees took out the primary penstock which moves water from Copper Creek to the plant.

The damage cut off power to the Holden, which continued to run on backup generators for several days while efforts to assess and repair the penstock were undertaken.

However, due to deteriorating conditions and worsening weather, crews were unsuccessful in making the necessary repairs. So, with mounting concerns over the safety of the remaining 11 people in the Village from both Chelan County Emergency Management and the U.S. Forest Service, the decision was made to evacuate them on Dec. 20.

Village spokesperson, Carl Norquist, says the 11 people who remained in Holden for a week after the rest were evacuated completed as many vital winterization tasks as they could before leaving themselves. Now, discussions are underway regarding how the tiny community can be safely looked after in the months ahead.

A statement from Holden Village released this week says its caretakers "continue to be hopeful for Holden’s future and the resilience of this Beloved Community."

The settlement saw its first Western inhabitants arrive in 1896 and the village was used to house workers at the Howe Sound Mining Company's copper mine, which at one time was one of the largest in the U.S., until it closed in 1957.

Three years later, Howe Sound deeded the Village to Seattle's Lutheran Bible Institute, which cleaned up the site and took the necessary steps for it to be operated as an independent non-profit, which began hosting retreats in 1962.

There hasn't reportedly been a day since sometime in the 1960s that Holden Village has been completely uninhabited until the past few days.