Mineral, Washington

Mineral is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lewis County, Washington, on State Route 7 near the Pierce/Lewis county line. Mineral originally began as a logging camp and mining town. Prospectors searching the area for gold instead found coal and arsenic. By the early 1920s, the mines closed, and with a devastating fire to the town's largest sawmill, Mineral began to turn to tourism as its main industry, primarily through recreational fishing on Mineral Lake. The population was 193 at the 2020 census, down from 202 at the 2010 census.

The Mineral Log Lodge, built in 1906, was listed to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

History
The town was founded no later than 1897 on the shore of Mineral Lake, adopting the name from the lake and the veins of ruby of arsenic in the region. The area was referred to as Mineral City and Mineral Creek in its early days. The lake was once known as "Goldsboro Lake".

Primarily a timber community, arsenic mines opened and the population peaked at 1,000 residents by the 1920s, with a flourishing downtown district. However, mining efforts ceased due to more efficient methods being available to obtain the mineral, and the largest mill, owned by the Mineral Lake Lumber Company, was destroyed by fire in 1922 and never rebuilt. The town shrunk in size and became a "bedroom community".

Mineral is near the location of the famous Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting in 1947. The community was the location of the 1985 Mineral, Washington murders, one of the most famous unsolved murder cases in the United States.

YMCA Campground
Over 500 acre were purchased by the YMCA of Greater Seattle in 2021, with support from the Nisqually Indian Tribe, to create a campground north of Mineral on the lake. The land was originally part of the Nisqually people's dominion which was yielded in the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek. Plans included acquisition of up to 1,600 acre acres in several phases over forthcoming decades. Members of the Mineral community were overwhelmingly against the campground.

After several community meetings, environmental studies, and local endorsements, a rezoning of the area was denied by the Lewis County commissioners in November 2022. The land was zoned as a forest resource. The YMCA proceeded with a lawsuit against the county in December. Despite the veto of the "master planned resort", the YMCA completed their timetable to purchase 1,600 additional acres two months later in early 2022. The larger tract adjoins the original land purchase and the YMCA proposed that the parcel remain as a "working forest".

Follow-up community meetings and a county commissioner revote in early 2023 remained against the zoning for the campground. A judgment from the Thurston County Superior Court in January 2024 reversed the commissioner's decision. The ruling, citing that the commissioner's decline was based on bias, racial animus, and infringement of free speech, required that the original master plan be approved within 30 days. The commissioner board formally accepted the YMCA plan two weeks later, under protest, while mentioning the continuing causes of concern, especially for law enforcement coverage in and around the Mineral area.

Geography
Mineral is in northeastern Lewis County, 3 mi south of the Pierce County line. The community sits at the southern end of Mineral Lake, 4 mi south of Elbe and 12 mi north of Morton. It is 1.5 mi east of State Route 7.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Mineral CDP has an area of 1.7 sqkm, all of it recorded as land. Water from Mineral Lake flows north down Mineral Creek to the Nisqually River, which reaches Puget Sound northeast of Olympia.

Climate
This region experiences warm (but not hot) and dry summers, with no average monthly temperatures above 71.6 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Mineral has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate, abbreviated "Csb" on climate maps.

Tourism
Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad is a heritage railway that runs from Elbe to Mineral and is operated with steam locomotives and historic cars. The route leads through forests, crosses the Nisqually River and ends at the Mt. Rainier Railroad and Logging Museum in Mineral.

Parks and recreation
Mineral affords views of Mount Rainier. Mineral is most noted as a fishing destination. The lake is stocked yearly with rainbow trout and other fish species. On the opening weekend of Washington's fishing season, the town more than triples in population due to the influx of anglers. The local catch-phrase is "Mineral Lake, home of the 10 pound trout."

Mineral is the location where one of the tallest specimens of Douglas fir was recorded, measuring at approximately 120 m high.

Education
The Mineral Elementary School, opened in 1944 as a replacement for a previous school that burned down, closed in 2003. Students in the community are overseen by the Morton School District.

Politics
Mineral has historically leaned heavily towards the Republican Party and Conservatism. As Mineral is an unincorporated community, there are no defined bounds and the precinct may be incongruous with the census boundaries.

The 2020 election included 6 votes for candidates of the Libertarian Party and 2 votes for write-in candidates.

Notable people

 * Pearl Thrasher, former member of the Washington House of Representatives (1945–1947).