STEHEKIN

Massive glaciers carve the breathtaking Stehekin Valley and Lake Chelan, nature’s gift that would one day become home to American families.

The U.S. Homestead Act opens the valley. Brave pioneers answer the call, proving up claims with their own hands and hearts.

Bill Buzzard files the first major homestead — builds the log cabin that still stands today at historic Buckner Orchard.

The Buckner family arrives and transforms the land into thriving orchards and Rainbow Ranch, laying the foundation of Stehekin’s community.

• William Van Buckner
• May Buckner
• Frank Buckner
• Carroll Buckner
• Harry Buckner

Hugh & Mamie Courtney move into their dirt-floor cabin with their unborn daughter. Today, six generations of Courtneys still call Stehekin home.

Lloyd & Amy Bell begin teaching in the one-room schoolhouse and raise their family here — continuing the legacy of education and service.

Congress creates the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. Stehekin families — already living here for generations — suddenly find themselves inside federal boundaries.

• 1969-1970 NPS launches aggressive purchases from “willing sellers.” All three private lodges at the landing are bought. The historic Buckner Ranch & Orchard (homesteaded 1889, family-owned since 1910) is sold to the Park Service in 1970. Families start hearing the message: sell now… or risk condemnation if you try to build.
• 1969–1973 Peak pressure years. NPS acquires 986+ acres from 57 different landowners (79 separate tracts) for roughly $2.4 million. That’s more than half the entire private land base wiped out in just five years. Residents later testified the NPS used threats of condemnation, warnings of competing federal development, and declarations that new homes or businesses would be “incompatible” — triggering eminent domain.
• 1977–1979 NPS issues revised land-acquisition policies and letters to every Stehekin owner. Fear of being labeled “incompatible” spikes. More families sell preemptively. Private land drops to roughly 650 acres. (Congress later had to step in during the 1980s to reinforce the “willing seller only” rule after widespread complaints of coercion.)

GAO Report CED-81-10 declares: ‘Lands in Stehekin Should Be Returned to Private Ownership’ – NPS still refuses

Catastrophic flood destroys the Upper Valley Road. Government approves repair funds… yet the road remains closed 23 years later — a broken promise that stifles growth.

Catastrophic Atmospheric River Flooding & Debris Flows Strike Stehekin, still waiting for the response from the government, they are currently just admiring the problem.  There have been meetings but no action for over two months, except from Chelan County.

Multi-generational Stehekin families stand strong, demanding our God-given and constitutional right to repair our road, reclaim our land at fair prices, build responsibly, and keep this American community alive for the next 150 years.