The Sultan Basin is located in Snohomish County, Washington. The following overview is part of the 1945 publication Geology and Ore Deposits of the Sultan Basin, Snohomish County, Washington by the Washington Department of Conservation and Development.
History and Production
Prospecting in the region in and around the Sultan Basin began sometime after 1874, when silver was first reported in the Silver Creek district. The first major discovery within the basin was not until 1891, when the "45" vein was found. The development of the area was slow, and closely linked with the growth of transportation facilities. Early in the 1890's, the Great Northern Railway main line was built through Sultan and Index, and another line was completed that connected the Monte Cristo district with Everett. This stimulated development of the entire area, and in 1896 the "45" mine became the first producer in the basin. The shipments from this property depended on the Everett and Monte Cristo Railway, whose operation was interrupted by washouts of the right-of-way.
In an attempt to maintain production, the "45" mine operators constructed a puncheon road connecting the mine with the Great Northern Railway near Sultan. This road opetled the basin to horse-drawn wagons, and aided development considerably. Feeder trails and roads were built, and later the Florence Rae and the old Iowa mines became small producers. The road from Sultan to Olney Pass was improved by degrees during logging operations, and in 1935 this graveled road was extended into the basin by the Civilian Conservation Corps. From 1937 to 1941 several more small shipments were made from the Florence Rae and Iowa mines. The old roads over which ore was hauled from the formerly operating properties are now washed out or otherwise deteriorated, and a few branches are needed from the present graveled road to again bring transportation facilities to most of the mining properties of the basin area.
None of the mines of the Sultan Basin has had more than a brief or sporadic record of production. This is partly due, of course, to the difficult accessibility of the region. Four mines, the "45", the Iowa, the Florence Rae, and the Sultan King have produced about 4,016 tons of ore valued at $134,831. The "45" mine, during its few years operation from 1896 to 1902 (?), accounted for almost 80 per- cent of the total tonnage and about 75 percent of the value. The following chart shows the production of these mines.
