Site of Ruby Dam and reservoir on the Skagit River, ca. 1919

• Other Authors: University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1919
• Subjects: Rivers > Washington (State); Skagit River (B.C. and Wash.); Buildings sites > Washington (State); Homestead; Big Beaver Creek; Beaver Creek
• Online Access: http://cdm16786.contentdm.oclc.org:80/cdm/ref/collection/ww-swps/id/597

Photographs of the Skagit River Hydroelectric Project constructed between 1918-1961. John H. McMillan was an eastern Canadian who first came into the region in the mid-1880s. Like other early settlers, McMillan was a miner and packer who was lured to Ruby Creek by rumors of gold. Among other jobs, in 1918 he worked for Seattle City Light on the Skagit River hydroelectric project. For several years McMillan also ran a roadhouse, located at the confluence of the Skagit River and Ruby Creek. This roadhouse, known in later years as the Ruby (Creek) Inn, may have been in operation since the onset of the gold rush. The McMillan homestead on Big Beaver Creek, known as the McMillan Ranch, was located on the west side of the Skagit River, southwest of the creek. McMillan erected a cabin in a wooded area with a small natural meadow nearby. In an 1899 report on the Washington Forest Reserve, H.B. Ayres observed that McMillan's ranch was one of the most improved claims on the entire reserve. Although difficult to locate, remnants of the homestead can be seen today. [Source: Source: North Cascades National Park web site, http://www.nps.gov/noca/hrs3-4m.htm ] Part of a McMillan Ranch building can be seen in the lower left corner of the photograph. The names of Ruby Reservoir and Dam were changed to Ross in 1939 after the death of J.D. Ross, Seattle City Light Superintendent from 1911-1939, best known for securing and constructing the Skagit River Project. Caption on image: Ruby Reservoir site, Skagit River, McMillan Ranch, Ruby Creek. PH Coll 1124.39