Five things
#1. The park lies within the lovely Methow Valley in north Central Washington. The indigenous people who lived here called the place Met-whu, meaning “low lying valley with blunt hills all around.” They used ten village sites in the area, including one at the confluence of the Methow and Chewuch rivers, where the town of Winthrop is now. Smallpox epidemics in the 19th century devastated the Methow people, so that by 1883 there were perhaps 300 left of a historic population of about 1200.
#2. By 1900, most Methow people had been forced out by the incursion of settlers and miners and by government decree. In 1879, without being consulted in the negotiation over their traditional lands and home valley, they had been assigned to the massive Columbia Reservation, which stretched from the Canadian border to the south shore of Lake Chelan. But the prospect of mineral wealth was too enticing for white settlers, and in 1883 the government abolished the reservation, telling the native people that they could either move east to the smaller Colville Reservation or take a 640-acre allotment on which to live. Some Methows took the allotment, others moved.
#3. Benjamin Franklin Pearrygin arrived in the Methow valley in 1887 and, according to a local historian, claimed land along the lake as the third squatter in the valley. He died sometime before 1916 after falling out of a barn loft while drunk. Pearrygin’s biggest legacy was that the lake was named for him, and because it is State Parks policy to name parks for nearby geographic features, the park was named for him, too. In this case I think there were other, better options, such as honoring the valley’s original inhabitants whose way of life was upended by the arrival of squatters like Pearrygin.
#4. With the Methow peoples largely gone, the area continued to attract settlers. In 1899, Charles and Clara Graves moved to Pearrygin Lake from near Yakima. They had three children, and one son took over the ranch in 1925, expanding it from 160 to 340 acres and leasing several hundred additional acres for farming. This is shrub steppe country, not easily converted to farming, but the year-round water source and distinct seasons helped the farm succeed. The Graves homestead stood at the southern end of the lake. By the time the homestead was added to the park, time had gotten the better of most of the buildings, so the barn boards were recycled and used to build the barn at the Shafer Museum in nearby Winthrop.
#5. A local orchardist sold State Parks the first parcel of today’s park for $12,000 in 1959, and it opened as a state park recreation area in 1964. Expansions in 1972 added the campground and in the 2000s and 2010s, the land that includes the park store, hayfield, another campground, Bear Creek Golf Course, and the Graves homestead. Today the park abuts the 35,000-acre Methow Wildlife Area, managed by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to the northeast.
Fast Facts about Pearrygin Lake State Park
- 1186-acre seasonal camping park, open year-round for day-use
- 11,000’ freshwater shoreline
- 92 standard sites, 71 utility sites, max length 60’, cabins, vacation house, two group camps
- restrooms, showers, bathhouse
- 30 picnic tables, grills, outdoor kitchens, horseshoe pits, volleyball court, park store
- hiking, mountain biking, road biking, birding, wildlife viewing, winter sno-park, Nordic skiing
- swimming beach, freshwater fishing, diving, boating, waterskiing, paddleboarding, kayaking
- 60’ dock, boat ramp
- Discover Pass required, $10 daily or, for a very reasonable $30, purchase an annual pass
- camping and roofed accommodations, hookups, reservable online or by calling 888-CAMPOUT
- park brochure
- park map
Land Acknowledgment
Pearrygin Lake State Park occupies the traditional and unceded lands of the Methow peoples, who have lived and travelled here since time immemorial.