Sleeping Lady is nestled at the foot of the spectacular Stuart Range in the Cascade foothills. Upstream, the Icicle Creek has carved a deep, rugged canyon through this mountainous terrain where native peoples fished for salmon. Upon reaching Sleeping Lady, the creek transitions into a broader valley before joining the Wenatchee River, just north of the retreat.

White settlers came to the valley in the late 1800s. These included George and William Brisky, Mr. & Mrs. F. D. Estes, Nicholas Kincherf, David C. Wilson, Miss Mary Ralston and Franklin A. Losekamp, who built the Icicle Post Office and store on the south side of the Wenatchee/Icicle River confluence.

Civilian Conservation Corp. "Camp Icicle"

From 1934 to 1942, the site was known as Camp Icicle and was home to the 983rd Company of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC constructed, with help from local residents and carpenters, the barracks and buildings designed to house 200 young men. Many of these structures, rebuilt, remain on the site today. The 983rd's accomplishments include construction of the ski lodge in Leavenworth and the original lodge at Steven's Pass, as well as 22 local buildings, 20 bridges and placement of over 1,000 signs and markers.

Icicle River Ranch

In 1946, the CCC cabins were redeveloped into a private, family oriented, dude ranch named Icicle River Ranch. Its owners, Wilfred and Geraldine Davy, remodeled some of the CCC barracks by removing ends or middle sections to create smaller cabins. A stay for the "summer ranchers" at the Icicle River Ranch included organized pack team trips to the high country with cooks, guides and even musicians. Horses were kept in the large meadow during the summer and moved down to the Columbia Basin in winter.

Camp Field

The property was sold in 1957 to the Yakima Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and renamed "Camp Field." The site operated as a camp for young people ages eight and up from 1957 to 1982. The chapel and seven new dormitories were constructed in 1964-65. The CCC cabins were again renovated. These renovations allowed the camp to begin dual operations as both a summer camp and an off-season adult retreat center.

About the time Camp Field began operations, a young Irish priest, Father Joseph O'Grady from Boston, was banished to the upper Leavenworth valley. By permitting, even encouraging students to question their theology in the Spokane high school where he had been a teacher, he brought down the wrath of the authorities.

Far from wasting away at Camp Field, he and the facility thrived. He made friends, and before long the camp was alive with children. There were horses in the pasture, a swimming pool, a ball field, an archery range and a camp fire circle for outdoor services. Every kid who brought a musical instrument to camp, brought it into the chapel to accompany Sunday Mass. The masses were lively and everybody sang. Father O'Grady, referred to by some as the "hippie priest," was widely beloved. He welcomed everybody to communion, regardless of denomination and performed marriages for anyone, as long as he was sure they were committed to each other. He held barbecues for the kids and joined in their outdoor activities. For all who knew him, he inspired spiritual reverence along with compassion, wisdom, fun and humor. When he died in 1983, the valley mourned.

The Diocese discontinued operation of the summer camp in 1982 and began operating the site year-round as the Camp Field Retreat and Conference Center. Camp Field was the site of family reunions, non-profit group retreats, DWI Awareness seminars and religious gatherings.

Sleeping Lady

The Diocese put the property up for sale in 1991. Harriet Bullitt, longtime owner of adjoining property, purchased the 67 acres to preserve the land. She then made plans to redevelop the old buildings into an environmentally friendly conference facility and mountain retreat. She engaged Jones & Jones Architects and Landscape Architects to design it.

She named it Sleeping Lady after the mountain profile above the narrow valley. Eighteen buildings were a part of Camp Field at the time of the purchase. Conservation, historical and environmental considerations saved all of the buildings for the new site plan. Five buildings including the Eyrie, Rookery, Grotto, Chapel and Flicker remain in their original locations. Thirteen buildings from the Camp Field operation were moved to fit the new site plan. All of the buildings were remodeled to meet or exceed current building and energy codes. New buildings were constructed to blend with the original style and the land replanted with native vegetation.

In January 1993, the business was incorporated as Sleeping Lady, Inc. and in April 1994 restoration and construction began. The 18 buildings that were already on the site are still here; new construction brought the total to 44 finished buildings.

Sleeping Lady opened by hosting Icicle Creek Music Center’s first annual Icicle Creek Chamber Music Festival in August 1995. Since that auspicious beginning there have been over 1000 events and happenings at Sleeping Lady including conferences, meetings, concerts and theatrical performances.

Additional Construction Phases

A second phase of development began in 1998 and involved the addition of the Fountain Cluster with ten additional housing rooms, an expansion of Kingfisher Dining Room adding 40 additional dining spaces and the addition of Quail and Tadpole meeting rooms adding additional meeting space for up to 140 people. The Grasshopper Fitness Room was added to enhance the enjoyment of Sleeping Lady guests, and O'Grady's Pantry Deli opened to the public.

During 2003 O'Grady's was expanded to accommodate increased use and KOHO Broadcasting Studios added a news room and sales office. The organic garden is being improved to add to the enjoyment of guests as well as to supply continued benefit to food service by providing organic herbs, salad greens, vegetables and berries.

In 2001 the development of the Icicle Creek Music Center facility began. The development was completed in 2003 and involved a remodeled and expanded office for the ICMC and the Icicle Fund including meeting rooms and practice spaces for staff and students. The development also included the Canyon Wren Recital Hall, three ensemble practice rooms, three solo practice rooms, eight housing units, and parking for the various functionsand activities. Continued efforts have been made to use recycled materials, energy efficient systems such as the ground source heat pumps as well as utilizing the cold Icicle Creek irrigation water to pre-cool or cool many of the buildings.

All of the major facilities on the 67 acre campus of Sleeping Lady and the Icicle Creek Music Center have been connected with fiber optics for the efficient use of internet connections as well as communications and fire detections systems.