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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 7 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 14 |
| 1891 | 15 |
| 1892 | 37 |
| 1893 | 15 |
| 1894 | 26 |
| 1895 | 20 |
| 1897 | 3 |
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| 1899 | 1 |
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| 1908 | 3 |
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| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 10 |
| 1916 | 13 |
| 1917 | 4 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
37 stories matching ditch
- Draining the White River Valley
Engineers plan two new drainage ditches from Kent to the Black River to reclaim farmland from swamp.
- Transforming the Valley Floor
King County commissioners authorize a massive drainage project to reclaim 3,000 acres for agricultural use near Kent.
- Water on Mortgage: A Seattle Man Offers to Irrigate Kittitas — If the Farmers Sign Away Ten Years
J. W. Wells proposes a ditch across the east end of the Kittitas valley at $1 to $1.25 an acre a year. At the mass meeting only 6,500 acres sign on, and the deal is left to W. H. Peterson to sell.
- Homeowner Battles City Over Street Ditch
W. H. Gleason sues the City of Seattle for $1,000, claiming a city-sanctioned ditch blocked access to his Washington Street rentals.
- Tragedy in a Tacoma Sewer Ditch
A team of horses and a wagon are discovered floundering in a construction trench, with fears for the driver's life.
- The Struggle to Green the Desert
Before the giant irrigation companies arrived, Yakima pioneers hand-dug their own ditches through harsh winters to save their thirsty land.
- A Diamond-Studded Celebration for the Selah Ditch
Foreman Dan McDonald is honored with a costly gift as the ambitious irrigation project reaches the summit, opening vast new tracts for agriculture.
- An Exile at the Edge of Home
While the town celebrated the completion of the new irrigation ditch, a man watched from the hills, barred from the home he once built.
- The Push for Irrigation Money
Speculators and investors scramble to bring water to Yakima valley lands, betting on a future boom.
- The Uncertain Future of the Yakima Irrigation Ditch
Local contractors head to Tacoma seeking answers as construction stalls and equipment is shipped elsewhere.
- The Desert Blooms: Yakima’s Great Irrigation Feat
A twenty-five mile canal promises to transform sagebrush wastes into an agricultural garden, rivaling the fertile valleys of Europe.
- The Map of Water Beneath the Yakima Valley
A geological survey party returns from months across Yakima, Kittitas and Douglas counties with a precise verdict: Moxee is the one reliable artesian belt, and much of the rest of the region may have to depend on ditches.
- Masterminding the Sammamish Valley
Property owners petitioned county commissioners to form a drainage district, hoping to transform miles of 'sluggish' swamp into productive farmland.
- The Narrow Escape of Peter Oleson
A sewer trench collapse on Queen Anne leaves a laborer buried beneath two feet of earth while his coworkers frantically dig for his life.
- A Valley of Perennial Wealth: The Excursion That Sold the Yakima Boom
A Puyallup delegation rides the Northern Pacific to North Yakima, tours the new Sunnyside Canal, and comes home convinced that irrigated sagebrush is the richest farmland in Washington.
- Grays Harbor Voters Skeptical of McGraw's Ditch Scheme
A visit from Republican gubernatorial candidate John H. McGraw leaves local voters cold as he doubles down on the controversial Lake Washington canal project at the expense of local harbor interests.
- A Child's Fatal Accident Near Palouse
A twelve-year-old boy is killed instantly after falling from a wagon.
- A Nighttime Train Wreck Near Chehalis
A northbound express train derails after striking a steer, leading to a miraculous escape for the crew and passengers.
- The Million-Dollar Desert Dream
A new Idaho-led corporation plans to divert the Palouse River to irrigate over 120,000 acres of arid Washington land.
- Trolley Car Disaster Narrowly Averted
A construction car derails near Lake Washington, trapping a man in the mud.
- Smallpox Scare Triggers Camp Quarantine
Fear grips the Kittitas country as laborers flee a camp riddled with the 'dread malady' before authorities can secure a quarantine.
- Farmer Chases Engineers Away with Barbed Wire
A landowner in the lower Yakima Valley defended his property rights in spectacular fashion, chasing an engineering crew off his land with a lasso of barbed wire.
- Pierce County Republicans Keep Censure of Canal Backer McGraw
A simmering regional feud between Seattle and Tacoma boils over as Pierce County Republicans move to condemn the proposed Lake Washington ship canal.
- The Irrigation Revolution: Transforming the Arid Desert
A detailed report on how massive irrigation canals and experimental artesian wells are turning the Yakima Valley into an agricultural powerhouse.
- Smallpox Scare in Kittitas Irrigation Camp
A reported smallpox outbreak at an irrigation construction camp sparks local rumors of a 'stampede,' prompting Yakima officials to tighten police oversight on roads.