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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
9 stories matching devast
- A Close Call on the Hill
After a devastating nighttime fire in 1877, Seattle residents grapple with the fragility of a wooden city and the lack of basic firefighting infrastructure.
- The Great Lake-to-Sound Canal Dream
A century-old proposal to drain swampy lands and connect the Seattle lakes to the Puget Sound, fueled by fears of devastating floods and the need for new shipping channels.
- The Great Olympia Mill Fire: A City's Heart Stolen by Flame
In the early hours of October 16, 1876, a devastating fire consumed the steam sawmill and all its property in Olympia, Washington Territory, leaving the community to wonder how they will replace their primary source of timber processing.
- The Misery of the Miser’s Hoard
A destitute family in 1870s Seattle survives a devastating house fire only to unearth a fortune hidden beneath the ashes of their former home.
- The River’s Toll on the Timber Trade
A sudden freshet on the White River washes away over 150,000 feet of logs, devastating local lumber operators and scattering timber as far as Smith’s Cove.
- The Meteorology of the Woods
An 1880 meteorologist argues that deforestation is responsible for the drying of rivers and the loss of rainfall, a warning from the early days of Washington Territory.
- The Swarm That Stalled the Trains
A plague of army worms in a Washington swamp grew so thick they brought a locomotive to a grinding, slippery halt.
- The Brutal Genie of the River Valley
An 1876 editorial reflects on the cyclical devastation of Washington’s river floods and why farmers never seem quite ready for the waters to rise.
- The Fire That Built a City: Seattle's Timber Boom Rises from the Ashes
Three years after the Great Fire of 1889 devastated the waterfront, Seattle’s lumber mills are running at full capacity, shipping millions of feet of wood to Hawaii and beyond to rebuild not just this city, but the Pacific.