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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1895 | 3 |
12 stories matching alluvi
- The River That Ate Seattle: How High Water Threatened the Railroads and Left a Gift of Dirt
In December 1876, the Duwamish River swelled to dangerous levels, threatening the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad embankments. But as the waters receded, they left behind a rich layer of alluvial soil that would soon feed the region's agricultural boom.
- Who Owns the Water's Edge?
A legal brief detailing the property rights of landowners whose lots border the tides and navigable waters of Seattle.
- The Rising Tides of Industry
An 1873 editorial reflects on the fragility of Pacific Coast harbors, warning that unchecked mining waste and silt are creating an uncertain future for maritime commerce.
- The Forgotten Potential of Seattle's Poor Farm
A visit to the county-owned farm on the Duwamish reveals a rich historical site where city officials debated the ethics of poverty and public support in 1877.
- From Mosquito Swamp to Golden Grain: The Taming of the Swinomish Flats
How a desolate, flood-prone wilderness was transformed by sheer human persistence into one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Washington Territory.
- The Town Where Horses Wore Wooden Shoes
La Conner grew slowly on a rocky knoll in the Skagit delta, diked its tidal flats, and shipped out hay by the ton—while its horses clumped through spring mud in wooden moccasins.
- The Swamp That Was: How a Drainage Project Threatened to Reclaim King County’s Wetlands
In 1876, local farmers petitioned the county to drain the marshes between White and Black rivers, arguing that reclamation would boost public health and add millions to the region's wealth.
- The Unpredictable Fury of the White River
For decades, pioneers in the White River Valley have battled shifting channels and massive log jams that threaten to drown the farmland—and now, a desperate, explosive attempt to save the riverbank has left the community divided.
- Seattle's Half-Million-Dollar Gamble to Dig a Canal to the Sea
Boosters promised a transformed city: a Lake Washington ship canal, reclaimed Squak Slough farmland, filled tide lands and Seattle as the 'Liverpool of the Coast.'
- The 1895 Plan to Straighten the Sammamish River
A petition from H. K. Kelsey and forty others asked King County to drain, deepen and straighten Squak Slough, reclaiming 3,000 acres of overflowed land.
- The County Farm That Feeds the Poor—and Buries Its Unknown Dead
Diked, drained and worked by its own patients, King County's poor farm on the Duwamish is nearly feeding itself, with a new potter's field filling at its southern edge.
- Taming the Snohomish Valley Marshlands
A look at the settlers turning the muddy, fertile banks of the Snohomish River into a bustling agricultural hub through sweat and engineering.