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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 1 |
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| 1877 | 14 |
| 1878 | 18 |
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| 1883 | 5 |
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| 1924 | 1 |
181 stories matching drain
- The Sanitary Crisis of 1885
Dr. J. M. W. Hedges demands immediate action on open cesspools, raw sewage, and the 'lodging house' filth threatening the health of early Seattle.
- 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.
- Draining the Squak Slough
A proposal for drainage work in the valley promises agricultural prosperity and potential water access for Seattle.
- Duck Club Loses Fight Over Calispel Lake Homesteads
A Spokane land office ruling sided with settlers who argued that marshy ground at the upper end of Calispel Lake could be drained and farmed.
- The Canal That Would Drain Lake Washington
Boosters said a ship canal could end spring floods, redeem thousands of acres of marsh and turn the Duwamish Valley into farmland—if the property owners would help pay.
- A Valley Drowns Every Spring—and One Farmer Wants a Better Dike
A correspondent warns that the Pend Oreille freshet has wrecked $50,000 worth of Calispel Valley crops—and argues the proposed diking districts are too piecemeal to save the basin.
- A Jury Walks the Ditches: Chewelah’s Drainage War Ends
After weeks of testimony and a field inspection, a jury ruled that draining the Colville Valley would harm no one—clearing the way for the Chewelah district and weakening objections elsewhere.
- The Unending Drain at Columbia Street
A classic city mistake in 1886: an improperly built drain leads to a massive, costly wash-out that requires days of manual labor to repair.
- A Civil Engineer's $200,000 Plan to Drain the Calispel Valley
A Newport civil engineer proposes canals, dikes and lock gates to reclaim a lake bed, irrigate the gravel slopes and stop the Pend Oreille from swallowing the valley's farms.
- The Drain Detectives
A warning to tenants: sewer gas is a hidden killer, and your landlord’s thrift might be costing you your health.
- The Parkland College Sewage Standoff
Despite pressure from the Public Works Commissioner, the president of Parkland College refuses to move a cesspool, claiming it poses no threat to city water.
- The Farmers' Plan to Drain Lake Washington
Valley farmers eye an inexpensive ditch as the only solution to the catastrophic flooding threatening their livelihood.
- The Great Front Street Fraud: City Council Exposes Fake Petition for Cable Car
In a stunning display of civic integrity, Seattle’s Common Council unmasks a fraudulent petition designed to grant a monopoly cable car franchise, revealing that applicants forged signatures and misrepresented property frontage.
- The Rising Groundwater Threat
A federal drainage expert warns that Kennewick's porous soil is becoming waterlogged by irrigation, creating a public health crisis.
- Mud, Drains, and Municipal Neglect
With city infrastructure in disarray, a local editor calls for a better approach to grading, drainage, and basic sidewalk maintenance.
- The Marsh That Swallowed the Land: A Call to Drain Snohomish
Local farmers face ruin as winter rains turn fertile bottomlands into impassable swamps; experts propose a collective drainage project to save the region's agricultural future.
- Draining the White River Valley
Engineers plan two new drainage ditches from Kent to the Black River to reclaim farmland from swamp.
- The Silent Dangers of Seattle’s Early Boarding Houses
A 19th-century public health warning reveals the grim reality of sanitation in early Seattle, where overcrowded and poorly drained boarding houses became breeding grounds for typhoid fever.
- The Day Farmers Blew Up a Dam
In a bold act of agrarian rebellion on the Fourth of July, Stuck River farmers used dynamite to destroy the White River dam, draining the muck and reclaiming their land.
- The Sabotage of Black Lake
A malicious attempt to breach a dike and flood the Olympia countryside by draining a massive volume of water into the Deschutes River was narrowly averted.
- The Sewer Under Beacon Hill
After quicksand, floods and a costly detour, Seattle’s South Tunnel is weeks from completion—and somehow still inside its $100,000 budget.
- The Mill Barons Who Took the Wealth and Left the Ruins
A scathing editorial in the 1877 Snohomish Sun condemns Washington Territory’s timber magnates for draining local resources while contributing nothing to schools, roads, or community development.
- Post-Fire Sanitation: The Fight for a Healthy Seattle
Following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, local physicians and concerned citizens publicly debated the city’s primitive sewer systems, warning that decaying waste in the 'burnt district' threatened a public health crisis.
- The Ten-Foot Map That Would Sewer Olympia
In 1891, an engineer drew a room-sized map and planned a drainage system for a city of 20,000—if the council could get around the Seventh Street tunnel.
- The Clay Under Seattle Built a Million-Dollar Industry
King County clay works turned local deposits into firebrick, paving brick, sewer pipe and architectural terra cotta—winning federal tests and employing hundreds of men.
Also about this, in other words
- The Great Drain Struggle
Farmers from the Duwamish and Sammamish valleys rally to demand an expanded canal to solve recurring, devastating floods.
- Farmers Take Matters Into Their Own Hands to Escape Floods
Tired of waiting for the county to act, valley farmers organize a private committee to drain Lake Washington floodwaters.
- A Costly Slip: The Sink That Flooded Pioneer Square
A plumber’s oversight at a dry goods shop leads to a deluge that ruins thousands of dollars in stock, exposing the fragility of Seattle’s burgeoning commercial district.
- A Farmer Dams a Ditch, and Neighbors Build a Dike
In the town of Tolt, a landowner’s waterway blockade turns into a muddy standoff, with farmers throwing up dikes to keep their fields from flooding.
- The Great Snohomish Meat Drain: A Local Market Opens to Stop the Flow of Imported Beef
While most towns relied on outside suppliers, Mr. Hilton’s new meat market aims to keep capital in Snohomish by supplying loggers locally.
- The White River Ditch Stalls
A landmark court decision strikes down the drainage assessment law, leaving farmers and property owners in limbo.
- Transforming the Valley Floor
King County commissioners authorize a massive drainage project to reclaim 3,000 acres for agricultural use near Kent.
- The Seneca Street Sludge
A persistent drainage issue on a downtown sidewalk sparks frustration among Seattle pedestrians, highlighting the lack of basic civic maintenance in the growing city.