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1,470 stories matching lake
- The Canal That Would Make Seattle an Island
In 1883, surveyors proposed locks and canals linking Lake Union and Lake Washington to tidewater—so coal could move by water and Seattle could 'practically stand on an island.'
- The Judge Who Warned Seattle Not to Sell Its Waterfront to a Canal Company
In 1894, Judge John J. McGilvra urged Congress to build the Lake Washington Ship Canal and warned that a private company's tideflat scheme would put tolls on the water and enrich speculators at public expense.
- Seattle's Bid to Be the Liverpool of America
In 1895, boosters imagined a Lake Washington ship canal turning Puget Sound into a freshwater harbor for world commerce, coal trade, and naval power.
- The Healing Lake That Hid a Walking Fish
On the Columbia plateau near Spokane lies a strange saline lake with no inlet and no outlet — credited with curing rheumatism, foaming like soap in the wind, and home to an axolotl that fooled the naturalists.
- Seattle's 1895 Warning: Secure Cedar River Water Before Private Speculators Do
City Engineer R. H. Thomson says Seattle's overworked pumps cannot survive another summer and urges the city to buy the Cedar River watershed, dams and reservoir sites while it still can.
- The Canal That Would Reshape Seattle, Held Up by Mud and Paperwork
In 1895 the government's Lake Washington ship canal was still a paper route, and every submerged lot owner had to sign away damages before a dredge could move.
- The Legislators Who Came to See a Ditch—and Left Believers
A steamboat tour of Smith Cove and Lake Union turns Eastern Washington lawmakers into ship-canal converts.
- The Canal Fight That Would Reshape Seattle
Senator Allen's enemies are attacking him over his support for the Lake Washington ship canal — but the 1889 legislative memorial shows one of his loudest critics once voted for it.
- The Canal Came With a Catch: Seattle Had to Secure the Land
Congress had finally committed to a Lake Washington ship canal, but the money came with a condition: Seattle had to secure a free right-of-way from property owners. In 1894, civic leaders began the campaign that would decide whether the project moved forward.
- Seattle's Audacious Bid for a Fresh-Water Harbor
In 1890, boosters promised that a ship canal from Lake Washington to Puget Sound would cut docking costs, defeat wood-boring teredo worms, and hand Seattle the world's cheapest harbor.
- The Canal That Was Going to Bring the Farm Into Seattle
In 1895, boosters promised the Lake Washington Ship Canal would cut freight transfers for farmers, float logs from Sammamish, and let Newcastle coal load almost at the pit mouth.
- Seattle’s Temple of Learning Rises Between Two Lakes
In 1895, contractors raced to finish a $200,000 campus between Union and Washington lakes—complete with copper finials, a gymnasium and a hillside observatory—before the September opening.
- The Fresh Water Fortress: Why Seattle Was Built to Save Ships from the Sea
Captain U.H. Hall returns from Washington D.C. with a bold proposal for a Navy Yard in Lake Washington, arguing that fresh water is the only defense against the 'Teredo' worm and foreign invasion.
- Seattle Cut Water Rates—Then Claimed the Lake
In one night at City Hall, the council trimmed water bills for every ratepayer and got legal cover to take Lake Washington water, even if it meant digging its own canal past a private company.
- The Great Canal Dream of 1887
A visionary project to link Lake Union and Lake Washington promises to turn Seattle into a fresh-water harbor, revolutionizing the lumber industry and securing the city's future.
- The Navy’s Checklist: Why Seattle Was Betting Its Future on Iron and Timber
In January 1902, the city compiled a massive dossier of industrial advantages—from Denny Mine ore to fresh-water wharves—to convince Washington D.C. that Seattle was the only logical site for a new Pacific naval station.
- 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.
- Seattle's $100,000 Night: The Armory Meeting That Sold the Ship Canal
Boosters packed the Armory in 1895 and pledged a fortune for locks and bridges on a Lake Washington canal—payable only after a ship made the passage from Elliott Bay.
- A Street to Lake Union
Property owners push a $7,500 grading of Lake Avenue to link Elliott Bay and Lake Union and drain the flooded Denny meadow.
- The Secretary of the Navy Rides a Streetcar and Sees Seattle's Future
Secretary of the Navy Herbert spends a rainy Sabbath touring the proposed Lake Washington ship canal, is dazzled by the view from Broadway, and declares the waterway not only certain but a naval refuge in wartime.
- The Fertile Hidden Valley of Squak
A glimpse into the agricultural potential and growing pains of the Issaquah Valley, a remote settlement struggling for steamship connectivity in 1878.
- The Streetcar Combine That Built North Seattle
D. T. Denny and his sons bought control of the Consolidated Street Railway, merged it with the Third Street electric line, and set their sights on every route north of downtown.
- Down the Dark Drift: A Tour of Seattle’s Coal Mines
In December 1876, a reporter takes readers on an arduous journey from Lake Union to Newcastle to witness the grueling labor and industrial scale of Puget Sound's most vital industry.
- The Navy Wants a Freshwater Harbor in Seattle
A federal board backs the Lake Washington canal as a strategic refuge for steel ships—and a way to escape the teredo worms eating Puget Sound's timber wharves.
- The Senator Who Came to Bless the Canal
Illinois senator Shelby Cullom tours Seattle's proposed Lake Washington ship canal, flirts with a presidential run, and tells boosters their city needs 'a little Chicago push.'
Also about this, in other words
- The Disappearing Lake
Residents are baffled as the waters of Surprise Lake suddenly recede, leaving property owners high and dry.
- A Lake, Not a Farm: Homesteaders Fought Over Calispell’s Swampy Shore
A Spokane sportsman’s club contests Calispell Lake homestead claims, arguing the land is water, not farmland—and more claims may follow.
- A Lamp, a Kitchen, and a Lake Union Fire
A domestic accident leaves a family homeless after a runaway kitchen lamp destroys a house on the shores of Lake Union.
- A Green Lake Home Lost to Flames
A handsome residence near Green Lake is destroyed by fire while the family is away, leaving behind only the memory of a swing in the backyard.
- The Lake Keeps Its Secret: A Tragedy of Adultery in Wenatchee
A local man and a married woman drown together on the lake; while her body is recovered, he remains lost to the depths, serving as a grim moral lesson for the community.
- The New 'Maynard's Lake Washington Addition' Hits the Market
A sprawling 366-acre tract of land near the lake is now being subdivided into 131 blocks, sparking a rush of early interest from investors.
- Discovery of a Hidden Crater Lake
Two hunters stumble upon a mysterious, glacier-fed lake deep in the Olympic Mountains.
- A Narrow Escape on Lake Washington
A canoeist finds himself in deep water after a sudden wave capsizes his craft in the center of the lake.