The Great Skagit Flood of 1887
Thousands of acres of farmland are submerged as the Skagit River hits record-breaking, catastrophic levels.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The lower Skagit valley flatland beaver marsh lands are all under water. Five thousand acres of grain are inundated. The following are the principal losers: Anthony Barratt, 180 acres of grain. The water came into his house, caused combustion of lime in a barrel and the residence with everything, including household goods and wearing apparel, was burned. Robert Sharp loses 160 acres of grain. The farms of John Becker, Thos. Rawlin, Jake Meyers, Billy Bell and Ole Johnson are all under water. The hay ranches of James Powers, Chilberg, Graham and Nabers are inundated. Skagit river was never before known to be so high.
“Skagit river was never before known to be so high.”
The Skagit Valley remains one of Washington's most flood-prone agricultural hubs, frequently facing the same existential threats from river surges as it did in 1887. This century-old disaster highlights the persistent tension between the region's rich, fertile floodplains and the inevitable power of the Skagit River.
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