Northern Pacific Piles Block Commencement Bay Landing
Business owners clash with the Northern Pacific Railroad over the blocking of a vital waterway, forcing a community to fight for their access to the harbor.
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.
Complaints have been made regarding the piles driven into the head of Commencement Bay by the Northern Pacific Railroad. Piles have been driven directly into the bay, which has been used for years as a landing for the railroad. These extend toward the south, and a depot is being built for the passenger trains and through freight to Portland. Another track will extend to the north toward the freight depot and wharves. Work on this has not been begun. The piles, however, which have been driven so thick in the bay that a skiff could not get through, have filled the boat-house area at the head of the bay. There are at the head of the bay Watson & Co.’s flour mill, Paulson & Drum’s large saw mill, sash and door factory, basket factory and shingle mill, and other businesses. All of these located at that place upon the assurance from the railroad company that navigation would not only not be obstructed, but that the mouth of the Puyallup River would be dredged to allow deep-sea craft to ride up to the wharves. The bay at this extremity is only navigable at high tide, and then for very small craft; that is, it would be inaccessible for those if the way was not barred by the piles. Mr. Henry Drum, of the firm of Paulson & Drum, stated yesterday that the railroad authorities have declared their intention of cutting a span out of the piles in a short time sufficient to permit the passage of such craft and booms of logs as might be desired to take up to the head of the bay as at present.
“The piles, however, which have been driven so thick in the bay that a skiff could not get through, have filled the boat-house area.”
This 1887 dispute over railroad pile-driving and waterway obstruction reflects the long-standing tension between infrastructure expansion and local commerce in Seattle. Much like modern struggles over maritime land use and public access to the waterfront, the story highlights how private corporate interests often prioritize heavy rail development over the needs of established local businesses.
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