The End of the Snoqualmie Toll
After years of litigation, King County settled a dispute with a private wagon road company, finally opening the Snoqualmie Pass route to the public for free.
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 complicated litigation which has been pending for some time past through the efforts of the county to take away from the Snoqualmie Trail and Wagon Road Company its franchise for the operation of the toll road through Snoqualmie pass was brought to an amicable termination yesterday by a compromise. The county commissioners have passed an order authorizing the payment to the company of $1,000 for the surrender of the franchise, and of $1,250 for improvements. The road is to be opened at once for free travel. A franchise was granted the company in 1883, and since then it has been charging exorbitant tolls, which have stopped travel. Further, the road was not kept in repair, and from North Bend to the summit it was impassable.
“The advantages of the road to the people living along it, and as an avenue of travel through the mountains, cannot be overestimated.”
This mirrors modern debates over public versus private control of infrastructure. The fight to make a pass—the state's primary artery—accessible for free highlights how essential transportation access is to regional economic growth.
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