The Skokomish River's Fury
A rapid rise and fall of water levels damages county roads and sweeps away mining camp infrastructure in Mason County.
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 water in the Skokomish is falling rapidly. Much damage has been done to the county road between Hoodsport and the lake, and Road Supervisor Smith is at work fixing it. The blacksmith shop at the Mason County Mining and Development Company's camp was washed away, the river digging a great hole in the bank into which the building fell bodily. Many old jams in the river have been washed away and new ones formed, and the lake is full of driftwood of all sizes. As compared with previous freshets, this has been lower than for the past two years, being three inches lower than the flood of 1890 and six lower than that of 1889.
“The blacksmith shop at the Mason County Mining and Development Company's camp was washed away, the river digging a great hole in the bank, into which the building fell bodily.”
Flooding of the Skokomish remains a perennial challenge for infrastructure and rural property in Mason County. The story illustrates the constant battle between historical logging-adjacent development and the unpredictable power of Washington's river systems.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.