The Great Deluge of 1891
Heavy winter rains transform Seattle’s rivers into raging torrents, washing away rail lines, bridges, and barns across the region.
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.
Cedar River went on a rampage, tearing away bridges and buildings and washing out the roadbed of the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad. The valleys of the White and Duwamish rivers are a sea of fresh water, and the Snohomish has spread all over its delta. Between Elliott and Cedar Mountain, the flood left tracks suspended in mid-air. The county bridge at Cedar Mountain was swept away, as were spans and approaches near Renton. Further north, the Skykomish and Sultan rivers reached near-record levels, and at Sultan, a large spruce tree struck the county bridge, making the long span sway as if it were about to fall. Throughout the region, Lake Washington has filled like a giant tank, flooding parks and mills, while farmers reported livestock standing in water up to their bellies.
“Cedar river took its turn at going on the rampage and tore away bridges and buildings and washed out the roadbed.”
The 1891 floods underscore the historic vulnerability of the Puget Sound lowlands. Today, while modern flood control and dams mitigate these disasters, climate change is bringing these 'river on a rampage' events back into our immediate civic discourse.
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