The Columbia River in Upheaval
Unprecedented flooding devastates communities along the Columbia River, washing away homes, bridges, and livelihoods.
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.
Reports from the flooded districts in Okanogan County are discouraging. Never before in the memory of the oldest inhabitant has the Columbia River run so high; the water at the mouth of the Okanogan has risen seventy feet and is still climbing eighteen inches per day. Silver, the supply town for the Methow Valley, has completely disappeared, and the new schoolhouse nearby was carried off. At Kettle Falls, the steamer plying between Northport and Revelstoke is grounded because the Canadian Pacific is crippled and Spokane Northern trains cannot run. The large summer hotel at Fort Shepard is surrounded by water, and the Columbia and Kootenai railroad between Robson and Nelson has track washed out. Joseph Smith of Kalama reports the scene as a perfect sea from mountain to mountain, with towns like Kelso and Woodland submerged, confirming this is four feet higher than any flood in memory.
“You can't imagine it unless you see it. It is a perfect sea from mountain to mountain.”
The massive 1894 flood remains a benchmark for hydrology in the Pacific Northwest, long before modern dam systems were built to control the Columbia's flow. It serves as a reminder of the river's immense power, a force that fundamentally shaped the development of early settlements and continues to haunt planning decisions in floodplains today.
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