The Price of Crossing the Cascades
A legislative proposal seeks $10,000 to bridge the Snoqualmie Pass, promising a new lifeline between Seattle and the inland valleys.
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 following is a copy of the bill introduced in the House by Mr. Shondy, of Yakima, to aid the Snoqualmie Pass wagon road: Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Washington, that the Treasurer of Washington Territory be, and he is hereby directed to pay out of any money not otherwise appropriated, to the Seattle and Walla Walla Trail and Wagon Road Company, the sum of ten thousand dollars. One-half of said sum shall be expended to aid in opening up a wagon road from Yakima and Kittitas Valleys to the summit of the Cascade Mountains, and the other half from Snoqualmie Prairie, in King County, to said summit. Whenever the road is completed so that it is passable with loaded wagons, commissioners shall examine the section and, if satisfied, authorize payment of five thousand dollars for each section.
“Whenever the secretary of said company shall notify the Governor... that the said trail and wagon road has been completed so that it is passable with loaded wagons.”
The struggle to keep mountain passes open and reliable has defined Washington’s infrastructure debates for over 140 years. While we no longer build wagon roads, the tension between Seattle’s coastal economic engine and the growth of the inland valleys remains a core feature of the state's political landscape.
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