Seattle's Audacious Bid for a Fresh-Water Harbor
In 1890, boosters promised that a ship canal from Lake Washington to Puget Sound would cut docking costs, defeat wood-boring teredo worms, and hand Seattle the world's cheapest harbor.
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.
It has been the fond hope and bright dream of Seattleites to have the government connect Lake Washington with Puget Sound by a ship canal, thereby creating a fresh water harbor. The lake forms the eastern boundary of Seattle, is about 30 miles long, averages 2½ miles in width and has an area of 38.9 square miles, or 24,896 acres, of which about 8,000 acres cover a depth of 25 feet or more. The depth of the lake is very great, and soundings of 600 feet have been made. All of the canal construction required to make the connection is a few hundred feet between Union Bay and Lake Union and 5,700 feet between Lake Union and Salmon Bay, an estuary of Puget Sound.
As a harbor of safety for vessels Lake Washington cannot be surpassed. Its waters can accommodate a fleet. The waters of Puget Sound, like all salt waters, are infested with the teredo, which is so destructive to wood that the maintenance of wharves and trestles is a heavy burden. With Lakes Union and Washington as a fresh water harbor this would be obviated, and Seattle would have a commanding advantage over every other port in the world. Ships become foul in salt water and frequently have to go into a dry dock and have their bottoms cleaned of barnacles and other parasites at a large cost. Fresh water answers the same purpose, and Seattle's fresh water harbor would be of great advantage to shipping in that way. The loading and unloading of ships on tide water, owing to the rise and fall of the tide, is more expensive than on fresh water, where the water is always of a uniform height, and wharves can be constructed having in view the greatest economy in handling cargoes. The North Pacific naval station has been located already across the Sound from Seattle, and the construction of the canal has been strongly advocated by the naval authorities. Aside from this feature of it, it can readily be seen that the construction of the canal would undoubtedly give Seattle the lightest harbor dues and cheapest dockage in the world, an advantage which, while of the vastest advantage to this city, would be shared by the whole country whose products pass through the port of Seattle.
Congress has been thoroughly impressed with the importance of the project and has decided to commence construction of work. A small appropriation has been made, and preliminary matters are about complete, which includes the work of the joint committee appointed to secure the right-of-way. The surveyed route of the canal runs across the short stretch of land between Union Bay, an arm of Lake Washington, and Lake Union, thence along the old outlet to Ballard and out through Salmon Bay to Puget Sound. Between Lake Washington and Lake Union most of the right-of-way is owned by the Lake Washington Improvement Company, which asked the committee $50,000 for passage through its property. The figure, however, was recently decreased to $35,000. The right-of-way through the Fremont Milling Company's property was secured at a cost of $25,000. Between Fremont and Salmon Bay the route is through Denny & Hoyt's Addition and Ross First and Second Additions. In the first, Judge Wood, one of the extensive property owners, has donated his entire interest to the scheme, and the committee expects in a few weeks to have received liberal aid from Mr. Blewitt, another of the heavy property owners. In the Ross Addition there are about fifty individual owners along the route, most of whom have been heard from in a liberal donation. The Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway has agreed to deal liberally with the enterprise, and the Ballard Mill Company has donated 60 per cent of the damages to its property.
The company proposes, immediately on the final estimate of the cost of the right-of-way, to raise the money necessary for the securing of the title, which will be immediately turned over to the government. The appropriation made by Congress, it is understood, will be used in dredging Salmon Bay.
Large signs are being put up at prominent points in the city by H. H. Dearborn & Co., dealers in realty.
“With Lakes Union and Washington as a fresh water harbor this would be obviated, and Seattle would have a commanding advantage over every other port in the world.”
The Lake Washington Ship Canal and Ballard Locks eventually became central to Seattle's maritime, industrial and recreational life. This early booster account shows the long dance of federal appropriation, private right-of-way deals and civic hype that preceded the concrete. Modern Seattle still argues over big infrastructure, port capacity and who pays for public works.
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