The Great Gale of 1890
A powerful storm system tore through Chehalis County, unroofing town blocks and sweeping historic cannery buildings into the Chehalis River.
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.
In Montesano, considerable damage was done to property. The Brownell block, which was tin-roofed, suffered the greatest damage as it was entirely unroofed between 4 and 5 o'clock. Several persons were sleeping upstairs and were soon driven out by the water that poured in. On the lower floor were the grocery store of C. W. Luther and the offices of DesBrisay, Kemp, and C. E. Jameson. Mr. Luther is quite a loser in goods that were ruined by the water. The plats, blue prints, and other papers in the offices of DesBrisay & Kemp were badly damaged.
The fronts of the stores of Stevens & Heron and J. T. Edner were blown down, but no damage was done to the stock of goods in either store. The back part of the livery stable of F. P. Swinson was blown down, and a small tree fell across the house of E. C. Warner. The large new barn belonging to Wm. Mace, just west of town, was blown down, as was also the new barn of A. Abbott, a few miles up the Wynoochie. The big hay barn of the Medcalf Bros. was considerably damaged, and a large amount of fencing will have to be rebuilt. The old cannery building, which has stood on the bank of the Chehalis for a number of years, tumbled into the river and was carried away by the high water.
“The old cannery building, which has stood on the bank of the Chehalis for a number of years, tumbled into the river and was carried away by the high water.”
Extreme weather events like the 1890 gale were common threats to the timber-framed development of early Aberdeen and Montesano. Today, the Chehalis River basin remains highly susceptible to severe winter flooding and wind damage, highlighting the persistent geographic vulnerability of these historic logging towns.
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