Federal Engineers Eye Snohomish River
A government survey determines that improving the waterway to Everett is vital for the region's expanding industrial commerce.
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 secretary of war has sent in more reports made by members of the corps of engineers of preliminary examinations on the Pacific coast streams and harbors. Capt. Symonds reports that Alsea river, in Oregon, is worthy of improvement by the government. The plans of the survey will cost $10,000. The same officer advises that the Snohomish river be improved from its mouth to Lowell. The commerce of Everett and Lowell make this most necessary. An additional survey would cost only $250, and much work could be done by the snagboat Skagit.
“The commerce of Everett and Lowell make this most necessary.”
This piece chronicles the era when the federal government acted as a primary booster for regional industrial growth by dredging waterways to support milling and shipping. It marks the birth of the Everett waterfront's industrial identity, which defined the area's economy for over a century.
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