Dam Break Triggers Flash Flood in Snohomish
A failed dam at Blackman's Lake sent a torrent of water into the heart of town, caving in streets and flooding basements.
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.
Snohomish experienced a severe flood today after the dam at Blackman's Lake, located one mile north of town, broke last night. The surplus of water from recent rains rushed down the creek bed, causing significant damage. A culvert in the bed of the gulley, over which a large portion of First Street is built, was lifted out by the flood, causing the street to cave in at the corner of Avenue A. The dirt fill was washed away from the street's planking, and the foundations of nearby buildings were threatened. A force of residents was dispatched to the lake to dam the water at the source, preventing further destruction. Water reached several feet in the basement of Blackman’s grocery store and the Hegarty block. Experts believe the disaster could have been avoided had the culvert under First Street been properly cleaned and maintained.
“It is thought there would have been no trouble had the culvert under First street been so constructed as to have been kept cleaned out.”
Infrastructure failure and deferred maintenance are themes that remain central to municipal governance in modern Seattle. This 1893 disaster highlights how the rapid, often flimsy development of town centers on top of natural drainage paths—like the gulley in Snohomish—could lead to immediate civic catastrophe.
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