The Snoqualmie Mill Lost to Fire
A major industrial site, recently shuttered by financial woes, is destroyed by a blaze just as it was being prepared for operation.
The Snoqualmie mill at Snoqualmie, with nearly the whole of the stock and the wharf fronting on the river, was burned to the ground yesterday afternoon with a loss of $120,000, little if any of which is covered by insurance. Flames were noticed in the upper story of the building about 3:40 o'clock and had already gained such headway that all efforts to stay their progress proved fruitless. Besides the mill itself about $1,500 worth of lumber was destroyed. The Snoqualmie mill was built about four years ago at a cost of about $150,000 and was one of the best on the Sound. About fourteen months ago the company was placed in the hands of Herman Chapin as receiver on account of claims for machinery and labor and has not since been running. The Parks & Lacy Machinery Company, of Portland, which supplied the machinery, recently arranged to put it in operation, and for several days have been making preparations to do so on Monday.
“Little if any of which is covered by insurance.”
Fire was the constant, devastating enemy of Washington's early timber economy, where wooden structures and sawdust piles meant total loss was always one spark away. This story captures the volatility of the era, where companies were constantly cycling between boom, bankruptcy, and disaster.
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