Pushing for the Ship Canal
Senator Watson Squire proposes an amendment to the river and harbor bill to fund the Lake Washington Ship Canal.
Senator Squire today gave notice of the following amendments which he proposes to make to the river and harbor bill as passed by the house: for dredging Everett harbor, including the mouth of the Snohomish river, and the Snohomish river from its mouth to Lowell, $25,000; for dredging Shilshole bay and Salmon bay and improvement of the waterway connecting Puget Sound and Salmon bay with Lakes Union and Washington by enlarging said waterway into a ship canal with the necessary locks and appurtenances, $200,000.
“Enlarging said waterway into a ship canal with the necessary locks and appurtenances.”
This 1894 request for federal funding for the Lake Washington Ship Canal shows the early civic ambition to connect the lakes to the Sound. Today, the Ballard Locks remain a critical piece of infrastructure, still serving the functions envisioned by these early boosters.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.