Explosion Levels Snohomish Sawmill
A boiler failure leads to a total loss of property at the Day Brothers' operation, with recovery plans already in motion.
From a man who arrived from Snohomish yesterday, it was learned that Day Bros.' sawmill, at Day Station, near Snohomish, was destroyed by fire Friday, at noon. The boiler exploded and set fire to the mill, and it was soon destroyed. The mill had a capacity of about 20,000 feet of lumber daily, although they have been cutting about 15,000 feet. Not only was the mill destroyed, but also a quantity of lumber which was stored in the yard. The cause of the explosion is not known. It is thought that no one was injured. The insurance on the property was nominal. It is the intention of the Day Bros. to immediately rebuild the mill.
“The boiler exploded and set fire to the mill, and it was soon destroyed.”
Small-scale lumber milling was the backbone of regional growth in the 1880s, but industrial accidents like boiler explosions were common, dangerous risks. Today, Snohomish has transitioned from a timber-reliant economy to a historic tourist destination, though the legacy of these early mill-town industrial foundations remains embedded in the landscape.
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