The Gateway to the East: Why Snoqualmie Pass Won the Race
Decades before the modern highway, historical surveys and trade routes proved Snoqualmie Pass was the vital artery for Seattle’s expansion across the Cascades.
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 Northern Pacific Railroad surveys have demonstrated that the Snoqualmie Pass has a lower elevation than any other through the Cascade Mountains. According to the Tacoma Ledger, the height of the Cispus Pass is 5900 feet above sea level; the Tieton Pass is 4000 feet; the White Pass is 4400 feet; the Cowlitz is 4550 feet; the Carleton or Packwood Pass is 4200 feet; the Naches is 6000 feet, reduced by tunnel to 3700 feet; the Sheets Pass is 3300 feet; and the Snoqualmie is 3010, reduced by tunnel to 2760 feet. The superiority of the Snoqualmie was long known to citizens generally of the Territory, and acknowledged by cattle drovers, packers, miners and travelers between the eastern and western sections. During the past fifteen years, there has probably been ten times the trade and travel over the Snoqualmie that there has been over all other passes combined. In the Snoqualmie route and pass, King County has the way and the gate to the immense and magnificent country east of the Cascade Mountains, and in their possession enjoys an advantage over other portions of the Sound country.
“In the Snoqualmie route and pass, King county has the way and the gate to the immense and magnificent country east of the Cascade Mountains.”
This 1880 report highlights a pivotal moment in Seattle’s infrastructure, positioning Snoqualmie Pass as the geographic key to economic dominance. Today, the pass remains the primary, and often congested, transit artery for the region, reflecting how Seattle’s reliance on this specific corridor for trans-Cascade movement has only intensified since the railroad era.
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