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Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.

This Week Then

5/4/2023

News Then, History Now

Getting Around

On May 5, 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition headed home from the future state of Washington after spending their winter here in the Northwest. And on May 6, 1896, a different cross-country trek got its start when Helga Estby and her daughter Clara began walking from Spokane County to New York City in hopes of raising money to save their farm from foreclosure following the Panic of 1893.

Deep Underground

Roslyn was founded in 1886 after surveyors from the Northern Pacific Railroad found rich seams of coal nearby. But mining the coal came with a price. On May 10, 1892, in the worst coal-mine disaster in Washington history, 45 men lost their lives in an explosion and fire at the Roslyn mine.

Stately and Sound

A pair of Washington's long-standing buildings celebrate birthdays this week. On May 9, 1893, the New Whatcom City Hall opened in Bellingham, and is now home to the Whatcom Museum of History and Art. Seattle's King Street Station opened on May 10, 1906, and is currently served by Amtrak trains and Sounder commuter rail.

Today in
Washington History

New On HistoryLink

Image of the Week

On May 4, 1974, President Richard Nixon presided at the opening ceremonies for Expo '74, Spokane's World's Fair. By the time the fair ended, Nixon had resigned.

Quote of the Week

"Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world."

–Herman Melville

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Montlake Cut (Seattle)
Lake Washington Ship Canal (Seattle)
SS Roosevelt leads a marine parade through the Ballard Locks to dedicate the Lake Washington Ship Canal on July 4, 1917.
Seattle residents celebrate Independence Day on July 4, 1854, and adopt names for Lake Union and Lake Washington.
South Lake Union: The Evolution of a Dream
Harvey Pike starts to dig a canal connecting Seattle's Union and Portage bays in the 1860s.
Denny, David Thomas (1832-1903)
Burke, Judge Thomas (1849-1925)
Seattle Neighborhoods: Beacon Hill -- Thumbnail History
Chittenden, Hiram Martin (1858-1917)
Seattle Neighborhoods: Ballard -- Thumbnail History
Lake Washington Ship Canal construction starts on October 27, 1909.
Dam bursts on Lake Union, temporarily lowering the lake by nearly nine feet, on March 13, 1914.
Due to construction of Lake Washington Ship Canal, Lake Washington is lowered 9 feet beginning on August 28, 1916, and the Black River disappears.
Builders of Classic Boats, Lake Union (Seattle)
Jury rejects damage claim against King County for lowering of water levels caused by the Lake Washington Ship Canal in verdict announced on April 4, 1924.
Clipper ship St. Paul opens as museum at Ballard Locks in Seattle on June 16, 1934.
Ballard Locks gardens named in honor of botanist Carl S. English Jr. on December 10, 1974.
English Jr., Carl S. (1904-1976)
James Scarborough occupies Chinook Point on the Columbia River on December 1, 1843.
Captain Robert Gray becomes the first non-Indian navigator to enter the Columbia River, which he later names, on May 11, 1792.
San Juan Island Pig War -- Part 1
Marmes Rockshelter
Initial phase of building Lower Monumental Dam on the Snake River is completed on February 21, 1969.
The Panama Hotel opens in Seattle's Japantown in the summer of 1910.
Georgetown Steam Plant (Seattle)
Paradise Inn on Mount Rainier opens on July 1, 1917.
Mount Rainier National Park
Hanford Reach National Monument
Hudson's Bay Company builds Fort Nisqually in spring 1833.
Triangle of Fire - The Harbor Defenses of Puget Sound (1897-1953)
Port Gamble -- Thumbnail History
Port Townsend -- Thumbnail History
Bonneville Dam officially goes into service on June 6, 1938.
Pioneer Building, The (Seattle)
Luxurious Sanitary Toilet Convenience opens beneath Seattle's Pioneer Place on September 23, 1909.
Stolen totem pole unveiled in Seattle's Pioneer Square on October 18, 1899.
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
Virginia V -- Last of Puget Sound's Mosquito Fleet Steamers
Lightships on Washington's Outer Coast
Fireboat Duwamish is launched on July 3, 1909.
Lewis and Clark in Washington
Homeward bound, the Lewis and Clark Expedition leaves future state of Washington on May 5, 1806.
In first election by Americans in the West, the Corps of Discovery votes to winter on the south side of the Columbia River on November 24, 1805.
Estby, Helga (1860-1942)
Helga and Clara Estby begin walking from Mica Creek, Spokane County, to New York City on May 6, 1896.
Panic of 1893 and Its Aftermath
Roslyn -- Thumbnail History
Worst coal-mine disaster in Washington history kills 45 miners at Roslyn on May 10, 1892.
New Whatcom City Hall opens on May 9, 1893.
King Street Station (Seattle)
Seattle's King Street Station opens on May 10, 1906.
Sound Transit inaugurates Sounder commuter rail service between Tacoma and Seattle on September 18, 2000.
Seattle Holy Rollers Killings: The Spectacular End to an Oregon Love Cult
Wappenstein, Charles W. (1853-1931)
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicates Ice Harbor Dam on May 9, 1962.
Century 21 Exposition -- Forward Into the Past! -- A Tour
Astronaut John Glenn visits the Seattle World's Fair on May 10, 1962.
Kelso -- Thumbnail History
Kelso residents vote to incorporate on May 10, 1890.
Everett -- Thumbnail History
Everett incorporates on May 4, 1893.
Chelan, City of -- Thumbnail History
Chelan
Everson -- Thumbnail History
Everson incorporates on May 4, 1929.
Mukilteo -- Thumbnail History
Mukilteo incorporates on May 8, 1947.
President Richard M. Nixon presides over the opening of Expo '74, Spokane's World's Fair, on May 4, 1974.
Expo '74: Spokane World's Fair