South King County Rivers Tour

By Alan Stein and Chris Goodman
Posted 11/22/2001
HistoryLink.org Essay 7058

Welcome to the Rivers in Time tour of the South King County river system. Since the arrival of King County's first white settlers in 1851, the White, Green, Black and Duwamish rivers have undergone many changes. The natural flow of water was altered to halt flooding, and this in turn altered the course of development throughout the region. This guided tour offers historical snapshots of major communities, events, and structures along the river.

Click on any circled location for its story as you travel through this River in Time.

Black River after Lake Washington was lowered 8.8 feet, near Renton, 1916

Courtesy Renton Historical Society (Neg. No. 3866)

Meeker Street, downtown Kent, ca. 1949

Postcard

Main Street, Auburn, ca. 1925

Courtesy Clarence Bagley, History of King County

Muckleshoot girl wearing traditional skirt and cape of cedar bark, late 1800s

Courtesy Smithsonian Institution

Howard A. Hanson dam, 1990s

Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Harbor Island, Seattle, 1913

Courtesy MOHAI (1983.10.9745)

Early Seattle claim map, including the then-winding Duwamish River, 1850s

Filling the tideflats, Seattle, ca. 1908

Courtesy UW Special Collections

Aerial view of Southcenter Mall, 1970s

Flood in Kent Valley, 1930s

Green River Flood on Seattle-Tacoma Interurban, 1906

Courtesy Lawton Gowey

Mud Mountain Dam, September, 2001

Photo by Alan Stein

Mount Rainer mudflows

Courtesy U.S. Geological Survey

Harbor Island, Seattle, 1913

Courtesy MOHAI (1983.10.9745)

Early Seattle claim map, including the then-winding Duwamish River, 1850s

Georgetown City Hall, 1910

Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives (11931)

Black River after Lake Washington was lowered 8.8 feet, near Renton, 1916

Courtesy Renton Historical Society (Neg. No. 3866)

Aerial view of Southcenter Mall, 1970s

Meeker Street, downtown Kent, ca. 1949

Postcard

Flood in Kent Valley, 1930s

Main Street, Auburn, ca. 1925

Courtesy Clarence Bagley, History of King County

Green River Flood on Seattle-Tacoma Interurban, 1906

Courtesy Lawton Gowey

Muckleshoot girl wearing traditional skirt and cape of cedar bark, late 1800s

Courtesy Smithsonian Institution

Mud Mountain Dam, September, 2001

Photo by Alan Stein

Howard A. Hanson dam, 1990s

Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Filling the tideflats, Seattle, ca. 1908

Courtesy UW Special Collections

Mount Rainer mudflows

Courtesy U.S. Geological Survey

Green River Gorge, 1930s

Postcard

Bird's-eye view of Seattle waterfront, 1890s

Postcard

Bird's-eye view of Seattle waterfront, 1890s

Postcard

Green River, Kent, 2001

Photo by Alan Stein

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