HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 Issue 3 - A Landscape Transformed, The Flood of 1911.pdfFacing the Inferno,
traveling exhibit at
RHM.
Board Report by
Colleen Lenahan,
President.
Collections Report
by Sarah Samson,
Curator.
Museum Report
by Elizabeth P.
Stewart, Director.
Beginning in the mid-1960s the Renton Library asked numerous
seniors to recall their memories of early Renton. Many shared vivid
memories of the Flood of 1911 in which downtown Renton was
inundated with Cedar River floodwaters when the earthen dam
that provided Seattle with its drinking water failed. 1911 was not
the first flood in Renton, but it was the one that began the process
of changing the Cedar River forever, part of the many gargantuan
efforts humans have made to shape our region to our will.
SETTING THE STAGE
Jack Hayes in 1966: [The] Cedar River controlled the town
in the winter. In other words, all transportation depended on
the moods of the river. When old Renton was abandoned,
sixty dwelling houses and one hotel were left. These were all
swept away during one flood. Fortunately, nobody at the time
occupied any of them.1
Also In This Issue...
RENTON HISTORICALSOCIETY & MUSEUM
Summer
June 2021
Volume 52
Number 3
Continued on page 5
2 4 103
A LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMED:
The Flood of 1911
Edited by Elizabeth P. Stewart
QUARTERLY
2 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
From
JUNE
4
to
JULY
30
CRITICAL NORTH
GALLERY RENOVATION
In April we said goodbye
to Sustaining A City, a
long-term exhibit about
historic Renton foodways.
Once the artifacts were
safely removed, the large
front doors from Henry
Ford Elementary School
were rotated and moved
to a new location in the
room. This new floor plan
allows the north gallery
to become a hybrid of
programming/classroom/
meeting space along
with exhibit space on
the outer walls. This is
a long-planned change
DOWNTOWN STREET
WORK CONTINUES
The City of Renton’s
Downtown Utility
Improvement Project
has reached Mill Ave.
S., blocking our front
door and parking lot
and reducing Mill Ave.
to one lane on some
days. The City is adding
new stormwater pipes,
sanitary sewer pipes, and
water lines to facilitate
future development.
But we know it can be
inconvenient, so if you
are having difficulty
accessing the Museum,
please park in the Main
and we are excited to
have a flexible space that
better serves our public.
Thanks to 4Culture,
City of Renton Facilities
Division, and GiveBIG
2021 donors for making
this possible!
Ave S. lot behind our
building and give us a
call—we are glad to open
the back door for you. In
the meantime, we are so
excited to see Renton’s
infrastructure improved
for the future.
T he effects of wildfires, which are becoming more far-reaching due to global
warming, are drastic. Smoke from wildfires has national impact. And the fire
season now extends nearly year-round. In 2015, 10.1 million acres burned
in the U.S. Locally, increased wildfire activity means summer skies change from
azure blue to hazy brown. The goal of this project is to help propel an even broader
understanding and public conversation of this volatile dynamic. This stunning exhibit
features over 50 photographs taken by Kari Greer, a photographer for the National
Interagency Fire Center based in Boise, Idaho.
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2021 | 3
MUSEUM REPORT
QUARTERLY
Summer 2021
Elizabeth P. Stewart
Director
Our feature this quarter comes out of research we did
relating to Renton’s fires and floods for our new
exhibit, Facing the Inferno: The Wildfire Photography
of Kari Greer. Facing the Inferno is a dramatic collection of
firefighting images from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana,
and New Mexico that brings home the devastating effects of
wildfire on our forests, wildlife, and, of course, human life. The
exhibit was organized by the Prichard Gallery of the University
of Idaho. It is our first climate change exhibit, something we
have been wanting to host for a while.
One of the things the Renton History Museum
excels at is providing local historical context for issues
of the day. Whether climate change or infrastructure is
in the news, we strive to provide you the Renton-specific
background to help you understand how global or national
issues impact you and your friends and family; then you
can make your own decisions. So, while Renton has not had
wildfires to fear since the early 1900s, we have regularly
coped with floods. And now we are seeing the atmospheric
effects of wildfires in California, eastern Washington, and
British Columbia almost every summer.
“A Landscape Transformed” uses the words
of Renton residents to explore how people living in the
Cedar River Watershed coped with natural disasters. The
catastrophic Flood of 1911 was caused by the failure of a City
of Seattle timber crib dam at Cedar Lake, causing the rain-
swollen Cedar River waters to crash into Renton. The flood
provided the impetus for Renton city leaders to finally move
forward with their plans to straighten and deepen the Cedar
River channel. It also pushed the Seattle Water Department to
build a stronger masonry dam that would be less likely to fail.
But there is a connection between water, trees,
and fire, as humans are slowly learning. In order to build
a bigger dam, Seattle allowed landowners around the
watershed to log off their coveted timber before the city
took over the land. The slash left over from a haphazardly
managed forest tended to ignite in the hot summer and fall
months. “After 1920, big fires occurred with frightening
regularity,” writes environmental historian Matthew Klingle,
“sometimes as many as nine in one season” (Klingle, 110).
Rentonites in the 1920s regularly read newspaper stories
about families fleeing wildfire and some, like teacher
Florence Guitteau, even experienced it for themselves.
The lessons of the past are instructive, when we
take the time to learn them.
by Elizabeth P. Stewart,
Museum Director
RENTON HISTORICAL
QUARTERLY
Sarah Samson
Graphic Design & Layout
Karl Hurst
City of Renton Print &
Mail Services
RENTON HISTORICAL
SOCIETY BOARD
OF TRUSTEES
Colleen Lenahansen, President
Laura Clawson, Vice President
Staci VanderPol, Secretary
Jessica Kelly, Treasurer
Lynne King, 2022
Rhea Kimble, 2022
Mike Lennox, 2022
Amy Elizabeth Gorton, 2023
Maryann DiPasquale, 2024
Daryl Delaurenti, 2024
Elizabeth Stewart, Board Liaison
MUSEUM STAFF
Elizabeth P. Stewart
Museum Director
Sarah Samson
Curator of Collections &
Exhibitions
Stephanie Snyder
Volunteer & Member Liaison
RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
235 MILL AVENUE S
RENTON, WA 98057
P (425) 255-2330
F (425) 255-1570
HOURS:
Wednesday - Friday
10:00am - 4:00pm
ADMISSION:
$5 (Adult)
$2 (Child)
Emergency dike created by
Dr. Dixon's house in an effort
to stop the spread of the flood
waters, 1911. (RHM# 41.0630)
Want to learn more? Read
Matthew Klingle, Emerald
City: An Environmental
History of Seattle (2007) and
David B. Williams, Too High
& Too Steep: Reshaping
Seattle’s Topography (2015).
Visit the Cedar River
Watershed Education Center
in North Bend.
Headline in the Seattle Star, 4
July 1922, p.1.
4 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
SUPPORT
PROVIDED BY:
PRESIDENT’S
MESSAGE
With the widespread rollout of the COVID-19
vaccine and the loosening of the CDC guidelines,
we are headed into the summer with the future
looking brighter than it has in a long time. While settling
into a new normal will take some time, things are heading
in the right direction. We are grateful to all of you for your
continued support to help us weather the storm.
The Board’s committees have begun meeting to
start our work for the coming years. The board has several
committees: Executive, Finance, Board Development,
Outreach, Fundraising & Events, and three Ad Hoc
Committees. The Executive and Finance Committees are
responsible for managing the ongoing business of the Board,
and each of the other committees has outlined priorities for
the coming years:
• The Board Development Committee will be working
on adding more structure to the Museum’s committees
and revamping the Board Member onboarding and
offboarding processes.
• The Outreach Committee will lay foundational
groundwork for connecting more with our community
digitally and in person.
• The Fundraising & Events Committee will lead annual
efforts to bring revenue into the Museum and will continue
to explore new and different fundraising strategies.
• The Ad Hoc Online Committee will investigate solutions
to increase the Museum’s presence online.
• The Ad Hoc HR Committee will finalize a formal Human
Resources policy for the Museum’s staff.
• The Ad Hoc Collections Storage Committee develop a
strategy for increasing the Museum’s storage capacity.
We look forward to jumping headfirst into carrying
out these goals. Throughout all our work, we will embed
a practice of diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion
(DEAI). In June, the Renton Historical Society Board will
take a City of Renton DEAI training with Benita Horn, the
City’s Diversity Consultant, and Preeti Shridhar, Director of
Communications. All board and commission members in the
City of Renton will be taking this training.
We are looking into the options for holding our
Annual Members Meeting, which we usually host in June. We
have missed the opportunity to come together with all of you
to talk about Renton’s past present, and future.
by Colleen Lenahan, President
Colleen Lenahan
President
Spring means flowers and
roadwork!
RHS acknowledges we RHS acknowledges we
are on the unceded are on the unceded
traditional land of traditional land of
the Duwamish people. the Duwamish people.
A people forced to A people forced to
relocate, but who have relocate, but who have
persevered.persevered.
The Museum views
the history of Renton
to include since time
immemorial to today
and is committed to
exploring that through
its partnerships,
exhibits and programs.
Thank you to everyone who
donated to the Museum’s
GiveBIG fundraiser on
Facebook in early May.
Thanks to your generosity,
we were able to exceed our
goal of $2,000 and raise
$2,350 for exhibits and
programs. We are so proud
to be part of this community!
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2021 | 5
A branch of the river during the winter time took off where
See’s Lumber Yard is today and ran through where the city
hall now stands [200 Mill Ave S], meandered through the land
occupied by Peoples Bank and Penney's Store and thence on
the Black River where it emptied. I have caught salmon right
where Penney’s store now stands.2 A rough foot bridge made
with two logs crossed this stream at Peoples Bank.
Jack Hayes arrived in Renton 1883, early enough that he
remembered "old Renton," a mining settlement on the river at
the site of today’s Renton Community Center complex. Their
nearest neighbors were Duwamish Native Americans. Hayes
recalled the many branches of the Cedar at flood stage: at
today’s Renton Library (See’s Lumber Yard) and Peoples Bank
and JCPenney’s (at Third and Burnett today).
Florence Guitteau in 1966: Early in the 1900’s Seattle[‘s]
famous engineer, R. H. Thomson, was busy [providing] the
growing city with an adequate water supply. The source
was to be Cedar River near Cedar Falls. The Cedar River
Watershed was declared a reserve. Work, including a dam
at Cedar Falls, went on for years…. The dam was not a
major project like Coulee dam…. It was hoped it would
serve, and it would have but for a very rainy September and
October [1911]. There was no let-up in November, however,
Continued from page 1 Cover photo:
Flooded downtown Renton,
taken from Renton Hill, 1911.
Dr. Charles Dixon hung this
photo in his office for many
years. (RHM #1967.005.0640)
A LANDSCAPE TRANSFORMED
Two boys walk along the
flooded 2nd St., 1911. The
newly built Renton High
School is in the background.
(RHM #41.9785)
Below:
Emma, Lucy, and Florence
Guitteau, 1926. (RHM#
1997.080.12809)
6 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
and it became apparent that the superstructure would need
strengthening. There was constant vigilance and measures
were taken to prevent its giving away.3
In fact, Seattle’s earthen and timber dam—constructed at
Landsburg in 1904—turned out to be the aggravating factor
that caused Renton’s Flood of 1911. When the dam gave way,
water from the reservoir behind it came crashing into the
already swollen lower Cedar River. Incidentally, the pipeline
bringing drinking water to Seattle also broke, leaving the city
without clean drinking water for a week.
Tom Harries in 1937: Several people were stationed on
the brow of the hill above the clay pit of the Renton Brick
Company with field glasses, who in turn would signal to
the watchers on the roof of the railroad depot at the first
appearance of the mighty flood that was expected to fill
Cedar River Valley from bank to bank.4
ALL THAT NIGHT
Dail Butler Laughery in 1973: The rains had been especially
heavy that fall and on the day when my Aunt Zella Butler
Garriott had spent the day with us, she tried to get to her
home in south Renton, and there were some men stationed
at each end of the wooden bridge over Cedar river and they
were not going to let her pass, saying that there was a danger
of the Cedar river dam going out, but she told them that
her husband Harve Garriott, who was a barber[,] and her
children, Harold, Mildred, Aileen and Jack were on the South
side and that she was determined to get across. So they let
her pass. When she got home, she called Grandma and told
her that the Cedar river dam was about to go out.5
Florence: All night long people living along Black River, and
in the area back of present High School and close to Cedar
River, were evacuated. Rowboats were used. People who
lived in North Renton were told to go to Kennydale way and
towards Issaquah instead of across Cedar River. People in
Renton proper were not allowed to cross to North Renton.
I was visiting Kathryn F. Bassen…. Katie’s folks had
the Gladstone Hotel, a rooming house, then. When we got
there, Mr. Bassen was sitting up waiting for us to tell us to
obey the siren when we heard it. He told us so much heat
would be generated by the rubbing of logs, rocks, brush,
[and] debris of all kinds brought down by the river when the
dam broke that there would be a river on fire.
Dail: The siren started to blow with its loud screech and wail,
that turned our blood to water and shivers ran up and down
our backs, when the first word of the dam breaking hit
Renton, and it was about to blow as long as there was any
danger of the flood that followed. It blew weirdly, loudly and
mournfully for three days and nights.
Folks made for the hills with just what they could
carry and most of our neighbors were camped with us in the
big open gravel pit on the east side of the valley...making
quite a crowd of us standing around in the driving, dripping,
cold rain, trying to keep warm around a huge bonfire.6
The Flood of 1911 seriously damaged the County bridge at
Bronson Way, but left others intact. (RHM #2000.054.5374)
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2021 | 7
Florence: The siren blew. We dressed as fast as we could; I
kept looking out the windows. People were everywhere, all
headed towards Renton Hill.
I saw a man I knew carrying a red checked tablecloth
by the corners. It was full of something. He also had a
birdcage without an occupant. I saw a woman carrying
some live chickens. Kate and I threw a few articles, such
as a comb, tooth brush, several hard scrubby apples, into a
small suitcase. We went downstairs. Breakfast was out of our
thoughts. We joined the hill-bound company. On our way
we saw a little girl carrying the family strong box. I took it
from her. All day long I carried it. Because her parents were
friends of mine, I hunted for them. Before night I located
them and handed over the box.
[The] Cedar River, as it flowed through Renton, was
very high, muddy, full of drift and angry. It ate away at its
banks throughout the entire length and when it passed Mr. J. D.
Farrell’s ranch, now Maplewood [Golf Course], it spread out.
Where the Stoneway Sand and Gravel Company’s
plant is now, it was as wide as the hill back of Denny-Renton
Brick and Clay Plant and the rocky hill on the opposite
side would let it. When it reached the Columbia and Puget
Sound bridge near the water tank it worked away at its
approaches…. The wooden bridge where Bronson Way now
is went out, but the one at Williams Street stood, and so did
the Northern Pacific bridge just beyond Williams Street.7
Zella Butler Garriott’s experience underlined the way in which
the Cedar River at flood stage could cut the city in half by
threatening the bridges, separating families, and sending fleeing
residents to opposite hills. Unbeknownst to Florence Guitteau,
her mother and sisters made it from their home in North Renton
to a Kennydale ferry and then across Lake Washington to
Earlington, while she and her friend Kate headed from Kate’s
family home in South Renton up Renton Hill.
Florence: On our way towards the hill we saw and greeted
many people we knew. Some of them had destinations in
mind; we had none. We did not know where Kate’s folks had
gone. We stopped at the Presbyterian Church on Mill Street.
It was full of people.
Tom : The doors [of the Presbyterian Church] were flung wide
open by Rev. Edmondson where the first news of the flood
was received and a crowd of folks from the lowland stayed
in the church all that terrible night.
WAITING OUT THE STORM
Dail: It was a constant job to keep the fires going with all of the
men working gathering wood and the women were busy
trying to shield their children and somehow finding food for
them to eat. A big pot of hot coffee was setting on the edge of
the fire for the grownups.
Finally on the third day Grandma and Grandpa
[Butler] loaded us all in the wagon again and drove us
further on the hill, next to the Beil home, and we stayed a
night or two with the family of Dahl’s….8 We stayed there
Continued on page 10
The flood also washed
away roadbeds in places,
like this one at Mill Ave.
and Bronson Way. (RHM#
1986.073.2213)
8 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
R esearch requests continued to
flow in while the museum was
closed last year and earlier this
year. Some research requests are very
easy to answer while others take some
untangling. One question we spent some
time on recently was placing the historic
Bagley Mansion on the modern-day map.
Built in 1880 by wealthy Seattle
doctor Herman B. Bagley, the mansion
was a massive, opulent, white home that
dominated the lower Earlington hill west
of Renton. Bagley died in 1901 but his wife Kittie continued
living in the mansion with her second husband until it became
the Earlington Golf and Country Club. The club organized in
1907; Kittie lived on the property until 1923. The mansion
was used as the clubhouse at least as early as 1910.
After much detective work, we discovered that
the Bagley Mansion once stood where the Crestview
Apartments are today. The 1913 map pictured here shows
the layout of the grounds. The road listed as “County Road”
is SW Langston Rd; “2nd Street” is Stevens Ave SW. The
1913 map also shows a “bungalows sites” space north
of the mansion. Today there are only two original homes
still standing in that area, both built in 1908. The famous
“Bagley Maple” tree would have been where SW Sunset
Blvd is today. (The maple is shown just west of the tennis
courts on the 1913 map.)
COLLECTIONS
REPORT
by Sarah Samson, Curator of
Collections & Exhibitions
Sarah Samson
Curator
The former Bagley Mansion as the Earlington Golf & Country Club
clubhouse, 1917. (RHM# 2001.014.5504)
Map of the Earlington Golf and Country Club from the 1913 club
yearbook. Note that the top of this map is not north! (RHM#
2020.021.001)
Aerial image from Google Maps rotated to match the map above. The
bend of trees at the bottom of this map is where the Black River used
to flow past the country club.
MEMORIAL DONATIONS
February 11, 2021 - May 14, 2021
Pearl Lindberg Burrows
Shelley Lindberg
Ross and Sue Burrows
Richard Illian
Bill Anardi & Darlene
Bjornstad
Ellie Simpson
Basil Simpson
MEMORIAL
DONATIONS OF
$100 OR MORE
Anita "Babe" Gaidos-Oliphant
Ken Picini
Elizabeth Adams-Duke Picini
Ken Picini
DONATIONS OF
$1000 OR MORE
John Andrew
Ila Hemm
DONATIONS OF
$100 OR MORE
Anonymous (through
Renton Regional
Community Foundation)
Nancy Berry
Colleen Cole-Bowron
Laura Clawson
Theresa Clymer
Daryl Delaurenti
Kathy Dirks
Maryann DiPasquale
Roberta Graver
Lynne King
Melinda Lawrence
Colleen Lenahan
Jerry Lenahan
Judith Leu
Gayle Y. Lewis
Kim Tennican
DONATIONS
Robin Adams
Joy Allison
Debra Bailey Trail
Shayla Baird
Karin Blaine
Jim & Fran Bourasa
Mary Lou Burdulis
Don Burrows
Geri Bush
Earlene Davis Lamb
Daryl Delaurenti
Gloria Delaurenti
Kate Dugdale
Marilyn Edlund
Scott & Gaye Faull-
McClellan
Amy Gorton
Don & Judy Gunderson
Tina Hoggatt
Sandy Hirai Ishihara
Nolan Lenahan
Tom & Linda Morris
Elizabeth Mitcham
Becky Nickels
Marsha Nissen
David Pickett
Yvonne Redding-White
Judith Richards-Ford
Howard Snyder
Elizabeth P. Stewart
Patrick & Linda Texeira
Steven Thomas
IN-KIND
DONATIONS
McCorkle & Associates
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2021 | 9
NEW MEMBERS
Daryl Delaurenti
Mike Hayes
BENEFACTOR
MEMBERS
Don and Carmel Camerini
Stanley Fitzpatrick
Yvonne Redding-White
PATRON
MEMBERS
Rolland & Deloris Dewing
Ken Steiner
Basil Simpson
THE 103rd
BIRTHDAY OF
LOUISE GEORGE
Charles L. Isaacson
IN HONOR OF THE
CLASS OF '58
Michael Dire
IN HONOR OF
LYNNE & MIKE
KING
Elizabeth P. Stewart
CORRECTION
On page 6 of the March 2021 newsletter under “The Evacuation” we
mistakenly wrote west when we meant east. The correct phrase should
read: “extending east to the Kittitas County line."
We were able to donate eight exhibit cases and vitrines from the
deinstallation of Sustaining a City to our friends at the White
River Valley Museum. Our goal is to have as much flexible exhibit
insfrastructre as possible so that we create less waste when we change
exhibits. When reusing something isn't possible, it's wonderful to send
it to another museum instead of to the dump!
The museum's effort for the "Show Moms Some Love!" day of the
Chalk Your Walk organized by City of Renton Recretation Dept.
10 | RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
two or three nights, and I still remember the glory of the
sunrise and sunsets from high up on the mountain when the
rain finally quit.
Most of the residents of North and South Renton were stranded
for 4 – 7 days before they ventured down the hills to check on
their homes, farms, and businesses.
ASSESSING THE DAMAGE
Florence: The bridge had been badly damaged but it had not
gone down the river. Men were making some makeshift
repairs. The water was very high, but the volume had gone
down a little. The railroad bridge was all right so we crossed
it and walked the track to what is now Bronson Way—it was
only a poor road then, not a street at all.
When we reached our house we stood on the front
walk debating whether to go in the front door and track mud
through the house or go round to the back door. I decided to
go round and stepped off the walk. It was a sad mistake. The
ground looked all right, but it was not. I went down knee deep.
The soil was like gravy…. Everything was all right inside. It
was cold and damp, but the fires would take care of that.
Dail: The siren was still blowing and we kids thought that we
would all be drowned, but do you know, there wasn’t any
river in front of our home and the old Cedar river had
stopped in Grandpa’s 8’ basement. How well I remember
looking down into the churning river in the basement and
seeing everything that was loose, floating next to the ceiling.
What a frightening experience that was, and what a mess it
was to clean up when the waters finally receded.
Florence: My sister [Lucy] said she had taken the street
car—the Galloping Goose—from Bryn Mawr to a spot where
Second Avenue meets Rainier Avenue. Then she had walked
towards the bridge that spanned Black River. She saw
nothing but water from there on any way she looked.
However, the board fence that confined Smithers’
pasture was standing. Testing, she found it solid. So she
inched her way along on the second and lower board while
hanging on to the upper board…. She went back the same
way to Bryn Mawr to get Mother…. When I judged my sister
and Mother would be at the end of the track, I did what Lucy
had done. We put Mother between us. She was shaky, but
determined to get home.
When we reached the railroad bridge, we borrowed
a lantern from a section hand. Lucy dropped it minutes
afterwards, breaking the glass. She left it beside the track.
When we started across the bridge, stepping from tie to tie,
Mother balked. She refused to cross. It was scary. The fast
flowing water was black and oily. There was not light enough
to see the ties. She went into a panic.
I do not know to this day how I managed to do what I
did. I gave Lucy what I was carrying, picked my Mother up,
and carried her over. She was heavier than I was and a dead
weight. I could not see over her to gauge the width of the spaces
between ties. I stepped, hoping to put my feet in the right places.
In 1910 the state chartered Waterway District #2 in Renton—
Waterway District #1 regulated the Duwamish River—but
property-owners’ demands and lawsuits held up city officials'
grand plans to protect the city from annual flooding and
develop the Lake Washington waterfront. The Flood of 1911
was transformative in getting Renton residents to move forward
together. In 1912 City leaders set about dredging the Cedar
and rechanneling it away from the Black directly into Lake
Washington. In 1916 the Montlake Cut further tamed Renton’s
rivers by lowering the lake by nine feet, thus drying up the
Black River completely.9
Jack: To men like Joe Wood, Paul Houser, Doc Dixon and
others who I cannot think of right now, goes the credit for
sponsoring the digging of a new channel whereby Cedar River
flowed directly into Lake Washington instead of into Black
River. This helped to lower the crest of the river at flood times.
This condition is hard to believe, but it must be
remembered that Lake Washington was nine feet higher than it
is today. It remained higher until the canal and locks were built
many years from the time I am writing about. When the Lake
was lowered, Renton had no more to fear from the floods it
had experienced in the previous years.
END NOTES
1 Jack Hayes, "I Came Here in 1880," typescript, ca. 1966 (vertical file:
Family–Hayes, Jack; Renton History Museum). In a 1934 letter, Lee
Monohon remembered that the floods of 1906 and 1908 “were so very
destructive that the people of South Park, Georgetown and Renton joined
in an effort to do something to control the floods.” The result was the
law establishing state Waterway Districts. Monohon was the first chair
of Waterway District #2. Lee Monohon letter to U.S. Engineer’s Office,
Seattle, 1934 (vertical file: Rivers–Cedar River; Renton History Museum).
2 See’s Lumber Yard was located on the site of the parking lot of the 200 Mill
Building at Mill Ave. S and Houser Way. Peoples Bank was situated on the
northeast corner of S. Second St. and Wells Ave. S. The JCPenney building
was located at 700 S. Third St., the northeast corner of S. Third St. and
Burnett Ave. S.
3 Florence Guitteau, "The Flood," typescript, ca. 1966 (vertical file:
Disasters–1911 Flood; Renton History Museum).
4 Tom Harries, “The High Water of 1911,” Renton News Record, 5 Sep 1937.
5 Dail Butler Laughery excerpts are from Laughery, “Renton’s Early Days,”
Renton Historical Society Newsletter (Aug 1973), p.4.
6 The gravel pit may have been the old Stoneway gravel pit off NE Third St.
east of Mount Olivet Cemetery. During WWII the pit was used to test
Sherman tanks. Laughery lists the neighbors who camped with them:
“There were Mr. and Mrs. Peter Dullahant, with their children, Clarence
and Eleanor, the Fa[u]ll family with their children, Tommy and Viola. The
Rowe’s & Bill and Jane & Chester & Roy, the Stewarts, the Blackmans with
their daughter Margaret, the Richards, and the Davis family with Claude and
LaVina [sic], the Fullers and the Bennetts.”
7 Actually, the NPRR bridge would have crossed at Burnett.
8 Probably Edwin and Florence Dahl, who operated a poultry farm in
Kennydale from about 1907 to 1942.
9 “Renton Will Celebrate,” Renton Herald, 30 May 1912, p.1; Lee Monohon
letter to U.S. Engineer’s Office, Seattle, 1934. Want to learn more?
See David B. Williams, Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s
Topography (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2017); Matthew
Klingle, Emerald City: An Environmental History of Seattle (New Haven &
London: Yale University Press, 2007).
Continued from page 7
North Renton looking west toward the Highlands, 1911. (RHM#
1966.047.0635)
SUMMER QUARTERLY, 2021 | 11
MEMBERSHIP FORM
Please select a membership level:
Individual $30
Student/Senior $20
Family $40
Benefactor $75
Patron $150
Business/Corporate $175
Life membership $750
Basic memberships Sustaining memberships
Name:
Address:
Phone:
Payment information
Visa or MC #:
Exp. date:
Signature:
Please make checks payable to Renton Historical Society.
Please consider making a tax-deductible donation!
Your donations help us provide new exhibits and
exciting programs.
Donation: $
ME
M
B
E
R
S
H
I
P
L
E
V
E
L
S
Ba
s
i
c
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
s
Ty
p
e
An
n
u
a
l
C
o
s
t
Be
n
e
f
i
t
s
In
d
i
v
i
d
u
a
l
$3
0
•
F
r
e
e
a
d
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
t
o
t
h
e
M
u
s
e
u
m
•
F
r
e
e
q
u
a
r
t
e
r
l
y
n
e
w
s
l
e
t
t
e
r
s
•
F
r
e
e
a
d
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
t
o
t
h
e
C
u
l
t
u
r
a
l
E
v
e
n
t
s
&
S
p
e
a
k
e
r
P
r
o
g
r
a
m
s
•
I
n
v
i
t
a
t
i
o
n
s
t
o
e
x
h
i
b
i
t
o
p
e
n
i
n
g
s
a
n
d
t
h
e
a
n
n
u
a
l
m
e
e
t
i
n
g
•
1
5
%
d
i
s
c
o
u
n
t
a
t
t
h
e
M
u
s
e
u
m
s
h
o
p
St
u
d
e
n
t
/
S
e
n
i
o
r
$2
0
Al
l
t
h
e
b
e
n
e
f
i
t
s
o
f
a
n
i
n
d
i
v
i
d
u
a
l
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
St
u
d
e
n
t
s
:
a
n
y
o
n
e
w
i
t
h
a
s
t
u
d
e
n
t
I
D
S
e
n
i
o
r
s
:
a
g
e
6
2
+
Fa
m
i
l
y
$4
0
Al
l
t
h
e
b
e
n
e
f
i
t
s
o
f
a
n
i
n
d
i
v
i
d
u
a
l
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
p
l
u
s
:
•
F
r
e
e
a
d
m
i
s
s
i
o
n
f
o
r
t
w
o
a
d
u
l
t
s
&
c
h
i
l
d
r
e
n
Su
s
t
a
i
n
i
n
g
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
s
Be
n
e
f
a
c
t
o
r
$7
5
Al
l
t
h
e
b
e
n
e
f
i
t
s
o
f
a
n
i
n
d
i
v
i
d
u
a
l
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
p
l
u
s
:
•
2
f
r
e
e
v
i
s
i
t
o
r
p
a
s
s
e
s
•
R
H
M
p
i
n
•
R
e
c
o
g
n
i
t
i
o
n
i
n
t
h
e
q
u
a
r
t
e
r
l
y
n
e
w
s
l
e
t
t
e
r
Pa
t
r
o
n
$1
5
0
Al
l
t
h
e
b
e
n
e
f
i
t
s
o
f
a
n
i
n
d
i
v
i
d
u
a
l
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
p
l
u
s
:
•
5
f
r
e
e
v
i
s
i
t
o
r
p
a
s
s
e
s
•
R
H
M
p
i
n
•
1
f
r
e
e
d
i
g
i
t
a
l
i
m
a
g
e
*
(
a
n
n
u
a
l
l
y
)
•
I
n
v
i
t
a
t
i
o
n
t
o
a
“
B
e
h
i
n
d
t
h
e
S
c
e
n
e
s
”
e
v
e
n
t
•
R
e
c
o
g
n
i
t
i
o
n
i
n
t
h
e
q
u
a
r
t
e
r
l
y
n
e
w
s
l
e
t
t
e
r
•
T
h
a
n
k
y
o
u
c
a
r
d
Bu
s
i
n
e
s
s
/
C
o
r
p
o
r
a
t
e
$
1
7
5
Al
l
t
h
e
b
e
n
e
f
i
t
s
o
f
a
n
i
n
d
i
v
i
d
u
a
l
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
,
t
h
e
b
e
n
e
f
i
t
s
o
f
a
Pa
t
r
o
n
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
,
p
l
u
s
:
•
O
n
e
t
i
m
e
2
0
%
d
i
s
c
o
u
n
t
o
n
r
o
o
m
r
e
n
t
a
l
Li
f
e
$7
5
0
Al
l
t
h
e
b
e
n
e
f
i
t
s
o
f
a
n
i
n
d
i
v
i
d
u
a
l
m
e
m
b
e
r
s
h
i
p
p
l
u
s
:
•
5
f
r
e
e
v
i
s
i
t
o
r
p
a
s
s
e
s
•
R
H
M
p
i
n
•
5
f
r
e
e
d
i
g
i
t
a
l
i
m
a
g
e
s
*
(
l
i
f
e
t
i
m
e
)
•
I
n
v
i
t
a
t
i
o
n
t
o
a
“
B
e
h
i
n
d
t
h
e
S
c
e
n
e
s
”
e
v
e
n
t
•
O
n
e
t
i
m
e
2
0
%
d
i
s
c
o
u
n
t
o
n
r
o
o
m
r
e
n
t
a
l
•
R
e
c
o
g
n
i
t
i
o
n
i
n
t
h
e
q
u
a
r
t
e
r
l
y
n
e
w
s
l
e
t
t
e
r
•
T
h
a
n
k
y
o
u
c
a
r
d
*C
o
v
e
r
s
t
h
e
$
1
5
u
s
e
f
e
e
p
e
r
i
m
a
g
e
.
I
t
d
o
e
s
n
o
t
c
o
v
e
r
t
h
e
r
i
g
h
t
s
f
e
e
w
h
i
c
h
i
s
c
h
a
r
g
e
d
s
e
p
a
r
a
t
e
l
y
.
Renton History Museum
235 Mill Avenue South
Renton, WA 98057
Phone: 425.255.2330
Fax: 425.255.1570
rentonhistory.org
CVV code:
Total: $
W hen You Can’t Go Home: Portraits of Refugees in the Pacific Northwest is the life
work of Karisa Keasey, local artist, author, and advocate. With the help of World
Relief, a globally celebrated refugee resettlement organization, Keasey spent hours
with each refugee featured in this exhibit and helps viewers feel as if they have too. She has a
passion for enabling some of the most marginalized people in the world to be seen and heard.
When You Can’t Go Home couples inspiring stories with the hard-hitting facts surrounding the
current global refugee crisis.
COMING SOON!
Exhibit
opens
AUGUST
12
WHEN YOU CAN’T
GO HOME
Portraits of Refugees in
the Pacific Northwest
by artist
Karisa Keasey
RENTON HISTORY MUSEUM
235 Mill Ave. S
Renton, WA 98057
The straightening and dredging of the Cedar
River in 1912 did not put an end to flooding,
as this 1990 view of Renton Municipal Airport
shows. (RHM #2001.046.5552)
IN HINDSIGHT...