Aug 3, 1916 The Informal Opening of the Locks

Orcas in foreground, Swimomish in background.

For those of you who weren't here 100 years ago, here's some pictures of the informal opening of the Chittenden locks, then called the Government Locks, which was marked by the Swinomish and the Orcas, making the journey from Salmon Bay, through the large lock, out into Puget Sound and immediately back again. A crowd of over 1,000 attended the event and here follows a description written by Susan Connole of the event.

"August 3 is an important centennial anniversary in the history of the Chittenden locks, on that day in 1916 an informal celebration took place to commemorate the start of commercial operations.
Crowds gathered at 10 a.m. that morning to watch two government vessels make a ceremonial passage through the locks. The work boat "Swinomish" and the survey launch "Orcas" entered from the east, were lowered to Puget Sound, turned around under the Great Northern railroad bridge and returned upstream to Salmon Bay. On the "Swinomish" were Lt. Col. J.B. Cavanaugh, Army engineer who had supervised locks construction, Judge Roger S. Greene, who had fought for a canal for years, and Judge Thomas Burke, Chamber of Commerce president. Also on board were H.C. Gill, mayor of Seattle, A.W. Sargent, assistant engineer to Cavanaugh, and representatives of the Chamber, the Commercial Club, Seattle Port Commission, and other civic dignitaries. On board the "Orcas" were the wives and families of the engineers who worked on the canal project.

During that first month of operation 1,558 vessels went through the locks in 1,134 lockages. Most of the traffic was wood products- logs, lumber, shingles, etc.- but tugs, fishing boats, and sand and gravel barges, were part of the traffic. Three sailboats went through the locks that month."

Swimomish in Lock, Engineer A.W Sargeant, and Col. J.B.Cavanaugh (standing).

 Seattle Times Aug 3, 1916 

Seattle Times Aug 3,1916

 All photos are courtesy of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers except where noted.

100 YEARS AGO

Article researched and written by Susan Connole

First water entering lock chamber

Lock chamber being filled.

February 2, 1916…

January 31, 1916 started out like any other cold, damp winter day in the city. Then mid-morning it started to snow, it kept coming down all day and on into the night. The storm continued steadily for 2 days: schools were closed, streetcar service was shut down and a snow slide closed the Northern Pacific Railroad’s Stampede Tunnel, halting train service across the Cascades.

By early afternoon on February 2 the wet snow was so deep it collapsed the roof of the West Seattle Christian Church, and several hours later the dome of St. James Cathedral crashed down under the weight of the heavy snow. The storm left Seattle with 3 feet of snow on the ground.

But over at the government locks in Ballard the workers were focused on something else. The cement work of the large lock was completed and the miter gates installed, it was time to open the valves and admit water into the chamber for the very first time. In this photo taken just after noon on February 2, you can see the water coming from the filling tunnels at the floor of the lock, notice the staff on the upstream gate watching as the water pushes into the snow.

There must have been a sense of jubilation and pride that after decades of politics and planning- and 5 years of construction- it worked! Perhaps this group photo was a celebratory one, Chief Engineer Major J. B. Cavanaugh and his staff on the steps of the administration building on that momentous day (Cavanaugh is third from right in hat and glasses.) The Engineering Department workboat Orcas did a trial lockage the next day and the lock was then in operation. The small lock went into operation July 25 and an informal opening celebration was held August 3, 1916, the official dedication was held on July 4, 1917.

Sources: HistoryLink.org, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers