User:Generalissima/South Fork Snoqualmie River

== Human history ==

== Human history ==

[[File:SR-202 bridge over South Fork Snoqualmie looking south.jpg|alt=A bridge crossing over a river in a wooded mountainous area|thumb|[[Washington State Route 202]] crossing over the river in North Bend, as seen from the levee]]

[[File:SR-202 bridge over South Fork Snoqualmie looking south.jpg|alt=A bridge crossing over a river in a wooded mountainous area|thumb|[[Washington State Route 202]] crossing over the river in North Bend, as seen from the levee]]

The Snoqualmie village of {{Langx|lut|səxʷq̓ʷuʔq̓ʷuʔ|label=none}} (anglicized Sotsoks) was located on the western bank of the river near what is now North Bend. This village emerged as a center for [[Potlatch|potlatches]] and other ceremonies.{{Sfn|Hollenbeck|1987|p=172}}{{sfn|Hilbert|Miller|Zahir|2001|pp=182–185}} At the time of Euro-American contact, Snoqualmie Pass hosted one of the two main trails used to pass between the Cascades in the region, alongside a nearby pass between the Yakama and [[Cedar River (Washington)|Cedar River]] basins.{{Sfn|Hollenbeck|1987|p=214}}

The Snoqualmie village of {{Langx|lut|səxʷq̓ʷuʔq̓ʷuʔ|label=none}} (anglicized Sotsoks) was located on the western bank of the river near what is now North Bend. This village emerged as a center for [[Potlatch|potlatches]] and other ceremonies.{{Sfn|Hollenbeck|1987|p=172}}{{sfn|Hilbert|Miller|Zahir|2001|pp=182–185}} At the time of Euro-American contact, Snoqualmie Pass hosted one of the two main trails used to pass between the Cascades in the region, alongside the nearby Yakima Pass between the Yakama and [[Cedar River (Washington)|Cedar River]] basins.{{Sfn|Hollenbeck|1987|p=214}}

In 1856, during the [[Yakima War]], the United States Army built [[Fort Smalley]] along the lower South Fork Snoqualmie near North Bend. It was part of a series of fortifications the army constructed in the Snoqualmie Valley, fearing an alliance between the Yakima and the native nations west of the Cascades, such as the [[Duwamish people|Duwamish]] and [[Puyallup people|Puyallup]]. However, conflict in the area had mostly ceased by the time the forts were finished, and they were soon abandoned.{{Sfn|Hollenbeck|1987|p=214}}

American settlers arrived in the region during the 1840s and 1850s, by which point local native nations had had intermittent contact with explorers and [[Hudson's Bay Company]] fur traders for several decades.{{Sfn|Prater|1982|p=13}} Military officer and surveyor [[George B. McClellan]] described the pass along the South Fork Snoqualmie as a particularly difficult journey, noting that natives used it infrequently.{{Sfn|Prater|1982|p=18}} In 1856, during the [[Yakima War]], the United States Army built [[Fort Smalley]] along the lower South Fork Snoqualmie near North Bend. It was part of a series of fortifications the army constructed in the Snoqualmie Valley, fearing an alliance between the Yakima and the native nations west of the Cascades, such as the [[Duwamish people|Duwamish]] and [[Puyallup people|Puyallup]]. However, conflict in the area had mostly ceased by the time the forts were finished, and they were soon abandoned.{{Sfn|Hollenbeck|1987|p=214}} A homesteader named Jeremiah Borst became the first Euro-American settler in the valley around 1858, using the buildings of the abandoned Fort Smalley and the nearby Fort Alden as his base for farm and trading post.{{Sfn|Prater|1982|p=65}}

Snoqualmie Pass was transited by American settlers during the mid-19th century. The trail passed through the meandering floodplain of the South Fork, which frequently blocked it. One settler, William H. Taylor, recalled that travelers needed to cross the river 17 times to travel between Snoqualmie Pass and the future site of North Bend between the Middle and South Forks. In 1865, the Danish-American settler Matts Peterson became the first settler to live in this area, but later sold the site. Taylor moved into the old Patterson cabin in 1880, establishing a farm and trading post. Profiting off hop farming and anticipating railway expansion into the pass, Taylor [[Plat|platted]] the town of Snoqualmie in 1889, renaming it to North Bend several years later. The town was incorporated in 1909.{{Sfn|Kershner|2014}}

Snoqualmie Pass was transited by American settlers during the mid-19th century. The trail passed through the meandering floodplain of the South Fork, which frequently blocked it. One settler, William H. Taylor, recalled that travelers needed to cross the river 17 times to travel between Snoqualmie Pass and the future site of North Bend between the Middle and South Forks. In 1865, the Danish-American settler Matts Peterson became among the first to live in this area, but later sold the site. Taylor moved into the old Patterson cabin in 1880, establishing a farm and trading post. Profiting off hop farming and anticipating railway expansion into the pass, Taylor [[Plat|platted]] the town of Snoqualmie in 1889, renaming it to North Bend several years later. The town was incorporated in 1909.{{Sfn|Kershner|2014}} A toll bridge was constructed over the South Fork Snoqualmie by the late 1890s.{{Sfn|Prater|1982|p=82}}

The 1890s and 1900s saw the expansion of logging in the Snoqualmie Valley. In 1906, the North Bend Lumber Company constructed a logging mill on [[Boxley Creek]], a tributary of the South Fork Snoqualmie.{{Sfn|Herrera Environmental Consultants|2013|p=16}} Adjacent to the watershed, the [[Chester Morse Lake]] (draining into the Cedar River) was dammed in the mid-1910s, causing water levels to rise dramatically. Seepage into a glacial moraine allowed the lake and the Cedar watershed to indirectly feed the nearby [[Rattlesnake Lake]] and Boxley Creek, tributaries of the South Fork Snoqualmie. In December 1918, a heavy storm caused the lake to burst through the moraine and flood Boxley Creek (an event dubbed the [[Boxley Burst]]), destroying the logging community of Edgewick and causing hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and sediment to drain into the South Fork Snoqualmie.{{Sfn|Stein|2000}}{{Sfn|Herrera Environmental Consultants|2013|p=19}}

The 1890s and 1900s saw the expansion of logging in the Snoqualmie Valley. In 1906, the North Bend Lumber Company constructed a logging mill on [[Boxley Creek]], a tributary of the South Fork Snoqualmie.{{Sfn|Herrera Environmental Consultants|2013|p=16}} Adjacent to the watershed, the [[Chester Morse Lake]] (draining into the Cedar River) was dammed in the mid-1910s, causing water levels to rise dramatically. Seepage into a glacial moraine allowed the lake and the Cedar watershed to indirectly feed the nearby [[Rattlesnake Lake]] and Boxley Creek, tributaries of the South Fork Snoqualmie. In December 1918, a heavy storm caused the lake to burst through the moraine and flood Boxley Creek (an event dubbed the [[Boxley Burst]]), destroying the logging community of Edgewick and causing hundreds of thousands of gallons of water and sediment to drain into the South Fork Snoqualmie.{{Sfn|Stein|2000}}{{Sfn|Herrera Environmental Consultants|2013|p=19}}

Following an old wagon road through Snoqualmie Pass and the South Fork valley, the [[Sunset Highway (Washington)|Sunset Highway]] was constructed in 1915, allowing automobiles to pass through the Cascades. The road was paved by 1936, and the area became a popular rest stop for motorists crossing through the mountains. Logging activity greatly expanded in the region, boosted by the establishment of a [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] lumber camp in the South Fork valley east of North Bend in 1935.{{Sfn|Kershner|2014}}

A portion of the [[Milwaukee Road|Milwaukee Railroad]] and an accompanying postal [[telegraph]] was constructed through the Snoqualmie Pass in 1909, following the South Fork for part of its route.{{Sfn|Prater|1982|p=93}} Over the path of an old wagon road through Snoqualmie Pass and the South Fork valley, the [[Sunset Highway (Washington)|Sunset Highway]] was constructed in 1915, allowing automobiles to pass through the Cascades. The road was paved by 1936, and the area became a popular rest stop for motorists crossing through the mountains. Logging activity greatly expanded in the region, boosted by the establishment of a [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] lumber camp in the South Fork valley east of North Bend in 1935.{{Sfn|Kershner|2014}} The highway [[Interstate 90]] now follows the South Fork across {{Convert|24|mi|km}} of its course, from North Bend to Snoqualmie Pass.{{Sfn|Bethel|2004|p=54}}

=== Modern land use ===

The highway [[Interstate 90]] follows the South Fork across {{Convert|24|mi|km}} of its course, from North Bend to Snoqualmie Pass.{{Sfn|Bethel|2004|p=54}}

==References==

==References==