Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Seattle City Light Skagit Hydroelectric Project Records, 1908-1975
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Seattle City Light
- Title
- Seattle City Light Skagit Hydroelectric Project Records
- Dates
- 1908-1975 (inclusive)1908-19751908-1975
1921-1957 (bulk)19211957 - Quantity
- 2.0 cubic feet, (5 boxes)
- Collection Number
- 1206-12
- Summary
- Records of Seattle City Light's hydroelectric projects on the Skagit River
- Repository
-
Seattle Municipal Archives
Seattle Municipal Archives
Office of the City Clerk
City of Seattle
PO Box 94728
98124-4728
Seattle, WA
Telephone: 2062337807
Fax: 2063869025
archives@seattle.gov - Access Restrictions
-
Records are open to the public.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for processing this record series was provided through a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
City Light provides electricity and electrical and conservation services to its public and private customers. It is the largest public utility in the Pacific Northwest. Public responsibility for electrical energy dates to 1890 with creation of the Department of Lighting and Water Works. In 1902, Seattle voters passed a bond issue to develop hydroelectric power on the Cedar River under the administration of the Water Department. Electricity from this development began to serve Seattle in 1905. A City Charter amendment in 1910 created the Lighting Department. Under the leadership of Superintendent James D. Ross, the department developed the Skagit River hydroelectric project which began supplying power in 1924. Both public and private power was supplied to Seattle until 1951 when the City purchased the private electrical power supply operations, making the Lighting Department the sole supplier. The Boundary Project in northeastern Washington began operations in 1967 and supplied over half of City Light's power generation. By the early 21st century, approximately ten percent of City Light's income came from the sale of surplus energy to customers in the Northwest and Southwest with the remainder of City Light's financial support coming from customer revenue. The current name of the agency was adopted in 1978 when the Department was reorganized.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
Correspondence, reports, test data, hydrographic data, project applications, photographs , maps and related material concerning planning and construction of dams and hydroelectric generating plants on the Skagit River. Projects include Diablo, Gorge and Ross dams.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
[Item and date], Seattle City Light Skagit Hydroelectric Project Records , Record Series 1206-12. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
1206-12: Skagit Hydroelectric Project Records, 1908-1975Return to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box/Folder | ||
1/1 | Bothell Substation - Ross -
Bothell Transmission Line (Includes Photographs |
1951-1953 |
1/2 | Cascade River and Copper
Creek Application |
1949 |
1/3 | Cost of Delay of Ross Units
42, 43 and 44 |
1952-1957 |
1/4 | Diablo - Hydraulic
Calculations, Water Storage, Power Produced |
undated |
1/5 | Diablo Power
Plant |
1931-1960 |
1/6 | Diablo Plant - Hydroelectric
Generation |
1941 |
1/7 | Diablo Reservoir |
1929-1959 |
1/8 | Diablo - South Substation (
Includes Aerial Photographs) |
1937-1965 |
1/9 | Diamond Drilling |
1935-1961 |
1/10 | Diamond Drilling - Maps and
Diagrams |
undated |
1/11 | Diamond Drilling - Blueprint
Maps |
1933-1936 |
2/1 | Gorge Dam and
Tunnel |
1925-1961 |
2/2 | Gorge Dam - General
Information |
1921-1960 |
2/3 | Gorge High Dam Study and
Miscellany |
1953-1962 |
2/4 | Gorge Hydroelectric
Generation |
1918-1937 |
2/5 | Gorge - North
Substation |
1935-1939 |
2/6 | Gorge Power Plant |
1921-1961 |
2/7 | Gorge Plant
Expansion |
1947-1955 |
2/8 | Gorge Plant Shut-Down for
Tunnel Work Study |
1947-1949 |
2/9 | Gorge Reservoir |
1960-1962 |
2/10 | Gorge Switching Station
Specification |
1950 |
2/11 | Gorge Units
Performance |
1951-1954 |
2/12 | Loss of Power Caused by Delay
of Ross Units 44, 43 and 42 |
1952-1956 |
2/13 | Recreation,
Garden |
1965-1967 |
2/14 | Ross Basin
Clearing |
1936-1950 |
2/15 | Ross Basin
Clearing |
1951-1953 |
2/16 | Ross Basin Clearing
Photographs and Negatives |
undated |
2/17 | Ross Dam Additions - Addition
Height, Tunnels, Penstocks |
1943 |
3/1 | Ross Dam
Construction |
1933-1942 |
3/2 | Ross Dam
Construction |
1944-1960 |
3/3 | Ross Dam Construction
Photographs |
undated |
3/4 | Ross Dam Economic
Studies |
1931-1943 |
3/5 | Ross Dam Financing and
Costs |
1933-1946 |
3/6 | Ross Dam, First Step -
Construction |
1939 |
3/7 | Ross Dam General
Dimensions |
1936-1940 |
3/8 | Ross Dam General
Information |
1933-1960 |
3/9 | Ross Dam - Mr Pettits (Facts
and Statistics) |
undated |
3/10 | Ross Dam Priorities
Data |
1942-1944 |
3/11 | Ross Dam Spillway, Discharge
Curves |
1952-1953 |
3/12 | Ross Dam Valves -
Worksheets |
1950 |
3/13 | Ross - Discharge From Gibson
Tests |
1954 |
3/14 | Ross Generators - Maximum
Loan Tests |
1956-1957 |
4/1 | Ross Generators - Maximum
Loan Tests |
1956-1975 |
4/2 | Ross Power Plant Efficiency
Tests |
1954-1957 |
4/3 | Ross Power Plant Unit 41
Turbine and Butterfly Valve Acceptance Tests |
1957 |
4/4 | Ross Powerhouse |
1946-1950 |
4/5 | Ross Reservoir (Ruby
Basin) |
1936-1955 |
4/6 | Ruby Basin Roads and
Trails |
1932-1946 |
4/7 | Ruby Dam
Correspondence |
1935-1941 |
4/8 | Ruby Dam Design - Lars
Jorgensen Correspondence and Claim |
1935-1937 |
4/9 | Skagit - Agreement,
Washington Department of Fisheries |
1946 |
4/10 | Skagit Basin Timer (US Forest
Service Settlements, Canadian Timber) |
1926-1951 |
4/11 | Skagit Basin Timber
Photographs |
undated |
4/12 | Skagit Boats |
1948-1952 |
4/13 | Skagit Clippings |
1957-1968 |
4/14 | Skagit Data, Maps |
1921-1956 |
4/15 | Skagit Maps |
undated |
5/1 | Skagit
Development |
1927-1928 |
5/2 | Skagit Drainage Area Rain
Fall and Run-Off |
1934-1945 |
5/3 | Skagit Gardens |
1939 |
5/4 | Skagit History |
1917-1935 |
5/5 | Skagit Hydraulics -
Inflow |
1942 |
5/6 | Skagit Hydro - Contracts,
Agreements, FPC Form No. 45 Schedule 23 |
undated |
5/7 | Skagit Power Development,
Diablo Dam - Proposals, Specifications |
1927 |
5/8 | Skagit Power Pool, Water
Storage and Other Interconnection Problems |
1943 |
5/9 | Skagit Railroad
Extension |
1919-1927 |
5/10 | Skagit River
Hydrography |
1950 |
5/11 | Skagit River Power and Flood
Control Project - Application to Administrator of Public Works |
1933 |
5/12 | Skagit River Power
Development Early Proposals, Great Northern Railway (Copies) |
1908-1913 |
5/13 | Skagit River Power
Development - Information For Preliminary Report including Load And Flow
Data |
1942-1943 |
5/14 | Skagit River Project -
Application to Administrator of Public Works, Exhibits, Estimates |
1933 |
5/15 | Skagit River Project
Correspondence |
1918-1919 |
5/16 | Skagit River Project For
Power and Flood Control, Plan (includes Photographs) |
1933 |
5/17 | Skagit River Project
Summary |
undated |
5/18 | Skagit Transmission Lines D-1
and D-2 |
1939 |
5/19 | Transmission
Right-Of-Way |
1931-1944 |
5/20 | Turbine Flowmeters at Ross,
Diablo, Gorge |
1957-1959 |
5/21 | Photographs |
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Diablo Dam (Wash.)
- Gorge Dam (Wash.)
- Hydroelectric power plants--Washington
- Reservoirs--Washington
- Ross Dam (Wash.)
- Skagit River Hydroelectric Project
- Water-power--Washington
Corporate Names
- Seattle City Light
Geographical Names
- Seattle (Wash.)
- Skagit River (B.C. and Wash.)
Form or Genre Terms
- Negatives
- Photographic prints