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)
1921-1957 (bulk)
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

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

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