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Seattle Water Department Superintendent's Correspondence, 1891-1995

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle (Wash.) Water Dept.
Title
Seattle Water Department Superintendent's Correspondence
Dates
1891-1995 (inclusive)
Quantity
9.8 cubic feet, (11 boxes)
Collection Number
8200-02
Summary
Records documenting the administration, activities and projects of the Seattle Water Department.
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.
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Historical Note

A public waterworks was created by City Charter amendment in 1875. However, Seattle was served primarily by small private water companies for the next decade-and-a-half. Following the Great Fire of 1889, citizens voted to fund creation of a municipally owned water system. The City purchased the private systems and began development of the Cedar River Watershed, and since 1891, has owned and operated a municipal water system. The system was administered by the Superintendent of Water under the auspices of the Board of Public Works. In 1905 the Department of Lighting and Water Works was created. Five years later, the Water Department became a separate entity. Most of the water used by the Seattle Water Department came from the Cedar River Watershed property, which also provided income for the department through the selling of logging rights. Several timber companies including Weyerhaeuser Company, Scott Paper Company and Pacific States Lumber Company, all had contracts with the Water Department. In the 1950s, Seattle voters chose to add fluoride to the city's water supply and charged the Water Department with the task of fluoridating. The election was a close one, however, and debate over the policy lasted into the '70s. In 1997 the Water Department was consolidated with the utilities of the Engineering Department to form Seattle Public Utilities.

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Content Description

Correspondence of the Superintendent of Water concerning all aspects of SWD activities. The bulk of the correspondence is in 54 letterpress volumes of outgoing letters spanning the years 1891-1958. Unbound correspondence is comprised of letters exchanged with other City departments, 1907-1957, and correspondence with other water districts, municipalities and government agencies, ca 1955-1995. Also included is correspondence with and about the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe regarding treaty right issues.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Seattle Water Department Superintendent's Correspondence , Record Series 8200-02. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Letter press volumes arranged chronologically, loose correspondence arranged alphabetically.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Cedar River Watershed (King County, Wash.)
  • Municipal water supply--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Water quality--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Water utilities--Washington (State)--Seattle

Corporate Names

  • Everett (Wash.) Water Dept.
  • Seattle (Wash.). Dept. of Lighting and Water Works
  • Muckleshoot Indian Tribe of the Muckleshoot Reservation, Washington
  • Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle
  • Seattle (Wash.) Water Dept.
  • Tacoma (Wash.). Dept. of Public Utilities

Geographical Names

  • Seattle (Wash.)

Finding aid prepared by Janet Ness
2011

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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