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Seattle City Light Skagit Management Records, 1949-1997

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Seattle City Light
Title
Seattle City Light Skagit Management Records
Dates
1949-1997 (inclusive)
1966-1995 (bulk)
Quantity
2.8 cubic feet, (7 boxes)
Collection Number
1209-01
Summary
Records concerning the management of Seattle City Light facilities 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.
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Historical Note

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.

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Content Description

Records of Director of Electrical Generation and the Director/ Superintendent of Operations at the Skagit River hydroelectric projects, including correspondence, reports, photographs and maps . Records concern the management of City Light facilities on the Skagit, including Skagit powerhouses, logging, and services for City Light employees and community at Diablo and Newhalem, including housing, water supply, schools, ambulance, fire fighting and swimming pool. Also included are files concerning the North Cascades National Park.

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Use of the Collection

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Seattle City Light Skagit Management Records, Record Series 1209-01. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

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

Finding aid prepared by Janet Ness
2010

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

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