Browsed by
Tag: Moses Lake

1950 highway map
Check out 1950 Washington highway map

Check out 1950 Washington highway map

Most Washingtonians probably can’t even remember life before Interstate 5, I-90 and I-405 were built in our state. But a 1950 state highway map found on our Legacy Washington webpage shows the routes drivers traveled before the arrival of our interstate freeways. You can make some interesting observations by closely examining the map, which was published by the Washington State Highway Commission: The main north-south highway in Western Washington was U.S. 99, which connected Bellingham, Everett, Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and…

Read More Read More

Digital Archives map from 1909 shows Washington highways and proposed highways.
From the Digital Archives: 1909 Washington highway map

From the Digital Archives: 1909 Washington highway map

Nowadays, when we look at a highway map of Washington, we see a complex web of gold, red and black lines crisscrossing the state. But it wasn’t always this way. In the early 1900s, highways were a rarity in the Evergreen State. Probably because cars and trucks were rarities as well, considering that the automobile had just been invented. This 1909 map displays Washington’s located and proposed highways, railroads (the dominant form of transportation then) and county seats. The map…

Read More Read More

A Rainmaker Meets His Match in Ephrata

A Rainmaker Meets His Match in Ephrata

Hatfield and towers in Hemet, California, 1912 From the desk of Steve Willis, Central Library Services Program Manager of the Washington State Library: The reel grabbed at random this week contained The Big Bend Empire, the first newspaper established in Waterville, Washington. The issue for May 13, 1920 included this intriguing article:  EPHRATA TO TRY OUT RAINMAKER  “The people around the Grant county seat want rain, and in fact they are willing to try any old scheme to get it, even…

Read More Read More