From the desk of Evan Robb

Today marks the 100 year anniversary of the “Great Flood” which devastated the town of Colfax in Whitman County, Washington.  Following three weeks of constant snow and rain throughout the Eastern Washington, the Palouse River, which runs through town, quickly overfilled its main channel and transformed into a raging torrent.

Photos of the Great Flood were recently contributed to the Washington Rural Heritage collection by former Colfax resident Patrick McDonald, who collected historic postcards of the event from various sources over the years.  These have been cataloged by the Whitman County Library as part of its Whitman County Heritage collection.  All of the 1910 flood photos can be seen here: http://www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/1910ColfaxFlood

An excerpt from the March 04, 1910 Colfax Gazette describes the scene:

Driftwood, timber and rubbish of all kinds was constantly coming down.  The danger point was reached, however, when the force of the water carried away all the bridges in the city… Next houses began to float downstream, some intact for a distance, others in rags and tatters, but all destined for the bone yard.  The mill, equipment, lumber and shingles of the J.R. Good & Co. mill floated down, followed by houses, barns, chicken coops and everything imaginable.

The rest of that article, which includes a description of the flood’s aftermath can be read here, a small part of the Washington State Library’s work on the National Digital Newspaper Project.

Whitman County Library is currently digitizing additional material for the Washington Rural Heritage initiative.  By this summer, the collection will surpass the 1,000-item mark, making it one of the initiative’s largest digital collections.  Currently, items in Whitman County Heritage are being viewed 4,000-5,000 times per month.