Historic and Scenic Corridors Project
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Historic and Scenic Corridors Project Final Report Front cover image: West side road along Snoqualmie Valley near Vincent (now West Snoqualmie Valley Road), looking north, n.d. Courtesy of King County Archives Back cover image: West Snoqualmie Valley Road near Vincent, looking north, 2009. Photo by Ned Ahrens, King County Historic and Scenic Corridors Project Final Report Prepared for King County in collaboration with 4Culture For more information, please call King County Road Services Division at 206-296-6590 or visit our Web site at www.kingcounty.gov/roads printed on recycled paper Acknowledgements Department of Transportation Harold S. Taniguchi, Director Road Services Division Linda Dougherty, Division Director Jennifer Lindwall, Capital Improvement Program and Planning Section Manager Jay Osborne, Acting Capital Improvement Program and Planning Section Manager This project is a collaboration between the King County Road Services Divison, King County Historic Preservation Program and 4Culture. Funding is provided by a grant from the Federal Transportation Enhancement Program. Project Team Margo Christianson, Road Services Division Ruth Harvey, Road Services Division Julie Koler, Historic Preservation Program Flo Lentz, 4Culture Brandi Link, 4Culture Fennelle Miller, FDM Consultants Tom Minichillo, Road Services Division Charlie Sundberg, Historic Preservation Program Katelyn Wright, University of Washington Intern Thank you to ENTRIX for contributions to Chapter IV. Photos by Brandi Link unless otherwise noted. Alternative Formats Available 206-296-7380 TTY Relay: 711 Contents Introduction ....................................................................................1 Chapter I. Project Methodology ........................................................5 Chapter II. Synopsis of Road History .............................................11 Chapter III. Inventory of King County Heritage Corridors ..............19 Cedarhurst Road/Westside Highway Dockton Road Green Valley Road Issaquah-Fall City Road Old Cascade Scenic Highway Osceola Loop West Snoqualmie River Road West Snoqualmie Valley Road/Carnation Farm Road Old Sunset Highway Chapter IV. Corridor Management Considerations ..........................95 Appendix A. Index of Surveyed King County Roads ......................107 Appendix B. King County Roads: History of Overland Transportation ....................................................................113 Chapter I. Footpaths and Early Pack Trails (1790-1851) Chapter II. Wagon, Military and Mine-to-market Roads (1852-1873) Chapter III. Farm-to-market Roads (1874-1899) Chapter IV. Good Roads for the Automobile (1900-1929) Chapter V. Modern Highways (1930-1960) Endnotes Appendix C. Bibliography .............................................................163 Published sources Government documents Other sources Maps Background people from more urban parts of the county. Introduction Public road building in King County dates Local, county-maintained roads are also back more than 150 years to 1854, when important links to regional and community the Territorial Legislature fi rst authorized history. There is an untapped opportunity county commissioners to collect a tax for the to provide the public with interpretive construction of wagon roads and bridges. material that helps explain that history. Many of the oldest roads in King County are Unspoiled scenic vistas, intriguing heritage now unrecognizable as such, due to multiple sites, and roadways reminiscent of an earlier road improvement projects and decades of era together make the public’s travel surrounding growth and urban development. experience along these corridors particularly But other roads, primarily in areas that remain memorable. rural, still retain tangible scenic qualities and the fl avor of an earlier time. Recognizing these values, Road Services began searching several years ago for an King County is a large (2,130 square miles) objective approach to identifying and and populous (1.8 million) county with preserving such roads. Three major highways diverse environmental settings, from marine that pass through King County (I-90, U.S. 2 islands in the west to the crest of the Cascade and U.S. 410) have been offi cially designated Mountains in the east. It contains the City of as National Scenic Byways and one, State Seattle, 38 other incorporated cities, and 1,740 Route 202 (SR 202), as a State Scenic square miles of mostly rural unincorporated Byway, but county roads are rarely eligible area including extensive forest and farmland. for these honorary designations. In fact, the The King County Department of Transporta- vast majority of “scenic byway” programs tion Road Services Division (Road Services) in the United States are state or national in today maintains a network of approximately focus. There are few models or tools available 1,800 miles of roads and 200 bridges in to counties or cities wanting to preserve and unincorporated areas. Some of the most enhance local historic road corridors. evocative historic and scenic corridors in the county are among them. The King County Historic and Scenic Corridors Project was launched in 2007 by These picturesque routes add much to the Road Services to meet this specifi c need. The quality of life of residents who live along process resulted in a new approach to them, and of those who travel them on a identifying, evaluating, and protecting roads regular basis. Often, they provide satisfying of exceptional character at the local level. day trips and weekend outings for tourists and The result is this report and the King County King County Historic and Scenic Corridors Project Final Report, December 2009 Introduction | 1 Heritage Corridors Program, a non-regulatory, • Raise awareness and pride among people honorifi c, and educational framework for living along heritage corridors, and celebrating these distinctive linear treasures. encourage participation in stewardship of the corridors Project goals • Promote wider enjoyment and appreciation The goals of this project were to: of heritage corridors among the public, • Compile the history of King County through follow-up development of roads as a basis for understanding the educational tools such as a Web site, evolution of the system corridor maps, travel guides, interpretive • Rationally identify, study, and select signage, and other corridor history King County roads in unincorporated activities areas still possessing the highest level • Support the development of heritage of scenic and heritage qualities tourism in rural King County • Thoroughly document the roadway features, Funding historic sites, views and vistas that give Funding for this project was provided by a those corridors distinctive character 2006 Federal Transportation Enhancement • Establish a mechanism within King Program grant, administered by the Wash- County for formal recognition of these ington State Department of Transportation. corridors, involving no new regulatory The funding request was specifically impacts on property owners targeted toward research and documentation of the county’s road system, survey and • Provide the information needed to help inventory of potential historic and the county and other public agencies scenic roads, and the prioritization for their in the region avoid or mitigate impacts preservation, enhancement, and promotion to local historic roads during road as heritage tourism routes. improvement and maintenance or other public works projects Partnerships and roles • Provide information that will help to This project has been an on-going collabora- expedite the cultural resources screening tion among three agencies–the King County process for transportation projects and Road Services Division, the King County the identifi cation of potential impacts Historic Preservation Program and 4Culture, under federal, state, and local regulations, the county’s cultural services agency. and therefore save time and money as well as improve the predictability of Road Services provided administration, policy transportation project permitting direction, public outreach and overall project Introduction | 2 Final Report, December 2009 King County Historic and Scenic Corridors Project management. Mapping and graphic design services for public presentations and the project Website were also performed by the division. The Historic Preservation Program participated in team meetings throughout the process, and provided feedback on survey, report fi ndings and recommendations. Preservation 4Culture staff served as the project consultants. Their responsibilities included development of project methodology, conduct of contextual research and fi eld surveys, and preparation of the fi nal report. ENTRIX, Inc., an environmental and natural resources fi rm, contributed recommendations specifi c to management considerations found in Chapter 4 of this report. King County Historic and Scenic Corridors Project Final Report, December 2009 Introduction | 3 This page left intentionally blank Introduction | 4 Final Report, December 2009 King County Historic and Scenic Corridors Project hile established cultural resource Phase one: Chapter I. methodologies offered some Planning and preparation Project Methodology Wuseful techniques, they did not In addition to assembling personnel and meet the overall goals of the Historic and developing a detailed scope of work and Scenic Corridors Project. Existing approaches budget, the fi rst several months of the project to survey/inventory, cultural landscape