The Skykomish River at Park Place c1912

Click on the above image for a larger view (141k).

Until flooding in the 1930s moved the main channel, the Skykomish River ran further to the north at both the east and west ends of Monroe. On the east side the river crossed what is now Buck Island and then turned south around Monroe. Woods Creek now runs in the river's old channel there. But after passing under the Lewis Street Bridge, the river pushed slightly to the north again before heading west to Park Place where it turned sharply south around Reformatory Hill. This photo taken about 1912 looks due north up the river's old channel at Park Place, which is clearly visible where the river turns east upriver. In the distance is the two-story brick Park Place School built in 1911. The cleared land to the left is on the grounds of the Reformatory, which was then under construction up the hill from the river.

--Monroe Historical Society photo #wsr542 detail.