Salmon Bay Entry Before and After Ballard Locks Dredging

Here's two glimpses of images showing Seattle's Salmon Bay's entry into Shilshole Bay before the Chittenden (or Ballard) Locks dredging and the current view.  

The Shilshole people called the mouth of Shilshole 'sHulsHOOLOOTSeed'

Originally the channel had a few sandbars stretching across and was wade-able at low tide.  Shilshole means 'like shoving a thread through a bead.'  

Before dredging, a large sandbar existed (seen here) on top right on the Ballard side just south of Ray's Boat house, called 'Hanging on the Shoulder' or KeehLalabud.'  The sandbar was known for good clamming. Photo: MOHAI. 

Dredging for the Locks occurred around 1915 ish.  

Photo by Wilse

The March 2022 photo below shows my surf ski parked on the Ballard side below Seaview Ave.  The tide is a touch higher than the older photo but in either case dredged sandbar would've been visible.  

As 'settlers' arrived and built logging mills upstream in downtown Ballard, boats could only enter or exit at high tide.  

The image above shows tall masted ships moored in Shilshole Bay probably waiting for the tide and their turn to enter the narrow mouth.  

Here's an 1890's view from Magnolia looking North towards the Salmon Bay 

entry into Shilshole Bay

Here's a 'Washington Territory' pre-Locks chart of the same area showing sand bars and undeveloped shoreline of Salmon and Shilshole Bays. 

Sources and Resources:

The above native terms were taken from Coll Thrush's 'Native Seattle' book by UW Press.  

Read also Paul Dorpat's post on this spot Here

And David William's book 'Waterway' on the history of Seattle's Ship Canal.

Seattle's West Point Lighthouse - 1940 and 2021

I came across this 1940 photo in one of the Magnolia Historical Society's books 'Magnolia Memories'.  

What's significant about it is that it's before the sanitation facility was installed in the 1960's. 

History Link states "This low sand spit, made by the opposing currents on the sound, was known to the Duwamish Indians by "Per-co-dus-chule," or "Pka-dzEltcua," which translates "thrusts far out." It was known to early mariners as Sandy Point."  If you have flash, this is a great history of West Point link.

The shoreline is untouched on the south and north sides and the point aside from the 1881 era lighthouse depicts the other low points with a salt marsh seen elsewhere around the Sound such as Marrowstone Point. 

Lighthouse Friends points out that Seattle's raw sewage poured out onto the seemingly pristine beaches making for quite a stink. 

The young man in the photo probably didn't know what was coming his way with WW2 starting in the US later the next year.   

As a paddle surfer, I like the boat wakes in the lower left image probably by the boat that just passed the point upper right.  These days we surf small and freighter size surf along West Point.  

The now image isn't as exciting. Bluff erosion and heavy foliage kept me from being more to the left as the before image depicts.  I shot the image in January for better visibility through the trees.  

There's a path with a wooden railing leading to the view from the main road.  

Google Earth cropped view from (5/26/2018).  North -->

Posted by Rob Casey, 1/21