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25,000-10,000 years ago: The Fraser glaciation occurs and upon receding, the Elwha watershed is created. Until late 1800's: The Klallam and other tribes inhabit a great deal of the northern Olympic coast and the mouth of the Elwha River, fishing, hunting, clamming and harvesting the lands. Late 1800's: Port Angeles begins to grow as European-American homesteaders arrive and settle the peninsula. 1910: With financial backing of the Olympic Power Company created by Thomas Aldwell and investors, construction of Elwha Dam begins. 1912: First gravity dam blows as the reservoir fills. Thomas Aldwell receives more funding to rebuild dam. 1913: Elwha Dam becomes operational. Despite an 1890 state law requiring "fish passage wherever food fish are wont to ascend," the dam operates without providing for fish passage. 1915: When Washington State Fish Commissioner Leslie Darwin offers to waive the fish passage requirement, Aldwell constructs a hatchery adjoining the Elwha Dam. It was abandoned by the state in 1922. 1927: Glines Canyon Dam becomes operational. No method of fish passage is provided. 1935: U.S. Representative Monrad C. Wallgren sponsors a bill for the establishment of a national park on the Olympic Peninsula. 1937: President Franklin D. Roosevelt's visit to the area in the fall seals the effort for those pushing for establishment of Olympic National Park. 1938: Congress passes Rep. Wallgren's bill, and with the President's signature, 634,000 acres is designated as Olympic National Park on June 29, 1938. |
Last updated: February 28, 2015