Harsh terrain made the development of Seattle City Light's three dams on the Skagit River very difficult. Once they got permission to proceed on the Gorge Creek Diversion Dam in 1918, workers had to build access roads through the mountainous wilderness and railway lines to haul supplies and workers to and from the construction site.

This photo, taken around 1921, shows part of the construction site at the Skagit River Gorge Creek Diversion Dam project. To the left are the tracks of an inclined railway which used a system of balanced weights to carry workers and materials partway to the dam site. Construction on the Gorge Dam began in 1919, and its first generator started turning five years later, in 1924.

Webster & Stevens number: 86385