Snow is an important
part of Roslyn's history
Lying in the heart of snow country on the eastern slopes of the Cascades, Roslyn averages 81annual inches of snow compared to a US average of 25 inches. With most of Roslyn's residential section built on hills overlooking the business district, winter travel during its early years was on foot or horse-drawn sleigh. Those with cars stored them on blocks in the garage until snow-clogged streets cleared in spring. But there was really nowhere to go anyway. The road to Cle Elum was impassable in winter months until it was paved in the 1930s.
Snow removal has always been challenging on Roslyn's narrow residential roads. Snow plows mounded snow in front of homes which meant carving a pathway to the front door. Note the laundry freeze drying on the line strung on the front porch.
A young woman stands in front of a snowbank separating her and Pennsylvania Avenue in 1922. Note the Roslyn Shoe Store in the background.
In its early years, sledding was Roslyn's favorite snow activity. Three Roslyn youths immortalized winter fun in a local photography studio.
Roslyn's hills were a sledder's paradise in the years before motorized vehicles frequented winter streets. A skillful sledder who trekked to the top of Utah street on the northeast side of town could negotiate a nine-block ride clear across town.
An early photo shows horse-drawn delivery sleighs on 2nd street in Roslyn. Many Roslyn businesses offered home delivery until cars became more common after WWII.
A once-in-a-century snowstorm struck the Pacific Northwest in 1916, dumping five feet of snow in less than 72 hours. Crews dig out a horse stuck during snow removal.
The 1916 snowstorm turned Roslyn homes into igloos, collapsed roofs and awnings, and paralyzed the city.
Roslyn passengers stand outside a derailed car on Snoqualmie Pass. Until state crews began plowing Sunset Highway (the precursor to I-90) in the mid-1930s, train service was the only winter linkage to the Seattle area.
A rotary snowplow clears the northern Pacific branch line from Roslyn to Cle Elum. During winter months, the railroad was the only link between Cle Elum and Roslyn. Although the tracks were removed in the 1980s, hikers can walk the trail and snowshoers can follow the same path on the Coal Mines Trail.
A plowed Pennslyvania Avenue in 1936 looking much the same as it does today after a big snowstorm.
Roslyn's Chief of Police, Bob Ronald, watches a tractor create a mountain of snow on Roslyn's streets after a 1936 snowstorm.
The Northwest Improvement Company Store on the corner of Pennsylvania and First Street after a major storm. Note the unplowed streets and the man shoveling off the roof .
A 1936 view looks north on second street. The shorter building on the corner today houses the Roslyn Cafe on the corner and to the left, the site of the Roslyn Museum. At the far end of the street, the Roslyn High School built in 1909 and torn down in 1938.