Craig Goodwin, who writes a popular blog called Black Diamond Now, has famously said that picture post-cards were the Instagram and Facebook posts of their day. The use of the word ‘post’ is no accident. It dates back to medieval times when news and mail were carried by horseback through a relay system of riders ‘posted’ at set intervals along roads. From that sense of the word came post office, an office where one posted mail. Today’s social media ‘posts’ allow users to electronically deliver news to a select audience of their own choosing. As noted in last week’s column many photographers began creating picture postcards typically for sale at local resorts. The Green River Gorge was the subject of many postcards.
This photo, looking downstream was taken circa 1920. Tourists often visited the Green River Gorge to enjoy facilities operated by John Rudge, a Welsh coal miner from Cumberland. There was a hotel, cabins, dancehall, and reception rooms for a stream of urbanites seeking the beauty and solace of nature. The site where this photo was taken can still be reached today. From Black Diamond follow Lawson Street, which turns into the Green River Gorge Road, all the way to the single-lane bridge controlled by a stoplight. This scene can be enjoyed by descending the rather steep trail on the Black Diamond or the west side of the bridge. Parking is available on both east and west sides of the bridge, after paying a $5 fee. Access to the river level, 150 feet below, can be reached by trails from both sides. This image comes courtesy of JoAnne Matsumura, an Issaquah historian.
