Stuck on Main Street

Title

Stuck on Main Street

Description

Sepia-toned image of a muddy street with a wagon and a steam-powered ditch digger stuck in the mud. One man tries to lever the rear wagon wheels out of the mud while another man watches. In the center background, a large machine leans precariously to one side, while three men appear to be examining it. Power poles can be seen lining the street on either side, while spectators watch from the sidewalks in the background of the image. A one cent stamp is affixed to the back side of the postcard. Steam ditchers were a major innovation in the late 1800s and early 1900s, providing machine power to dig drainage ditches which once had to be dug by hand.

[front] [white ink] We are stuck on this place. [back] [pencil] [address] Richard E. Wiley. H. M. A. Lumber Camp [?]. Nehalem, Oregon. [note] This is the main street works with the steam-ditcher stuck. Hath [illegible]. [postmark] Hillsboro [illegible], Sep [illegible] p.m.

Identifier

WCMpic_013469

Subject

Steam-engines

Streets

Communities

Civic improvement

Road drainage

Economic History

Scientific History

Spatial Coverage

Hillsboro, Oregon

Language

English

Date Created

circa 1900s

Date

1900/1909

Medium

photographic postcards

Rights

Online access to this image is for research and educational purposes only. To inquire about permissions, order a reproduction, or for more information, please contact the Five Oaks Museum at Research@FiveOaksMuseum.org.

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

Type

Still Image

Source

Washington County Museum