Historical street and road records

County sources of records

King County Archives holds historical records, including County legislative files, that may be used to research establishment, construction and maintenance of present-day streets, roads, and bridges.

King County Road Services Division's Map and Records Center is responsible for maintaining maps, historical survey data, and other supporting documentation about the establishment, construction and maintenance of county roads and bridges, and of other county structures and facilities which are, or have been, the responsibility of the division or its functional predecessors. The records span the 1850s to the present. In addition to maps, these files also contain original text documents from the 1800s, usually handwritten, that were subsequently transcribed in the Road Books.

Digital sources of records

The documents are available digitally through Road Services Division Map Vault. This online digital collection contains full-sized hard-copy maps (survey, route, vicinity, detail, plat, topographic) of historical and contemporary county road projects, indexed by map title, road name(s), section-township-range coordinates, map date, map type, and survey number.  Please contact the Map and Record Center for more information about accessing the maps and other graphical materials available on the Map Vault. King County Archives holds the hard-copy, original records.

Non-County sources of records

King County may enter into construction and maintenance agreements with municipalities, utility taxing districts, or the Washington State Department of Transportation. These jurisdictions may hold additional street and road records of research interest. After 1910, the state of Washington increasingly shared responsibility for major roads within counties. Historical records of the state Department of Transportation and its predecessor, the state Highway Department, can be found at the Washington State Archives in Olympia.

Road history records

In general, the King County Archives retains formal legal documents relating to road establishments and locations. The King County Recorder's Office is the principal source of right-of-way deeds. The Road Services Division's Map and Records Center holds historical engineering documents relating to technical aspects of building and maintaining a given road.

The best way to access records that may relate to a specific road is through one or more search categories. These can be:

• Approximate road establishment date
• Road name
• Road number
• Survey number
• Section-township-range coordinates
• A combination of any of these

King County Archives staff can help you determine a search strategy that may help identify road histories in our record collections. These collections include:

King County Commissioners' proceedings, 1853-1969

King County Archives holds the original County Commissioners' proceedings. These records contain meeting minutes and transcribed resolutions, orders, and records of Commissioners' actions. The proceedings are indexed in 18 volumes, and each volume is organized into topical or functional sections. The following are all sections in the indexed proceedings that are related to roads.

Roads: volumes 1-18, 1853-1969

Lists of road names and Commissioners' actions including bids called, advertised, ordered, accepted, and completed, as well as hearings that were set and referred to the County Engineer. For some entries, miscellaneous file, resolution, contract, or project numbers are present.

Viewers of road: volume 1, 1853-1885

This index section refers to road petitions and appointments of non-professional residents to view, survey and lay out the road described in the petition.

Road district overseers: volume 2, 1889-1901

This index section includes entries regarding election and appointment of, and petitions and bonds for, overseers of road districts. The overseer, also known as the road supervisor, was responsible for maintaining roads, collecting road poll taxes, and making regular reports to the Commissioners.

Road districts: volume 3, 1901-1914

This index section includes entries relating to petitions for road districts, the formation of road districts, and appointments of supervisors for the districts.

Road establishments: volumes 4-18, 1914-1969

This index section includes entries listing the name of the person or the road involved and the Commission action (for example, hearing set, road established).

Petitions: volumes 5-18, 1921-1969

This index section includes listings about petitions for appointments, annexations, road and district improvements.

Additional proceedings relating to road matters are recorded in volumes 3, 5, 7, and 9 of the King County Commissioners' Road Books.

Different types of record information may be found in a single road book. Road books are generally arranged chronologically. Portions of Road Books 3 and 6 index road information in the other volumes; these index sections are arranged by road number. Cross-references, to road number or to related volumes of Commissioners' Proceedings, have been hand-entered, usually in red pencil, in the chronological volumes. Road Book indexing is replicated and expanded by the two volumes in the Index to Road Records. Road establishment records after 1900 can be found in volume 2 of this series, the Commissioners' Road Files, and the Commissioners' Proceedings. For questions, or access to the Road Books, please contact the Archives.

King County Commissioners' road books, 1854-1900

The volumes in this series record county road establishments and other road matters undertaken by the King County Commissioners between 1854 and approximately 1900. Records are not present between August 1871 and February 1873. There are nine road books in eight volumes (Road Books 1 and 2 are bound together). The volumes contain five types of handwritten record information:

1. Road data or "field notes" (road number, road width, section-township-range coordinates, survey lines and coordinates, and dates that actions were taken regarding a specific road).
2. Transcriptions of essential documents relating to the establishment of roads (petitions, appointment of road viewers and road supervisors, road viewers' reports, surveyor's reports and certificates, transcriptions of affidavits and bonds, legal notices, establishment orders, orders for payments). Road Book 8 consists of transcribed official recordings arranged by Auditor number (1892-1900).
3. Transcriptions of County Commissioners' proceedings having to do with road business of all types.
4. Transcriptions of deeds for road rights-of-way (Road Book 7, 1892 only).
5. Road plat maps (Road Book 4; with other maps incidentally in other volumes).

Commissioners' Road Files, 1899-1916

This series contains text documents relating to road establishment, construction and maintenance, arranged by auditor's filing number (roughly chronologically) and cross-indexed by road number. Route, vicinity and survey maps may be present for some roads.

Road deeds log, 1905-1909

This volume appears to be a ledger kept for the purpose of documenting King County's acquisition of property, by deed or condemnation, for road rights-of-way during this time period. Individual entries were made for each road. Record information usually includes road name, a short description of the road, and its width. Also present may be road number ("R#") or survey number ("S#"); essential dates (of road examination, survey, completion); and other handwritten notes. A second section details information about property owners: section-township-range coordinates of property, part of section affected, owner name, owner address or whereabouts, property price, acreage, and other remarks. Remarks usually state the date the property deed was received by King County. Also noted may be the status of the property acquisition, problems with individual owners, efforts to locate owners, condemnation activities, and the ultimate status of the road. Arrangement of the volume is roughly chronological. An alphabetical index to road names is present. There is no owner name index.

Engineer's road petition files, 1916-1935

This series contains documentation, retained by the County Engineer between approximately 1916 and 1935, relating to citizen road petitions. Records for each petition or road may include original signed petitions, maps (hand-drawn or annotated blueprint copies), and copies of Commissioner resolutions. Correspondence is also present, notably letter reports made by the county's Reconnaissance Engineer to the Commissioners. These reports, which are not present for every petition file, may provide information about county settlement and transportation patterns in a given area, as well as about road feasibility.

Most of the records are arranged alphabetically, by name of principal petitioner or by road name). Alphabetical filing order is approximate. Under each letter, records follow a chronological pattern. Each folder contains a photocopied agency list with the names of petitioners or roads which purport to be in that folder. A second, smaller group of records relate to petitions from Road District No. 2, comprising the southern portion of King County. These records are arranged chronologically (1929-1935).

Road vacations

King County holds an easement on right of way for public travel on most streets and alleys outside of incorporated areas of the County. This interest may be terminated by the County ordinance if the easement is considered useless to the County's needs and deemed beneficial by the return of the unused area to the public tax tolls. RCW 36.87 and King County Code 14.40 govern the vacation of rights-of-way in King County.

Search for Records

To search digitized County Council ordinances authorizing the vacation, visit the King County Legislative Archives. King County Archives holds the physical ordinance files.

Prior to May 1969, road vacations in unincorporated King County were sometimes made by King County Commissioner resolutions. More often they were made by direct order of the Commissioners. Texts of road vacation orders can be found in the County Commissioners' Proceedings, which are held by King County Archives. The easiest way to search for a road vacation is by order number of the approximate date of the vacation.

Another source of information is the Commissioners' road vacation files, which are held by Puget Sound Regional Archives in Bellevue. These files are arranged by vacation order number (1 through 1413). The files usually contain the original signed road vacation order and may also include supporting documentation such as petitions, maps, engineers' reports and correspondence. Please contact the Regional Archives to access these records.

When unincorporated areas of King County incorporate into municipalities, the municipalities assume responsibility for road actions such as vacations. Your municipality's ordinance files may contain relevant information.

A note about road right-of-ways

A right-of-way is public land, property, or property interest (e.g., an easement), usually in a strip, as well as bridges, trestles, or other structures, acquired for or devoted to transportation purposes. This does not include recreational or nature trails except where they intersect with or are located within road rights-of-way. Rights-of-way are established through deeds or easements.

Unmaintained county right-of-way refers to a road within the county right-of-way that is accessible to public travel but is not maintained by King County.

Road name changes

King County's street naming and numbering system developed over the course of the twentieth century. It was aimed at developing a clear and concise street designation system intended to lend increased facility to the location of addresses. A numbered grid pattern of avenues and streets, an extension of and compromise with the City of Seattle's street system, is the centerpiece of the system.

The system had its beginning in 1920 and 1921 with the passage of two Commissioners' resolutions (690, 730) which extended the grid north and south from what were then the city limits of Seattle. The next surge followed in 1930 with the adoption of two more sizable resolutions (3709, 7558) which further extended the grid south and north of Seattle. Preference was given to numbered avenues and streets rather than named roads.

Resolution 16622 (August 13, 1956) extended the grid numbering system countywide and is considered the base legislation for all amending resolutions and ordinances that followed. This resolution authorized the use of numbers to replace names as often as possible.

Names were retained on some roads and some new names are still assigned. Names are used where they have meaningful geographical significance, or for roads that deviate too widely from the grid system to make numbers practical. A name is not retained or a new name is not assigned if a number designation fits the grid system.

King County Archives retains copies of all road name resolutions and ordinances in its legislative files. The road name changes are set out in the resolution or ordinance by section-township-range coordinates, and states the former and new name of each road.

Vashon-Maury Island roads

The Archives also holds records relating to Vashon Island road name changes: Vashon-Maury Island street addressing, 1988-1991. To improve emergency response access to locations on Vashon and Maury Islands, in 1988, King County initiated a street measurement and address assignment project. The project, which changed most named streets to numbered ones. It was undertaken by a team of local residents under general direction of the Building and Land Development (BALD) Division.

The Vashon-Maury Island street addressing file consists of a manual and project history compiled at BALD's request by geodata technician Ken Brooks. The manual comprises text sections illustrated with copies of forms, worksheets, maps, correspondence, etc.; section topics include socio-cultural background and community information; measuring and recording fieldwork; road designations; address number assignment; map and sign preparation; quality checks; and project wrap-up. Two appendices include copies of Vashon/Maury Island newspaper articles, and photocopied snapshots of project participants.

Historical road maps

Maps were generated in connection with the establishment or construction of King County roads. There are different types of road maps: engineering (design and construction), establishment, maintenance and paving, right-of-way, survey, or topographical. King County Archives holds the following historical road map records.

Commissioners' Road Book No. 4, 1876-1881

Road Book 4 consists of hand-drawn and hand-colored route maps, keyed to textual road establishment documents for that period. Access is by survey coordinates; some keyword access is available.

Plat reference maps, 1900-1950

These blueprint copies of plat maps were acquired and retained as a reference collection by the County Engineer's office. They are arranged in folio post-bound volumes by township and range. Annotations showing various public works projects and property actions have been penciled on the plat maps.

Survey books, circa 1901-1907

Between 1855 and 1907, the County Surveyor was required to execute any survey required by the county commissioners, or by any court, individual or corporation; after 1901 an index to the surveys was required to be kept.

This series consists four large volumes organized by King County range and township numbers, with one page allocated to each section within a township. On some section plans, survey lines have been marked, with relevant survey notes handwritten on the facing blank page. The surveys are of all types (for example, surveys to locate roads or lost section corners; surveys done for individuals; surveys to create lots within plats). There is a section-township-range index in each volume.

Engineer's preliminary topographic map books, 1908-1937

This series contains field maps and notes made by county surveyors documenting topography of proposed county projects. A number of surveys made at the request of individuals or groups are also present. The field maps and notes were drafts used to prepare formal survey maps. They consistently show elevations and contours along the route of, or at the site of, the proposed project. They may also contain more visual information about the natural environment (streams, vegetation, agricultural crops) and the built environment (structures, fence lines, routes of existing roads and old trains, bridges, skid roads) than is present in the perfected maps.

Other record information often present is surveyor names, survey number, survey date, and location of survey stations. They are arranged is by volume number in a roughly chronological sequence. One unnumbered volume from 1908 is present at the beginning of the series. Each volume may contain records of more than one project. An index page is present in most volumes.

Road establishment books, 1912-1936

This series is composed of bound atlases of master maps locating established county roads. Most atlases are arranged by section-township-range coordinates with each section represented by one map. Road numbers are usually present on the maps. Books in this series include:

• Road establishment atlas,"TxN RxE," approximately 1874-1909
• King County Highway Plat Book #1, 1890
• King County Engineer: Existing County Roads, 1912-1917
• Road establishment book, 1913
• King County Engineer road establishment atlas, ranges 5 and 6, 1931
• King County Engineer road establishment maps, ranges 7 and 8, 1930

State highway plans, 1925-1933

After 1900, Washington counties worked increasingly with the state Highway Department to maintain roads built with state funds. The Highway Department sent reference copies of its highway plans to the counties. These plans are for State Highway #1 (Pacific Highway, through Auburn, Kent, Des Moines, Seattle, and via North Trunk Highway to the Snohomish County line) and State Highway #2 (Sunset Highway, over Snoqualmie Pass).

Volume 1 is for grading both highways, and there is one volume each per highway for concrete paving. In addition to construction details, the plans provide information about the land to either side of the right-of-way: property owner's names, location of structures such as barns and sheds, wetlands, pastures, cultivated fields, etc. Maps on each page have been indexed by section-township-range coordinates.

Secondary road project files, 1935-1938

This series includes specifications, plans, maps, correspondence and other contract documents relating to County road maintenance and construction projects. Also included are applications for Federal government grants. Most of these Depression-era projects were funded by the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works (PWA) or the Works Progress Administration (WPA).

State highway plats, 1959-1972

This series is composed of county copies (blueprint and blueline) of Washington State Department of Highways plat maps showing extent of rights of way for state highway projects. Included are detailed (large-scale in some instances) mapping of areas, including location of buildings, immediately adjacent to or inside right of way, including path of the Seattle Freeway (Interstate 5).

Historical road photographs

King County Archives holds the following collection of historical photographs of county roads.

King County Department of Transportation photograph and moving image files, 1900-2002

These visual materials were created or collected by the Road Services Division and its predecessor agencies, the Department of Public Works and the County Engineer. Robert Brittain, staff photographer and, later, Head of Photographic Services for the Department of Public Works, was primarily responsible for curation of these materials. Photographs relating to road construction and improvements are present in this series. The photographs can usually be searched by road name, road number, or nearest street-avenue intersection. This series consists of three components:

1. Photographic material removed from engineering project files (c.1900-1960) and maintained as a photographic reference collection. This material includes black-and-white prints, negatives, and glass slides. Some glass slides have been hand-colored. Topics include road, bridge, and wharf construction and maintenance. Representative images may be viewed on the Historical Photographs research guide.
2. Master file of project photographs maintained by the County Engineer's office (1958-1969), the Department of Public Works (1970-1996), and the Department of Transportation (1996-2002). Ground and aerial photographs document all aspects of county public works during this time period including road, street, and bridge construction and maintenance. Material types include prints, negatives, and contact sheets, arranged in an ascending agency number sequence (1-6000) which approximates chronological order.
3. Additional photographic and moving image materials maintained by the King County Department of Transportation and its predecessors, 1960-2002. Principally divided by format and arranged by subject, this material consists of photographic prints, negatives, 35mm slides, and contact sheets; videotapes (Beta, U-Matic and VHS formats); and motion pictures. Additional 35mm slides are arranged by individual item numbers supplied by Archives staff. A small number of audiotape narrations for slide shows are also present.