Pictured (l-r): Postcard of the Colfax Flood 1910, Main Street, from the collection of Patrick McDonald.

March commemorates the anniversary of a disastrous flood that damaged much of downtown Colfax over a century ago. Newly discovered postcards capture that devastating event while also highlighting the appeal of Whitman County Library's popular Rural Heritage project.

The postcards chronicling the great Colfax Flood of March 1,1910 were collected by former Colfax resident Patrick McDonald from various sources, including eBay and antique stores.

"I have been collecting postcards of Colfax and Walla Walla since I was in college", McDonald said. Sharing these images, especially on the centennial of the flood, is a great way of letting people know about the catastrophe and also the Rural Heritage Initiative.

To access McDonalds Colfax flood photo collection, visit the Whitman County Library website and choose the Rural Heritage link. Next select either the Patrick McDonald collection or Colfax flood as your subject.

For those wanting to learn more about the flood of 1910, The Colfax Gazette from 1900-1912 is now online thanks to the Washington State Library's work digitizing those issues for the National Digital Newspaper Project. These can also be accessed from the library's website by visiting our Wiki and choosing Whitman County Gazette. The specific issues would be 1910-03-04.

Whitman County's Rural Heritage photos are being viewed 4,000-6,000 times per month and my staff is struggling to keep up with submissions. Even so, we want to hear you. If you, or someone you know has historic documents to share contact Patti Cammack at the Colfax Branch at (509) 397-4366.

Whitman County Rural Heritage is funded in large part by Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funding provided by the federal Institute for Museum and Library Services. LSTA sub-grants, training and support are administered by the Washington State Library. Additionally, local funding and support have been secured through a Whitman County Historic Preservation grant, Creative Image of Pullman and the McGregor Company.

For more information, contact:

Kristie Kirkpatrick at 509-397-4366

For a complete list of events and programs happening in all fourteen Whitman County Library branches, visit the Whitman County Library website or the library's events calendar or call the library at 397-4366 or 877-733-3375 toll-free.