In 1906, O'Brien was a small settlement near the White River, a few miles north of Kent. The White and Green Rivers flooded almost every year. In November 1906, over 50 square miles of land between Tacoma and Seattle were under water. The flood water was so deep that boats floated easily over fences. One O'Brien resident drowned while trying to get through the water on horseback. This photo shows the White River flood in O'Brien during the winter of 1906-1907. A group of men stands outside the bar on the wooden sidewalk. One has brought his small boat up to the edge of the walk. The bar building is painted with a large ad for Mail Pouch tobacco.

Original photograph: 1906 or 1907. Copied after 1975 by the Museum of History and Industry.

• Subjects (LCTGM): Advertisements; Bars; Disasters; Floods