City Stories
Wanna learn about a city that interests you? We've compiled some information here, along with the links to the official websites of the major cities in Snohomish County. Please select the city that interests you:
Arlington Bothell Everett Darrington Granite Falls
Lake Stevens Marysville Monroe Snohomish
Arlington
Arlington is the scenic northern gateway to the Mountain Loop Highway. It began as a lumber town with shingle mills, sawmills, and logging camps and today there are still many historical buildings that add to Arlington's small town charm. Located behind the historic log Pioneer Hall on a large acreage with a picturesque pond, is the impressive Stillaguamish Valley Pioneer Museum which contains artifacts and photos typical of earlier life in Arlington and the Stilly Valley.
Situated near the banks of the Stillaguamish River, Arlington offers a variety of outdoor recreational opportunities, including fishing, river rafting, and hiking. Arlington is part of the Centennial Trail System which is a walking, jogging, biking, and horseback riding trail that will one day stretch from Skagit County in the north to King County in the south.
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Bothell
Much of Bothell's history can still be enjoyed today. Many of the important buildings in Bothell's past have a story to tell; and, through the historic preservation efforts of the City's Landmark Preservation Board, Bothell residents can learn more about their city's early days.
In a little over a century, Bothell has evolved from an isolated logging village housing a handful of hardy pioneers to a multi-faceted full-service city with a resident population of approximately 30,000 and a business population of about 20,000. Over that time the City has taken on several roles - way station, mill town, local farm supplies and services center, suburban bedroom community, and, within the last decade, regional employment center.
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Everett
The lush and verdant peninsula at a site named Port Gardner Bay was for centuries home to Native Americans of the Snohomish tribe. Following the Indian Wars in the 1850s, the Snohomish and other local tribes restructured as the confederation known as Tulalip and were moved to a reservation established at Tulalip Bay. Settlers came to the peninsula in response to government granted homesteads and in hopes of extracting the area's natural resources of timber and ore. Nearby mills such as ones at Port Gamble and Utsalady found this location provided easy access for cutting and transporting timber, and for two decades the area was logged.
More change came in the fall of 1891 when work crews began clearing land to build an industrial boomtown that would be supported, planned and built by wealthy east coast and regional investors. The investors hoped this spot would be where the Great Northern Railroad would first touch western tidewater. Named after the son of investor Charles Colby, Everett was planned with a diverse economic base that, in the beginning, included a paper mill, a nail factory, a bargeworks and a smelter to refine ores expected to come from the town of Monte Cristo, located in the Cascade mountains. Lumber and shingle mills also began business near the waterfront.
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Darrington
Darrington was established as a night camp for the wagon route linking the Monte Cristo mines to the Puget Sound area. Located on the Sauk and North Fork of the Stillaguamish rivers, surrounded by three wilderness areas and the Mt Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Darrington provides entertainment for most every person. Fishing, hunting, camping, whitewater rafting, archery, hiking, snowmobiling, mountain biking, and rock hounding are a few of the activities this spectacular area has to offer. If you are looking for a small, beautiful and quiet place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, come to Darrington and enjoy the scenery and wilderness of our wonderful community.
Granite Falls
Today it's the "Gateway to the Mountain Loop Highway", and the shops lining Granite Avenue draw folks from the surrounding countryside to Granite Falls. But it was natural resources that lured the first non-native settlers to the area in the 1880's. The town's first timber mill was open by 1891 and built to produce the railroad ties for the railway to the nearby Monte Cristo gold mines. The town was incorporated in 1903 and boomed through the early parts of the 1900’s, with as many as twelve lumber mills operating by 1906. While all but one of the mills have since closed, Granite Falls remains tied to the twin industries of mining and forestry. Miller Shingle company has been in business since 1946 and is one of the largest employers in mEwn, while several quarries continue to employ numerous Granite Falls residents.
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Lake Stevens
Believed to be named after Governor Isaac I. Stevens, Lake Stevens was first settled in 1886 on a 160-acre homestead along the east shore. By 1890 the first town in the area, "Ferry," was established. Its name was later changed to "Hartford," and it served as the main link from the famed Monte Cristo timber and mining resources to the world.
In 1905 a railroad spur was built by the Rucker Brothers Timber Company, linking Hartford with Lake Stevens. Two years later Rucker Mill was opened, located along and in the north cove of the lake (original pilings can still be seen in the old lake outflow area just south of the boat launch). In 1919, the mill, which became known as the "world's largest sawmill," burned and was partially rebuilt.
Marysville
In 1872, James P. Comeford and his wife, Maria, paid $450 for 1,280 acres of land near the Tulalip Reservation. They built a store with living quarters attached and a small dock with a plank road called Front Street. Mrs. Comeford began teaching classes to local children and Mr. Comeford ran the post office, both of them out of their home. The first saw mill opened in 1887 and the railroad came to town in 1889. Marysville was officially incorporated on March 20, 1891. For much of its existence, Marysville was an area known for farming.
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Monroe
Monroe, Washington, named for President James Monroe, came into being when Army scouts came to the area to establish outposts. They saw the lush land and stayed. The native population welcomed them as protection since their tribes had been decimated by war and disease. Logging was the mainstay of Monroe’s economy for many years with a number of sawmills perched in the woods in the surrounding area. Cedar shakes were the big money crop and now it is illegal to harvest cedar trees. As the logging industry waned, agriculture grew with berry farms taking the forefront. Along with farming came the proliferation of dairy farms.
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Snohomish
The earliest white settlers arrived in the Snohomish River valley in 1858 from Seattle. The early settlers were drawn to the area because the flat land and deep soils of the valley were suitable for agriculture pursuits. The lumber industry arrived in the valley in the 1880s following the development of the railroads. During the 1880s and 1890's, a number of embryonic railroad lines were established across Washington State including the Seattle, Lakeshore & Eastern (SL&E). The SL&E constructed and operated the first railroad line from Tacoma through Seattle around Lake Washington and through the Bothell-Snohomish area to the Skagit River and Mount Vernon. The line was eventually absorbed into the Burlington Northern Railroad system until the line was abandoned by the railroad and converted into the Burke Gilman/Sammamish River Trail.
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