What we think of today as Aloha or Aloha-Reedville in Washington County, Oregon, was once a collection of small villages that developed near rivers and established overland routes. Bridgeport, later Farmington on the Tualatin River, was settled in 1845. Nearby, homesteads emerged along the lower slope of Cooper Mountain and the Plains-Falls Road, an official route of the territorial government of Oregon. The 1850s donation land claim era brought additional settlement and increased agricultural production. Throughout the 1860s, farmers and entrepreneurs scrambled for an effective means of transporting surplus products for export from the prolific Tualatin Valley to Portland, San Francisco, and beyond. A railroad line, completed in 1872, established Reedville as a commercial center, and by the early 1900s, passenger depots were built at Huber, Tobias, and Aloha on the interurban Red Electric railway. Today, the suburban community of Aloha, once part of Oregon's oldest agricultural centers, maintains a significant role in the development of the Portland metropolitan region.
Anderson Island
9780738548548
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Named for Alexander Caulfield Anderson, the chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Nisqually, Anderson Island has an early history of brick making, logging, farming, and fishing. Johnson's Landing, on the north end of the island, was the site where mosquito fleet steamships could refuel and purchase lumber for delivery as far south as San Francisco. The first permanent settlers on the island arrived from Denmark in the early 1870s, with others of Scandinavian descent coming shortly thereafter. The southernmost island in Washington State's Puget Sound, accessible only by boat or ferry from Steilacoom, Anderson Island boasts two freshwater lakes, two marinas, and a golf course. Bucolic Anderson Island received national press coverage in 2005 when the flower fairy anonymously left floral bouquets on doorsteps, a practice that continues to this day.
Around Florence
9781467131520
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Florence, located midway on the Oregon coast, has North America's largest stretch of dunes to the south and the most photographed headlands on the Pacific coast to the north. Although Florence is on the coast, it is a river town located on a bend of the Siuslaw River. Before the railroad arrived in 1916, the town was cut off and dependent upon ocean-going ships. The Siuslaw did not make it easy because of a notoriously shifting river mouth before the north jetty was built in 1893. Even after the jetty, crossing the bar continued to be treacherous due to shallow depths and fickle winds. Even so, entrepreneurs William Kyle and O.W. Hurd, in trying to outdo each other, developed a thriving town. For decades, fishing and logging were the mainstays. Now, they are tourists, retirees, and the arts. Old Town, where it all began, is a happening place once again.
Astoria
9780738575278
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Astoria is the oldest American settlement west of the Rocky Mountains. It began in 1811 as a small but ambitious fur trading venture of New York entrepreneur John Jacob Astor and his Pacific Fur Company. The town has seen the development of commerce and trade ebb and flow like the tide throughout its history. Bounded on three sides by water and much of it originally built over the river, Astoria is a town that is deeply rooted in maritime history and traditions. This proud community of 10,000 is ready to share its heritage with the rest of the world.
Auburn
9781467131117
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Auburn has been a town of many names. Native Americans referred to it as Ilalko, the town's founders called it Slaughter, and finally, city leaders, hoping to attract more visitors and business from the expanding railroad lines, named it Auburn. Auburn has been a hops boomtown, a major railroad hub, and "The Little Detroit of the West." The city has been a home to immigrants from countries around the world, including Japan, Italy, Ireland, and Sweden. Auburn is a growing suburban city with the heart of a small-town farming community that has always been proud of its local businesses and its hardworking citizens.
Bainbridge Island
9780738599922
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Bainbridge Island sits in the middle of Puget Sound in Washington State. Its unique history starts with the Native Americans and includes logging, farming, fishing, and shipbuilding from the late 1800s through the present. Early explorers included George Vancouver in 1792 and the Wilkes expedition of 1841. Ferry service and other means of water transport were the only ways onto the island until 1950, when a bridge was completed. Bainbridge Island is only a 30-minute ferry ride from Seattle, and its only bridge approaches the island from the west. The City of Bainbridge Island, which includes the entire 65-square-mile island, incorporated on February 28, 1991. Its 23,000 residents today share the rich history that is told in images and captions within the pages of this book.
Bandon
9780738596617
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Named for a founding settler's beloved Irish hometown, Bandon is one of the most picturesque cities on the Oregon coast, located where the smooth and deep waters of the Coquille River meet the Pacific Ocean. Bandon rose to commercial prominence as an exporter of lumber, minerals, agriculture, and salmon and at one time was the busiest seaport between San Francisco and Portland. Fires in 1914 and 1936 devastated the landscape, but Bandon quickly rebuilt and has never lost its reputation as a restorative scenic destination and vital place to live and work. Today, Bandon and the Coquille Valley have a thriving and diverse economy, prized for their cranberries and ranch and dairy products, known for the excellence of their fishing and scenic outdoor recreation, and celebrated as home of the world-renowned Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
Beaverton
9780738593302
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From the first land claim in 1847 to the growing technology industry of the 21st century, the city of Beaverton, Oregon, has had an impressive history. The earliest inhabitants were the Atfalati, a Native American tribe who dubbed the area Chakeipi, or the "Place of the Beaver." When modern settlers began to arrive in the mid-1800s, they continued to refer to the area as "Beaverdam," often draining the dams to aid their farming of the rich soil that remained. Beaverton has been home to many interesting and lucrative businesses since its incorporation in 1893, including a silent film studio in the 1920s, an airplane manufacturing site in the 1930s, and a busy airport in the 1940s. Since the 1950s, a growing number of high-tech companies have operated here, earning Beaverton a spot on the roster of places that comprise Washington County's Silicon Forest.
Bellevue
9781467131599
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Bellevue has grown, in just a few generations, from a small farming town into an important urban center and economic hub, with the foundations for this success being laid in the two decades following World War II. The opening of the Mercer Island floating bridge, in 1940, promoted the settlement of the lands to the east of Lake Washington during the population and housing boom of the 1950s and 1960s, and Bellevue became the primary commercial center for these vibrant new communities. Families flocked to the shiny subdivisions, with new schools, shopping centers, churches, and parks springing up right behind. But it was strong political, business, and civic leadership that kept Bellevue from being just another sprawling suburb. As business began to push outward from Seattle, Bellevue was able to grow gracefully and preserve its sense of place. It remains a wonderful community for families from around the globe and a place that longtime residents are reluctant to leave.
Bellingham
9781467132756
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Bellingham is known as the city of subdued excitement, but it was not always this way. From its discovery by a British naval captain to its coal, lumber, and fish industries and to its riots and social movements, Bellingham has had quite a rich and sometimes controversial past. Starting out as four separate towns, it took the leadership of a few and the work of many to bring a community together and create one of Washington's secret masterpieces.
Bonney Lake's Plateau
9780738582085
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The story of Bonney Lake and the plateau is not about towns and their storefronts, but of the enduring people who settled there before and after Washington achieved statehood. In spite of their brief presence, Michael Connell and Reuben Finnell are names credited for many of the area's key landmarks. In 1864, pioneer William B. Kelley arrived at the plateau. His public service as a territorial legislator and county auditor made him one of the most respected individuals of eastern Pierce County. Other pioneers, such as the Moriarty and Vandermark families, engaged in logging and farming on the plateau, which continued to be considered a wilderness. Oscar "Doc" Bowen, one of the settlers who arrived from the 1930s dustbowl, had a spiritual impact when he called for construction of the area's first church. Less than two decades later, Kenneth Simmons saw potential for further growth and pressed to incorporate the plateau's west end--forming the town of Bonney Lake.
Boring
9781467132107
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Bob Boring, great-grandson of the Civil War veteran who lent his name to the community, says, "Boring is a name, not a condition." The recent pairing of Dull, Scotland, and Boring, Oregon, has created worldwide multimedia reports, including articles in Time magazine and the Wall Street Journal that published the same week. Never incorporated as an official entity, Boring has been a thriving farm, logging, and sawmill community since Joseph and Sarah Boring traveled the Oregon Trail in an ox-drawn covered wagon and settled here in 1853. The "downtown" area of Boring is only four blocks long, but the farming area serviced by the Boring Post Office is 13 miles long and contains a population of 8,000.
Chehalis
9780738576039
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After Schuyler and Eliza Saunders staked out property in 1851, early pioneers referred to the soggy Chehalis River bottomland as "Saunders Bottom." The community of Claquato on a nearby hillside became a busy way station for travelers but only until enterprising businessmen like William West repeatedly flagged down passing trains, prompting railroad officials to establish a depot at Chehalis. Following an economic boom in the 1880s, fires in 1892 destroyed much of the business district. Chehalis thrived in the 1920s, suffered during the Depression, and built parts for B-17 bombers in a Boeing Company plant during World War II. An early-1950s Adventure in Cooperation forged even stronger community bonds, leading to the formation of the Chehalis Industrial Commission. Today, Chehalis has thriving retail and industrial areas and a renovated downtown promoted by members of the Chehalis Community Renaissance Team.
Cheney
9781467133487
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Established as a railroad section station on the Northern Pacific Railroad, Cheney boomed into existence as the Spokane County seat in 1880. The City of Cheney incorporated in 1883, and though its role as county seat was short-lived, Cheney long served as an agricultural and mercantile hub for the surrounding Palouse and scabland towns and farms. The rotary rod weeder was invented here and manufactured by the Cheney Weeder Company to be shipped all over the country and the world. The most enduring legacy of the pioneers was Eastern Washington University, beginning as the Benjamin P. Cheney Academy in 1882 with a donation from the town's namesake. In 1891, it became Washington's first normal school for the training of teachers. Growing and diversifying, the university now has a student body of over 10,000.
Clallam County
9780738520957
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The first settlements of Clallam County were along the coast of the Olympic Peninsula, at the gateway to Victoria, British Columbia, and Puget Sound. When the hardy pioneers arrived, the land was covered by dense forests that had to be conquered for the communities to survive. Forestry, logging, and lumber were the main industries for more than 100 years. This volume contains more than 200 vintage black-and-white images, many of which have never been previously published. The rugged history of Clallam County is told through photographs of the land and geography, the lives of the first settlers, and stories of the East End, Central, and West End sections of this northwest corner of the state of Washington.
Clarkston
9781467133012
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Clarkston, Washington, and Lewiston, Idaho, are twin cities that meet at the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers in southeast Washington. Gold was discovered upstream in the Clearwater drainage in 1860. A few settlers crossed the Snake River to an area called Jawbone Flats. It was flat and covered with sagebrush. Thirty years later, investors from back East arrived with big plans. C. Van Arsdol designed the first irrigation system, and Charles Francis Adams was a big influence in bringing irrigation and education to Clarkston. By 1899, Clarkston became prosperous with their award winning fruit orchards. In 1896, Edgar H. Libby received the franchise to build a bridge to connect with Lewiston, Idaho. The name finally became Clarkston in 1902, when the town was incorporated. In the 1970s, slack water brought big changes to the area called the "Banana Belt." With the dikes and the smooth waters, the valley became an ideal place for boating, fishing, and tourism.
Coos Bay
9780738589176
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Originally called Marshfield, the city of Coos Bay has transitioned from a pioneer and frontier boomtown that was developed by coalminers, shipbuilders, timber men, and entrepreneurs. The rich, pioneer history of Coos Bay is predated by the Coos Indians, who maintained many villages along the bay and survived in peaceful harmony with nature until forcibly removed by white settlers in the 1860s. After merging with nearby Eastside and Empire, the city is now the largest municipality in Coos County and on the entire coastline of the state of Oregon.
Coos County
9780738548036
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Long before the wreck of the Captain Lincoln in 1852 brought settlers to the North Spit, Native Americans and foreign explorers, including Sir Francis Drake, navigated the inland waterways and Pacific shoreline of what would become Coos County. The deep draft channel, timberfilled landscape, prime location--between San Francisco and Puget Sound--and the discovery of gold made the region ripe for commercial success, and scores of pioneers migrated to the Coos Bay area. Shipyards and sawmills sprang up. Logging became a major industry. Gold and coal were mined. And settlements and farmsteads appeared almost overnight. For many pioneers, Coos County was truly paradise, a land of opportunity rich in natural resources where they optimistically forged new lives with sacrifice and backbreaking labor. Their perseverance and rugged individualism distinguish the region to this day.
Cottage Grove
9780738580357
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Cottage Grove is a picturesque little hometown nestled in the Willamette Valley. Pioneers following the Oregon Trail west settled in the area in the early 1800s. The Bohemia Mountains were the first major draw to the area after James "Bohemia" Johnson discovered gold in 1863. A gold rush ensued and caused several boom towns to spring up on the route to the mines. After several years, many millions in gold were blasted from the mountains. There is an estimated $14 million in gold remaining in the mountain to this day. With new settlers came the first post offices and schools. When the mining started to slow down, the lumber industry was on the upswing. With easy access to the short line and virgin timber on every hill in the valley, timber became the new boom. Mills sprung up almost overnight, and in some cases burned in a single night. At one time, there were 23 mills on Row River alone.
Coupeville
9780738588957
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The second-oldest town in Washington is Coupeville, founded in 1853. Until the white settlement of the 1850s, the Lower Skagit Indians lived in four villages on Penn Cove, fishing and gathering plentiful plants and berries. Sea captains, such as Capt. Thomas Coupe, were drawn to the area's deepwater port and the opportunities it offered to transport timber from surrounding forests. At the same time, pioneer farmers, like Isaac Ebey, marveled at the rich soil of nearby Ebey's Prairie, where they planted crops and wrote to friends and relatives, inviting them to come and share the bounty. Together, captains of the sea and soil created a town of distinctive Victorian houses and enterprising businesses that inhabitants and visitors enjoy today.
Crook County
9781467130592
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Crook County, Oregon, is located in the heart of the state and was created from Wasco County on October 24, 1882. The original Crook County included what is now Jefferson, Deschutes, Crook, and part of Wheeler Counties. The region was among the last frontiers to be settled in Oregon. The county experienced some violent times with the rise of a vigilante organization that took the law into its own hands and, later, the infamous Sheep and Cattle Wars that pitted cattlemen against sheep men until government control of grazing on public lands was introduced. Although there were turbulent times, the county mostly evolved into a thriving ranching, farming, and lumber-dominated economy. The perseverance of hearty pioneers forged the frontier into a prosperous and socially enriched region.
Dallas
9780738596228
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The only people living along the banks of the LaCreole River before 1842 were Native Americans and a few itinerant French Canadian fur trappers who, according to local lore, bestowed its name. Wagon trains first arrived in 1843 with these pioneers settling along the LeCreole River's banks. The community of Cynthian grew on the north side of the LaCreole River, the area of north Dallas today. The LaCreole River evolved into the Rickreall, and Cynthian was renamed Dallas when it relocated to the south banks of the river. Dallas, the county seat of Polk County, is rich both in its history and its heritage, with many of the old buildings and early homes still in use. Numerous descendants of those original 1843 and 1844 pioneer families continue to call modern Dallas home.
Downtown Vancouver
9780738529592
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Named for a British sea explorer, Vancouver was conceived in the early 1800s when Lewis and Clark camped at the waterfront and deemed the area ripe for settlement. The Hudson's Bay Company soon established its fur-trading empire here, and "Fort Vancouver" became the commercial center of the area. In 1849 American troops set up Columbia Barracks nearby, establishing the area as a military stronghold. In 1857 the city of Vancouver was incorporated, and gradually became an important industrial and residential city. Vancouver is now a big city, and along with nearby Portland, Oregon, is home to high-tech, maritime, lumber, and manufacturing industries.
Eagle Point
9780738593104
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The first settlers watched in awe as magnificent eagles soared overhead and nested high up on a butte. They decided to name their new town Eagle Point. They took out Donation Land Claims and began farming and ranching some of the best land in southern Oregon. As time went by, Eagle Point became known for its fine fruits and vegetables. Eagle Point was honored to be called the King of Apples and the Onion Capital. When the king of England discovered that Eagle Point grew some of the best Bosc pears in the world, he placed a large order. Today, a stroll through Eagle Point's downtown or across its covered bridge will take you back in time to experience what life was like for those who called Eagle Point home many years ago.
Early Ballard
9780738548173
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The first land claim in what would become the city of Ballard was made in 1852, but it wasn't until a ship captain named William Rankin Ballard lost a bet with a business partner and found himself the owner of 160 acres of seemingly worthless land that the city prospered and became the "Shingle Capital of the World." Incorporated in 1890, Ballard grew quickly, thanks to shingle and lumber mills and the Scandinavian fishing fleet. When a horse was supposedly found in the city water supply in 1906, reluctant Ballardites voted to be annexed to the city of Seattle, and the flag flew at half-staff at Ballard City Hall. Home to the Nordic Heritage Museum, Chittenden Locks, and the fishing fleet, this bustling city-within-a-city still retains its unique Scandinavian flavor to this day.
Early Monroe
9780738599724
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In the middle of the 19th century, those who ventured several miles up the tree-lined Snohomish River looked upon a wilderness that is now Monroe. They also found the friendly remnants of the native population living where three valleys with rich bottomland come together, set against the beautiful backdrop of the Cascade Mountains. Over the years, settlers arrived to farm the land and harvest the bountiful timber. Although a settlement called Park Place existed early on, there was no real town to serve the area until the coming of the railroad in 1893. Relocated to be nearer the railroad, the new settlement was named Monroe after the nation's fifth president and as a concession to the postal service requirement for one-word towns. The small community saw rapid growth in the next few decades. A steady influx of newcomers soon built a thriving town that is today best known for the annual Evergreen State Fair.
Early Snohomish
9780738548982
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This riverside city was established when a rumor surfaced that a military road would be crossing over the Snohomish River. The road never materialized. By 1866, the "mother city" of the new county was little more than a clearing in the woods, offering a store and a saloon, and was known up and down the river as Cadyville. Ten years later, the name Snohomish City was established, along with the first newspaper, the first school, and the first literary society in the county. Farms, logging camps, and trading posts throughout the area pivoted around this growing city and manufacturing center. Even Seattle was not much larger and offered no more amenities. Today 9,000 residents call Snohomish home, and as the area develops farther away from the riverside and its historic roots, this book invites the reader to pause and remember.
Early Spokane
9780738581453
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Spokan Falls, known as the "Capital of the Inland Empire," was named after the Spokan Indians and the picturesque falls. In 1891, the name was changed to Spokane. The town thrived as a result of the abundant waters of the Spokane River, which powered saw and grain mills, and lured major transcontinental railways to Spokane in 1881. In 1889, a fire destroyed the downtown area, but like a forest after a fire, the town enjoyed growth and resurgence soon after. Spokane would attract people as diverse as Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, Calamity Jane, Billy Sunday, and Charles Lindbergh. Easterners found that its four seasons and profusion of scenic city parks gave them a place to ensure their destiny.
Edmonds
9781467132046
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Before Edmonds became a town, it was a forest of cedar trees and evergreens. The Puget Sound's various Indian tribes used the land for camping, the sea for fishing and clamming for meals, and the marshes for harvesting tules that they used to weave into items such as mats and baskets. Later, the area became known as Brackett's Landing, named after the man who began logging the forest and founded the town of Edmonds in 1890 and opened its first mills and schools. The Great Northern Railway arrived in 1891, bringing with it great prospects for commercial and residential prosperity. As the young town grew into a city, it thrived because of its location on the water. Private ferry boats called the "Mosquito Fleet" came from Seattle, and to this day, commercial and passenger ferries cross the Puget Sound to the Port of Edmonds, Kingston, and the rest of the Olympic peninsula.
Estacada
9780738589145
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Estacada, incorporated in 1905, is located in the foothills of the Cascade Range. The town owes its existence to the construction of the first hydroelectric power dams along the narrow canyons of the scenic Clackamas River. For eight decades, Estacada was prominent in the timber industry. Today, the main attractions are the area's outstanding beauty, its growing art community, and recreational opportunities such as camping, hunting, fishing, and boating. About 2,400 people live in the incorporated city of Estacada, but the majority of a population of 18,000 lives in the unincorporated towns that surround it. These communities were settled as early as 1847 and boasted their own schools, churches, businesses, and post offices long before the incorporation of Estacada. Their lush histories provide a colorful foundation for the people and areas now collectively referred to as Estacada.
Eugene
9780738593234
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Since its beginnings in the 1850s, Eugene has attracted independent thinkers. Its early leaders sited the town in a picturesque location along the Willamette River and were confident that agriculture and timber businesses would guide its growth. As Eugene transformed from a settlement to a city, its citizens took an active voice in the creation of its identity, like advocating for a main railroad line to run through town and determining how the commercial district would branch out from the central downtown core. Today, the population continues to express strong and diverse feelings about politics, personal rights, and the environment as it shares the common experience of living and working in a place of great natural beauty.
Everett Fishermen
9780738558318
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In the late 1890s, the migration of Croatian and Norwegian fishermen to Washington State launched an era of worldwide exportation of salmon from the Puget Sound and surrounding waters. Specific to Everett came a group of fishermen proficient in the art of purse seining. With dauntless energy, they set about the task of conquering the open waters to survive in their newfound home. Often their journey was successful, but at times the battle turned disastrous. Ships were sunk, lives were lost, and dreams were flung into the sea. On the home front, wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters shared in the quest, often working long hours at processing plants and other local industries. All the while, the women and their children kept their eyes on the horizon, anticipating the safe return of loved ones.
Federal Way
9780738558981
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Located on Puget Sound between Seattle and Tacoma, the site that became Federal Way was first settled by loggers, who in the 1860s began using the shore along Puget Sound for easy access to the extensive timber available inland. By the 1880s, about 50 homesteaders had filed claims in the Greater Federal Way area. Five small communities with individual school districts were established. When the five school districts consolidated in 1929, the new school was given the name Federal Way School because of the recently built, federally funded highway that passed nearby. Eventually the entire community came to be known as Federal Way. Still a relatively rural place up until the 1950s, Federal Way has grown exponentially since that time and is now the eighth largest city in Washington.
Fife
9780738588940
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When the citizens of Fife voted to incorporate the town in 1957, they sought to control their destiny and retain their idyllic community. However, Fife's location between the burgeoning cities of Tacoma and Seattle and proximity to Commencement Bay presented challenges of eminent domain, which ultimately brought about the transformation of the fabric of the land. This history documents the transformation of Fife from the establishment of the Puyallup Indian Reservation through that of the pioneer farmers who worked the rich, volcanic soil while developing a close-knit community of families and friends.
Fir Island and Conway
9781467124782
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The North Fork and the South Fork of the Skagit River were navigated by those searching for gold and land in the 1870s. Flooding became a deterrent for many, but those who stayed discovered an abundance of fertile soil and natural resources. Scandinavian immigrants, predominantly Norwegian, came to settle in the area, some with their families, and worked in logging and in farming. As the population grew, small towns and businesses were soon established. Skagit City and Fir were located on Fir Island; Conway and Milltown were located east of the island. In 1914, a bridge connected the island to the mainland, replacing the ferry at Mann's Landing. After many floods, the removal of logjams, and the arrival of the Great Northern Railroad, Mount Vernon began to prosper upriver, and the little towns began to disappear. Today, Fir Island and Conway are destinations for tourists who come to see snow geese and trumpeter swans during migration. Farmers continue to work the soil, and many descendants of pioneers still remain.