Snohomish County - Celebrate 150th Anniversary

It's Time to Celebrate

Fertile farmland, easy water access and abundant forests attracted settlers, who clustered in the Lowell, Monroe, Stanwood and Edmonds areas in the mid 1800s. When Washington became a state in 1889, Snohomish was the county’s most well-developed cultural and political center. As the population grew, local settlers petitioned the territorial legislature to create a separate county. On January 14, 1861, that petition was granted.

Say hello to Snohomish County, 150 years later – Snohomish County is still a cultural and political center. Aerospace, biotech and clean energy lure more investment – and a rich cultural heritage gives us a reason to celebrate. So celebrate we will!

Poster Series to Commemorate County

The rotating gallery of photos below depicts moments in the life and times in Snohomish County's cultural heritage over the past 150 years. Each poster shows images from the three chronological 50 year periods from 1861 to 2011. Quiz yourself: see if you can name each photo's content then click on it to reveal the text caption.

Seattle Mariner's AAA minor league team the Everett Aquasox.
4th of July parade at Index.
Princess Theatre in Edmonds stands today.
First area saw mill at Tulalip Bay.
Plane assembly in Everett during WWII.
Silvana Church still stands on hillside.
Monroe Fire Department
Everett's first school teacher in 1891 was Emma Yule, who later became principal and then superintendent.
The first car to reach the city of Index.
Blackman Bros. designed logging engine for wide gauge railways.
Native American wood carving.
First flight at Harvey air field in Snohomish.
Steamer Idaho on Snohomish River in Everett.
Lake Stevens dance hall.
Mangarella Grocery in Everett.
Arlington Airport
Snohomish High School building served first as the Snohomish County Courthouse.
Keeler's Corner on Hwy 99 in Mountlake Terrace.
Self-portrait by local artist Chuck Close. Courtesy Chuck Close collection.
Famous "Babe Ruth" of Alderwood Manor set record for egg production.
Electric Interurban Trolley ran from Seattle to Everett. Stopped here in Alderwood Manor.
Original Herfy's restaurants started popular franchise in Snohomish County.
Educational leader Hal Reasby.
Bike tree off Highway 9 south of Snohomish.
Above the Belt store in Everett Mall is beginning of Zumiez franchise.
Air ballooning out of Snohomish WA.
Car tree attraction at rest stop near Smokey Point.
Monte Cristo Hotel in downtown Everett replaced original hotel which was on Rucker Hill.
Lettuce farming in Monroe during the Depression.
1968 night life on Colby Ave. with the Everett Theatre neon marquee competing with the Roxy Theatre across the street.
County Courthouse in Everett was rebuilt after fire in 1910.
Pilchuck Julia lived in Snohomish. Rigby photo collection.
Snohomish baseball star Earl Averill is in the MLB Hall of Fame.
Pilchuck Glass School in Stanwood started on a tree farm in 1971.
Marysville Transfer truck delivering shingles.
Story Pole was located at Wetmore and California. Now restored.
Pearson house in Stanwood is now part of the local museum.
Original Monte Cristo Hotel on Rucker Hill in Everett.
River rafting on the Sauk River. Courtesy Orion Rafting.
Modern northwest architecture is exemplified by Lynnwood Convention Center.
Glaciers Peak Mountain is 2nd highest in WA state.
Wallace Falls is north of Highway 2 near Gold Bar, WA.
Wayside Mine NE of Granite Falls produced over 1/2 million in copper.
Boeing 747 airplane assembly at plant in Everett, WA
2009 Marysville Strawberry Festival Parade.