Skagit City, Washington
Encyclopedia
Skagit City was a town at the divergence of the North and South Forks of the Skagit River
, in the U.S. state of Washington. The Barker's Trading Post along the river, opened in 1869, was partially or fully responsible for drawing people to settle at the townsite, which became an important river transportation center at at least one point along its history, most notably 1872. The city prospered until shortly before the 1880s, after the upstream community of Mount Vernon, Washington
began to prosper. By 1906, only one building remained of the entire town, and after World War II
, it had disappeared entirely. Today, the city of Cedardale, Washington, is the closest city to the former townsite, and the name "Skagit City" has become simply a placename on the northeastern tip of Fir Island
at where two distributaries diverge and carry Skagit River water into Skagit Bay
, which branches off the Strait of Juan de Fuca
. The city, however, played an integral part to the current settlement of Skagit County.
named the North Fork and the South Fork. While the South Fork was navigable, the North Fork was the smaller channel that flowed into marsh
es, estuaries
and slough
s in the northern part of the delta of the Skagit River. Two huge logjams, which often included tree trunks longer than 100 feet (30.5 m), shortly upstream in the river impeded navigation further upstream, which diverted more water traffic to the trading post rather than to upstream communities. (This series of logjams was later destroyed, allowing ships to travel further upstream, and also spelled the end for Skagit City.)
Shortly after the settlement of the region began, the first noted murder in the region also occurred, at a point between late 1869 and early 1870. It was said that a group of Native American
s had set up camp on the bank of the North Fork Skagit River directly across from the fledgling town. The only one killed was John Barker, and initial suspicions led to the hanging of two Indians. Later investigations led to suspicion of a nearby resident, Quimby Clark, who fled the area before he could be questioned. Eventually, it was determined that "the store showed plainly that the robbery and murder had been committed by a white man, for things which Indians would have taken were left and those which a white man would have taken were gone."
Notably, Campbell, as previously mentioned the founder of the first trading post along the Skagit forks, once journeyed upriver along the Skagit on an 1874 canoe trip. It was said that one night, he had "slipped off" into the forest across the river. His disappearance went unnoticed until the whole party was awakened by "piercing blood-curling shrieks", and it was later discovered that it was in fact Campbell himself, "shrieking over and over the name of a local Skagit River Indian, 'Ted-auh-an'." The owner of the LaConner hotel, John P. McGlinn, was known to later say that the incidence was a case of "religious dementia". They did not continue upriver, and Campbell was tricked into returning to Skagit City by a false letter by James O'Loughlin, the owner of a tin shop in the settlement.
. The 100 feet (30.5 m) sternwheeler Fanny Lake, which played a key part in the settlement of the Skagit Forks area, as well as Skagit City and the nearby, growing town of LaConner, was the first ship to begin this route, though different sources cite this ship as being either launched in 1875 or having begun the route in 1874, having previously served on different Northwest routes.
The ship sank on May 21, 1883, when it hit a riffle in the Skagit River locally known as "Dead Man's Riffle". Although its superstructure was destroyed in the collision, it was refloated in 1889 by Joshua Green
and partners, who had founded the La Conner Trading and Transportation Company
. Over the next decade, Fanny Lake was responsible for the rapid growth and settlement of the Skagit Forks.
The town was said to be a typical "river town", a long, narrow settled area stretching along a levee along the Skagit River. Businesses were built facing the river, in a row running along the levee
road facing the river. A ferry and many other boats would dock in the extensive harbor of Skagit City, which occupied a wide and deep river channel. At its height, the city had many public buildings among its shops and houses, which included a church, hotels, a school, and a saloon.
The aforementioned Fanny Lake was also used for transportation of grain
s and hay
in the Skagit Forks area. In 1893, the Fanny Lake was destroyed for a second and permanent time when, in Sullivan Slough, it caught fire and sank.
to prosper, while Skagit City gradually lost its residents and businesses. The demolition of the logjam, known also as the Skagit Jam, began in the fall of 1874, when General Michler of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers studied the possibility of opening a channel through the logjam. The jams, which covered roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) of the river, ranged in width from 1000 feet (304.8 m) in the upper jam to 500 feet (152.4 m) in the lower jam. There were also a series of obstacles, presumably including sandbars, submerged rocks, and others, laid out between the two logjams.
Also in 1877, floods on the Skagit River tearing through the newly excavated channels carried away more logs from the slowly dissipating jams. In late 1877, the logjam blocking the mouth of the Stillaguamish River
had been entirely destroyed.
The clearing of the logjams led to the increased settlement of aforementioned Mount Vernon, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) upstream of Skagit City. It was said that "the older town gradually began to decline, losing its business houses to Mount Vernon one by one." The town slowly "faded in importance" until, by 1906, only one original building remained standing, and that was the general store of Daniel E. Gage. It is rumored that one building, the hotel of Michael Horan, may still remain.
Skagit River
The Skagit River is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi long...
, in the U.S. state of Washington. The Barker's Trading Post along the river, opened in 1869, was partially or fully responsible for drawing people to settle at the townsite, which became an important river transportation center at at least one point along its history, most notably 1872. The city prospered until shortly before the 1880s, after the upstream community of Mount Vernon, Washington
Mount Vernon, Washington
Mount Vernon is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,743 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the county seat of Skagit County...
began to prosper. By 1906, only one building remained of the entire town, and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it had disappeared entirely. Today, the city of Cedardale, Washington, is the closest city to the former townsite, and the name "Skagit City" has become simply a placename on the northeastern tip of Fir Island
Fir Island (Washington)
Fir Island is bounded by North and South Forks of the Skagit River and Skagit Bay of Puget Sound in the southwestern corner of Skagit County, Washington. Triangular in outline, east–west by north–south with an area of nearly , Fir Island is occupied by 195 families...
at where two distributaries diverge and carry Skagit River water into Skagit Bay
Skagit Bay
Skagit Bay is a bay and strait located in the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Whidbey Island Basin of Puget Sound. The Skagit River empties into Skagit Bay. To the south, Skagit Bay connects with the rest of Puget Sound via Saratoga Passage and Possession Sound...
, which branches off the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
. The city, however, played an integral part to the current settlement of Skagit County.
First settlement
The first white settlement in the Skagit River forks area was in 1868, when a small store was establisher there by a man named Campbell. The Barker's Trading Post, established by John Barker in 1869, was a trading post near the divergence of the Skagit River into two distributariesDistributary
A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. They are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributary is a tributary...
named the North Fork and the South Fork. While the South Fork was navigable, the North Fork was the smaller channel that flowed into marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, estuaries
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
and slough
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
s in the northern part of the delta of the Skagit River. Two huge logjams, which often included tree trunks longer than 100 feet (30.5 m), shortly upstream in the river impeded navigation further upstream, which diverted more water traffic to the trading post rather than to upstream communities. (This series of logjams was later destroyed, allowing ships to travel further upstream, and also spelled the end for Skagit City.)
Shortly after the settlement of the region began, the first noted murder in the region also occurred, at a point between late 1869 and early 1870. It was said that a group of Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
s had set up camp on the bank of the North Fork Skagit River directly across from the fledgling town. The only one killed was John Barker, and initial suspicions led to the hanging of two Indians. Later investigations led to suspicion of a nearby resident, Quimby Clark, who fled the area before he could be questioned. Eventually, it was determined that "the store showed plainly that the robbery and murder had been committed by a white man, for things which Indians would have taken were left and those which a white man would have taken were gone."
Notably, Campbell, as previously mentioned the founder of the first trading post along the Skagit forks, once journeyed upriver along the Skagit on an 1874 canoe trip. It was said that one night, he had "slipped off" into the forest across the river. His disappearance went unnoticed until the whole party was awakened by "piercing blood-curling shrieks", and it was later discovered that it was in fact Campbell himself, "shrieking over and over the name of a local Skagit River Indian, 'Ted-auh-an'." The owner of the LaConner hotel, John P. McGlinn, was known to later say that the incidence was a case of "religious dementia". They did not continue upriver, and Campbell was tricked into returning to Skagit City by a false letter by James O'Loughlin, the owner of a tin shop in the settlement.
Peak
In and around its roughly 1872 economic peak, Skagit City (sometimes confused with the "tiny [nearby] hamlet" of Skagit Forks) the city provided a sheltered harbor for sternwheelers on trade routes stemming from the city of Seattle and running to smaller settlements in the southern Puget SoundPuget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
. The 100 feet (30.5 m) sternwheeler Fanny Lake, which played a key part in the settlement of the Skagit Forks area, as well as Skagit City and the nearby, growing town of LaConner, was the first ship to begin this route, though different sources cite this ship as being either launched in 1875 or having begun the route in 1874, having previously served on different Northwest routes.
The ship sank on May 21, 1883, when it hit a riffle in the Skagit River locally known as "Dead Man's Riffle". Although its superstructure was destroyed in the collision, it was refloated in 1889 by Joshua Green
Joshua Green (seaman and banker)
Joshua Green was an American sternwheeler captain, businessman, and banker. He rose from being a seaman to being the dominant figure of the Puget Sound Mosquito Fleet, then sold out his interests and became a banker...
and partners, who had founded the La Conner Trading and Transportation Company
La Conner Trading and Transportation Company
The La Conner Trading and Transportation Company was founded in the early 1900s by Joshua Green and others, to engage in the shipping business on Puget Sound.-Formation:...
. Over the next decade, Fanny Lake was responsible for the rapid growth and settlement of the Skagit Forks.
...the wonderfully rapid development of the resources of the river in all its business interests; to say nothing of its extraordinary rapid increase in population, caused by the great number of new settlers, coming into the valley for homes on each trip of the Fanny Lake [Sternwheeler].
-The Skagit River Journal, circa 1877
The town was said to be a typical "river town", a long, narrow settled area stretching along a levee along the Skagit River. Businesses were built facing the river, in a row running along the levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
road facing the river. A ferry and many other boats would dock in the extensive harbor of Skagit City, which occupied a wide and deep river channel. At its height, the city had many public buildings among its shops and houses, which included a church, hotels, a school, and a saloon.
The aforementioned Fanny Lake was also used for transportation of grain
GRAIN
GRAIN is a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems. Our support takes the form of independent research and analysis, networking at local, regional and...
s and hay
Hay
Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs...
in the Skagit Forks area. In 1893, the Fanny Lake was destroyed for a second and permanent time when, in Sullivan Slough, it caught fire and sank.
Decline
The decline of the town of Skagit City began in the 1870s, when the two logjams clogging the Skagit River and blocking traffic upstream of the Skagit Forks were removed. The removal of the logs allowed the upstream community of Mount Vernon, WashingtonMount Vernon, Washington
Mount Vernon is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,743 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the county seat of Skagit County...
to prosper, while Skagit City gradually lost its residents and businesses. The demolition of the logjam, known also as the Skagit Jam, began in the fall of 1874, when General Michler of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers studied the possibility of opening a channel through the logjam. The jams, which covered roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) of the river, ranged in width from 1000 feet (304.8 m) in the upper jam to 500 feet (152.4 m) in the lower jam. There were also a series of obstacles, presumably including sandbars, submerged rocks, and others, laid out between the two logjams.
Also in 1877, floods on the Skagit River tearing through the newly excavated channels carried away more logs from the slowly dissipating jams. In late 1877, the logjam blocking the mouth of the Stillaguamish River
Stillaguamish River
The Stillaguamish River is a river in northwest Washington in the United States. It is mainly composed of two forks, the longer North Fork Stillaguamish and the South Fork Stillaguamish. The two forks join near Arlington. From there the Stillaguamish River proper flows for to Puget Sound...
had been entirely destroyed.
The clearing of the logjams led to the increased settlement of aforementioned Mount Vernon, approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) upstream of Skagit City. It was said that "the older town gradually began to decline, losing its business houses to Mount Vernon one by one." The town slowly "faded in importance" until, by 1906, only one original building remained standing, and that was the general store of Daniel E. Gage. It is rumored that one building, the hotel of Michael Horan, may still remain.