Editing Sedro-Woolley, Washington (section)

==History==
[[File:Sedro-Woolley, Washington (1906).jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Sedro-Woolley in 1906]]
Incorporated on December 19, 1898, Sedro-Woolley was formed from neighboring rival towns of Sedro (once known as Bug) and Woolley in [[Skagit County]], northwestern Washington, {{convert|25|mi|km|abbr=off}} inland from the [[Puget Sound]], {{convert|40|mi|km|abbr=off}} south of the border with Canada and {{convert|65|mi|km|abbr=off}} north of [[Seattle]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Bourasaw |first=Noel V. |date=May 18, 2001 |title=From Bug to the Bughouse: Sedro-Woolley was one of the most famous boom towns on the Western American Frontier |url=http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/S-W/Pre-1900/Bughouse01.html |work=Skagit River Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026042703/http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/S-W/Pre-1900/Bughouse01.html |archive-date=October 26, 2007 |accessdate=March 31, 2018}}</ref>

Four British bachelors, led by David Batey, homesteaded the area in 1878, the time logjam obstructions were cleared downriver at the site of Mount Vernon.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bourasaw |first=Noel V. |date=May 12, 2001 |title=Four Bachelors Clear the Wilderness at the site of future Sedro |url=http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/S-W/Pre-1900/4Bachelors.html |work=Skagit River Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826161740/http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/S-W/Pre-1900/4Bachelors.html |archive-date=August 26, 2007 |accessdate=March 31, 2018}}</ref> In 1884–85, Batey built a store and home for the Mortimer Cook family from [[Santa Barbara, California]] where Cook had been mayor for two terms. Cook intended to name his new Pacific Northwest town Bug due to the number of [[mosquitos]] present, but his wife protested along with a handful of other local wives. Cook was already the namesake for the town Cook's Ferry on the Thompson River in [[British Columbia]]. With "Bug" being so unpopular, Cook derived a town name from Spanish; knowing [[:es:Cedrus|"cedro"]] was the word for cedar, he replaced one letter to make the name unique, settling on "Sedro".<ref>{{cite web |last=Bourasaw |first=Noel V. |date=February 23, 2002 |title=Mortimer Cook, founder of Bug and Sedro key figure all over America |url=http://www.skagitriverjournal.com/S-W/Pioneer/Pre1900/Cook/Cook01-BioIntro.html |work=Skagit River Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928172649/http://www.skagitriverjournal.com/S-W/Pioneer/Pre1900/Cook/Cook01-BioIntro.html |archive-date=September 28, 2018 |access-date=March 31, 2018}}</ref>

Sedro, on the northern banks of the [[Skagit River]], proved susceptible to floods. In 1889, [[Northern Pacific Railway]] developer [[Nelson Bennett]] began laying track from the town of [[Fairhaven, Washington|Fairhaven]], {{convert|25|mi|km|abbr=off}} northwest on [[Bellingham Bay]], and real estate developer Norman R. Kelley platted a new town of Sedro on high ground a mile northwest of Cook's site. The [[Fairhaven and Southern Railroad]] arrived in Sedro on Christmas Eve, 1889, in time for Bennett to receive a performance bonus from the towns at both ends, and a month after Washington became the 42nd state in the Union.<ref>{{cite web |last=Bourasaw |first=Noel V. |date=July 20, 2001 |title=Fairhaven & Southern Railroad, Nelson Bennett and the birth of the two Sedros: Part One of Two |url=http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/Railroad/Duel1-F-S-1.html |work=Skagit River Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826161735/http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/Railroad/Duel1-F-S-1.html |archive-date=August 26, 2007 |accessdate=March 31, 2018}}</ref>

Within months, two more railroads crossed the F&S roadbed a half mile north of new Sedro, forming a triangle where 11 trains eventually arrived daily. Railroad developer [[Philip Woolley|Philip A. Woolley]] moved his family from [[Elgin, Illinois]], to Sedro in December 1899 and bought land around the triangle. He built the Skagit River Lumber & Shingle Mill next to where the railroads crossed and he started his namesake company town there that was based on sales of railroad ties to the three rail companies, including the [[Seattle and Northern Railway]] (forerunner of the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]]) and the [[Northern Pacific Railroad]].

[[File:Sedro-Woolley - on Metcalf 02.jpg|thumb|left|Shops on Metcalf Street, downtown Sedro-Woolley, May 2009.]]
Meanwhile, a fourth town rose nearby when the F&S laid rails on a "[[Wye (rail)|wye]]" that led northeast from Sedro about four and a half miles to [[coal]] mines. Bennett bought the mines, along with Montana mining financier [[Charles X. Larrabee]], and they soon sold their interests to [[James J. Hill]], owner of the Great Northern. The resulting ore soon turned out to be more suitable for coking coal and a town began there named Cokedale. Cokedale faded in importance when the mine declined and the other towns all merged on December 19, 1898, as Sedro-Woolley.

On May 15, 1922, a circus elephant known as Tusko rampaged through the town after it escaped from the traveling [[Al G. Barnes Circus]]. He was the largest circus elephant in captivity at the time, measuring {{convert|10|ft|2|in|m}} tall and weighing {{convert|7.5|ST|kg}}. Tusko demolished several fences, knocked down telephone poles, and destroyed a [[Model T]]. He was chased by local residents for {{convert|30|mi|km}} in the surrounding countryside, and was captured the following morning.<ref name="Tusko">{{cite web |last=Pierce |first=J. Kingston |date=February 22, 2003 |title=Tusko the elephant rampages through Sedro-Woolley on May 15, 1922. |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/5270 |work=HistoryLink |accessdate=November 22, 2024}}</ref>

After logging and coal-mining declined, the major employers and industries became the nearby [[Northern State Hospital]] (a mental-health facility)<ref>{{cite web |last=Bourasaw |first=Noel V. |date=January 1, 2001 |title=History of Northern State Hospital, of Sedro-Woolley, Washington – Part 1: Introduction and overview |url=http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/S-WArea/NSH1.html |work=Skagit River Journal |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830140827/http://www.stumpranchonline.com/skagitjournal/S-WArea/NSH1.html |archive-date=August 30, 2007 |accessdate=March 31, 2018}}</ref> and [[Skagit Steel & Iron Works]], which rose from the back room of a local hardware store to become a major supplier of implements and parts for logging and railroad customers. The firm manufactured machines and parts for the war effort in World War II and artillery shells, starting in 1953. By 1990, the company was gone and the hospital was closed but new industry, including robotics and aerospace, is developing north of town and on the campus of the old hospital.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/sedro-woolley-road-projects-emphasize-city-development/article_f18c0ecc-1667-5b73-af43-debbbe9b4d61.html |title=Sedro-Woolley road projects emphasize city development |date=January 10, 2018 |first=Kimberley |last=Cauvel |work=[[Skagit Valley Herald]] |access-date=June 12, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.goskagit.com/news/local_news/sedro-woolley-to-incorporate-fiber-into-fruitdale-road-project/article_6d50ad01-6983-5015-8ae8-d5e980676f17.html |title=Sedro-Woolley to incorporate fiber into Fruitdale Road project |date=May 29, 2018 |first=Kimberley |last=Cauvel |work=Skagit Valley Herald |access-date=June 12, 2018}}</ref>