Editing Skykomish, Washington (section)

==History==
[[File:Maloneys General Store.jpg|thumb|left|Maloney's General Store in 2008]]
[[File:Schneider's Hotel, Skykomish, Washington, ca 1903 (WASTATE 281).jpeg|thumb|left|Schneider's Hotel, circa 1903]]
The name "Skykomish" derives from the [[Skykomish people|Skykomish]] or Skai-whamish tribe (originally considered a subdivision of the [[Snoqualmie (tribe)|Snoqualmie]]s) who inhabited the area before European settlement.<ref>Ruby, Robert H. and John Arthur Brown. (1992.) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=-7zBc-pqnGsC A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest]'', 2nd ed. University of Oklahoma Press. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-7zBc-pqnGsC&dq=skykomish%20name&pg=PA211 p. 211]. {{ISBN|0-8061-2479-2}}. Google Book Search.  Retrieved 2009-12-13.</ref>

John Maloney, a guide for the [[surveying]] team on the Great Northern Railway, settled a flat spot in 1892, which got the name "Maloney's Siding".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://skykomishwa.gov/about | title=Town of Skykomish }}</ref> The following year the railroad was completed, and when a post office was established, the place became known as Skykomish. The townsite was platted in 1889 and was officially incorporated as the town of Skykomish on June 5, 1909.<ref name="PI-1998">{{cite news |last=Modie |first=Neil |date=October 24, 1998 |title=This town is rich with history and volunteers |page=D1 |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]}}</ref> Maloney opened [[Maloney's General Store]] in 1893. A hotel, the Skykomish Hotel, soon followed. In 1902 this hotel burned to the ground and was replaced by Schneider's Hotel. In 1904, a fire burned down every commercial building except the store. Maloney's General Store was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on August 29, 1997. In 2000, the entire commercial district, with the historic Skykomish Hotel (erected to replace the burned-down Schneider's Hotel in 1904) as its cornerstone, was also placed on the NRHP.<ref>{{NRHPRef|reference=97001078}}</ref><ref>{{NRHPRef|reference=00000974}}</ref><ref>The 1910 Wellington Disaster
By Deborah Cuyle, Rodney Fletcher, Arcadia Publishing, 2019, page 60</ref>

From the 1890s to 1974, Skykomish was a maintenance and fueling station for the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]], which eventually became part of the [[Burlington Northern Railroad]], and presently the [[BNSF Railway]]. At its peak, eight passenger trains serviced Skykomish daily, and it saw stops by several named passenger trains including the [[List of named passenger trains of the United States (D–H)#G|Great Northern Flyer]], the [[Oriental Limited]], the [[Cascadian (train)|Cascadian]], the [[Western Star (train)|Western Star]] and the [[Empire Builder]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://skyhistory.org/history.htm | title=Skykomish Historical Society History }}</ref>  It was also once the western terminus for electric operations (1928–56) on the [[Cascade Tunnel]] route all the way to [[Wenatchee]].  Here, steam or diesel locomotives were changed or coupled to electric locomotives.<ref>Middleton, William D.  ''When the Steam Railroads Electrified''.  Indiana University Press: 2002.  {{ISBN|978-0-253-33979-9}}</ref> The Great Northern Depot, the former [[Skykomish station]], was moved to a new city park in 2012 and today serves as a visitors center and history museum.

The town gained a [[public library]] service operated by the [[King County Library System|King County Rural Library District]] in 1944, its library opening the following year in the [[city hall]]. It moved to a new building in 1993, which was expanded in 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://kcls.org/about-skykomish-library/ | title=About Skykomish Library }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Schein |first=Michael |date=April 11, 2017 |title=Skykomish Library celebrates a grand opening and a 50th anniversary on July 16, 1994. |url=https://historylink.org/File/20331 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref>

Skykomish's population peaked at around 8,000 in the 1920s and shrank to under 300 by 1990 due to the loss of businesses and jobs.<ref name="PI-1998"/>

Legal but ill-advised waste disposal practices, common during that era, resulted in the [[contamination]] of its [[soil]], its [[groundwater]], and the [[Skykomish River]] by [[oil]] and [[Heavy metal (chemistry)|heavy metals]]. The video class of the local school chose to document the oil
under the town, winning the 2002 President’s Environmental Youth Award.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Skykomish Was Meant to be a Railroad Town | url=http://skyhistory.org/pdf/SkykomishHistory2.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701091856/http://www.skyhistory.org:80/pdf/SkykomishHistory2.pdf | archive-date=2015-07-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.epa.gov/archive/epapages/newsroom_archive/newsreleases/0fd4db3f1fad128b852570cb0075e20c.html | title=4/8/2002: Skykomish High Students Win President's Environmental Youth Award for Skykomish River Video Project }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.epa.gov/archive/epapages/newsroom_archive/newsreleases/0fd4db3f1fad128b852570cb0075e20c.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230827102830/https://www.epa.gov/archive/epapages/newsroom_archive/newsreleases/0fd4db3f1fad128b852570cb0075e20c.html | archive-date=August 27, 2023 | title=4/8/2002: Skykomish High Students Win President's Environmental Youth Award for Skykomish River Video Project }}</ref> BNSF (then BN) and the Washington State Department of Ecology began remediation discussions in the mid-1980s, and in 2006, agreed to a plan whereby the railroad would pay up to $50 million to clean up the area over a three-year period (completed in 2009). This effort involved massive [[Earthworks (engineering)|excavations]]—essentially removing the contaminated soil and replacing it with clean soil—and the rebuilding of a [[levee]]. (The eventual total cost of the cleanup exceeded $100 million.)

Twenty two of Skykomish's buildings – both homes and business – were temporarily moved during the cleanup process.  After the contaminated soil under them was removed, the buildings were moved back to their original locations on new foundations and utilities connections.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kimball |first=Jill |date=July 4, 2010 |title=Skykomish uprooted by massive cleanup project |url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2012281469_skykomish05m.html |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref> The town was restored with modern conveniences such as sidewalks and street lights, but the historic character of Skykomish was maintained. The greatest benefit of the cleanup to every resident and business in town was the installation of the new [[wastewater treatment]] system connected to every building.

Led by point guard John Best, the Skykomish basketball team won the 1954 State B championship beating the highly favored 3A Bainbridge. In 1954, Skykomish had a total of 51 students, while Bainbridge had an enrollment of 266.