Editing Stanwood, Washington (section)

==History==
[[File:Stanwood WA Main St.jpg|thumb|left|Looking west on 271st Street Northwest, formerly the [[main street]] of East Stanwood]]

The [[Stillaguamish people|Stillaguamish]], a [[Coast Salish]] tribe, have inhabited the area around the Stillaguamish River delta for several thousand years.<ref name="Hunt" /> At the time of the [[Point Elliott Treaty]] in 1855 there was a Stillaguamish village at the mouth of the river consisting of three large [[potlatch]] houses with an estimated population of 250 people.<ref name="Lane1973">{{cite book |last=Lane |first=Barbara Savadkin |year=1973 |title=Anthropological Report on the Identity, Treaty Status, and Fisheries of the Stillaguamish Indians |pages=24–26 |publisher=[[United States Department of the Interior]] |oclc=4993109 |url=https://www.msaj.com/_files/ugd/aad22c_6a17b7ff7fa946d595f6ab4cc7a70c9c.pdf |via=Law Offices of Morisset, Schlosser, Jozwiak & Somerville |accessdate=October 18, 2023}}</ref> There were several other villages around the delta that totaled approximately 800 people,<ref name="Lane1973"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hollenbeck |first1=Jan L. |last2=Moss |first2=Madonna |year=1987 |title=A Cultural Resource Overview: Prehistory, Ethnography and History: Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest |publisher=[[United States Forest Service]] |page=153 |oclc=892024380 |url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005998596 |via=[[HathiTrust]] |access-date=March 15, 2018}}</ref> as well as graveyards that were later destroyed by settlers.<ref name="Lane1973"/> The area at the mouth of the river is known as {{Langx|lut|sdᶻəlgʷas|label=none}},<ref name="Lushootseed">{{Cite web |title=sdaʔdaʔ gʷəɬ dibəɬ dxʷləšucid ʔaciɬtalbixʷ – Puget Sound Geographical names |url=https://tulaliplushootseed.com/places/ |website=Tulalip Lushootseed |date=January 16, 2017 |publisher=Tulalip Tribes |accessdate=October 16, 2023}}</ref> meaning ''[[strait]]'' or ''[[Slough (hydrology)|slough]]'' in [[Lushootseed]].<ref name="Hunt" />

The area's first American expedition was led by George O. and G. L. Wilson, who were led by [[Snohomish people|Snohomish]] guides on a canoe expedition up the Stillaguamish River in 1851 and reported on its economic potential.<ref name="Lane1973"/><ref name="Times-1957">{{cite news |last=McDonald |first=Lucile |author-link=Lucile Saunders McDonald |date=December 8, 1957 |title=Two of Stillaguamish River's 3 Mouths Threatened by Siltation |page=5 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The first permanent American settlement at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River was Centerville, a [[trading post]] established in 1866 by Robert Fulton on the south side of the river.<ref name="Hunt">{{cite book |last1=Hunt |first1=Herbert |url=https://archive.org/details/washingtonwestc00kaylgoog |title=Washington, West of the Cascades: Historical and Descriptive |last2=Kaylor |first2=Floyd C. |publisher=[[S. J. Clarke Publishing Company]] |year=1917 |location=Chicago |pages=[https://archive.org/details/washingtonwestc00kaylgoog/page/n577 395]–398, 534 |oclc=10086413 |access-date=April 24, 2017 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Centerville gained a [[post office]] in 1870, and the settlement was moved to the north side of the river three years later.<ref name="IllustHistory">{{cite book|editor1-last=Hastie |editor1-first=Thomas P. |editor2-last=Batey |editor2-first=David |editor3-last=Sisson |editor3-first=E.A. |editor4-last=Graham |editor4-first=Albert L. |title=An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties |pages=[https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00inte/page/349 349]–354 |chapter=Chapter VI: Cities and Towns |publisher=Interstate Publishing Company |location=Chicago |year=1906 |lccn=06030900 |oclc=11299996 |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00inte |via=[[The Internet Archive]] |access-date=July 1, 2018}}</ref> The post office was renamed to Stanwood in 1877 by its sixth postmaster Daniel O. Pearson, after his wife [[Clara Stanwood Pearson|Clara]]'s maiden name;<ref>{{cite book |last=Meany |first=Edmond S. |title=Origin of Washington geographic names |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015027074981;view=1up;seq=303 |year=1923 |publisher=University of Washington Press |location=Seattle |page=287}}</ref><ref name="Engle">{{cite journal |last=Engle |first=Flora A. P. |title=The Story of the Mercer Expeditions |date=October 1915 |volume=6 |number=4 |pages=227–228, 234–236 |journal=[[Washington Historical Quarterly]] |jstor=40474463}}</ref> Pearson also ran a general store and built a new steamboat [[wharf]] on the Stillaguamish River shortly after arriving.<ref name="HistoryLink">{{cite web |last=Prasse |first=Karen |date=April 5, 2008 |title=Stanwood — Thumbnail History |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/8557 |work=[[HistoryLink]] |access-date=July 1, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 4, 1935 |title=Stanwood Was Wilderness When Pearson Began in '77 |page=3 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Pearson had arrived from [[Lowell, Massachusetts]], in 1866; two of his sisters were among the original "[[Mercer Girls]]".<ref name="Engle" />

The surrounding area was cleared by loggers and managed using a series of [[levee]]s along the Stillaguamish River before being opened for settlement by farmers and ranchers.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> The establishment of a Norwegian [[Lutheran]] church in 1876, the first to be built in the Pacific Northwest, brought the area's first wave of Scandinavian immigrants.<ref name="Hunt"/> The townsite's [[plat]] was filed by W. R. Stockbridge in 1888,<ref name="HistoryLink"/>{{r|Whitfield1926|p=500}} ahead of a failed attempt to petition the county commission for [[municipal incorporation|incorporation]] as a city.<ref name="HL-Incorporation">{{cite web |last=Prasse |first=Karen |date=November 23, 2010 |title=Stanwood votes to incorporate on September 29, 1903. |url=http://www.historylink.org/File/9637 |work=HistoryLink |access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref> Stanwood suffered from a major fire on June 2, 1892, which destroyed the church and thirteen buildings and caused damages of approximately $26,100 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|26100|1892|fmt=eq|r=-3}} dollars);{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} several businesses and the town's [[liquor]] supply were saved by volunteers from the town's [[International Organisation of Good Templars|Good Templars]] lodge, who had been at a regular meeting.<ref name="Hunt"/><ref>{{cite news |date=June 3, 1892 |title=The Stanwood Fire: Successful Efforts in Saving the Town—Losses Amount to $26,100 |page=5 |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21504776/stanwood_fire/ |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=July 2, 2018}}</ref> By the end of the decade, the town had rebuilt its main street and gained a weekly newspaper, [[cannery]], [[horse racing track]], [[creamery]], and a [[wood shingle|shingle]] mill.<ref name="IllustHistory"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Johnsrud |first=Byron |date=January 2, 1972 |title=Stanwood has come a long way from old Centerville |pages=8–9 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Stanwood was officially incorporated on October 19, 1903, a month after the town's men voted 74–16 in favor of becoming a city.<ref name="HazardPlan">{{cite report |date=September 2015 |title=Snohomish County Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan Update, Volume 2: Planning Partner Annexes |page=12{{hyphen}}1 |url=https://snohomishcountywa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/14608 |publisher=Snohomish County |access-date=April 24, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Times-1954">{{cite news |last=Meyers |first=Georg N. |date=April 3, 1954 |title=Stanwood, East Stanwood Contemplate Union |page=18 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Stanwood's businesses relocated a block away from the riverfront in the 1920s and 1930s after the main flow of the Stillaguamish River shifted to another [[slough (hydrology)|slough]]. The change in the river rendered the wharf too shallow for [[steamboat]]s and damaged dikes after several major floods.<ref name="Times-1957"/><ref>{{cite news |date=December 14, 1921 |title=New Flood Sweeps Stanwood |page=1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>

The [[Seattle and Montana Railroad]] (later absorbed into the [[Great Northern Railway (U.S.)|Great Northern Railway]]) was constructed through the Stanwood area in 1891, but bypassed the town
{{convert|1|mi|km|1|spell=in}} to the east, where it built a [[train depot|depot]] on ground that was less prone to flooding.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="HL-Incorporation"/> Several businesses relocated to the area around the depot, including a bank and Washington state's first [[cooperative]] general store.<ref name="Times-1954"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Conover |first=C. T. |date=October 24, 1954 |title=Just Cogitating: Norwegian Organizations Have Flourished |page=6 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> Merchants in the old town boycotted the railroad and acquired a steamboat, the ''City of Stanwood'', in 1893; the ship was lost after catching fire on [[Port Susan]] the following year.<ref>{{cite book |last=Essex |first=Alice |year=1971 |title=The Stanwood Story, Volume I |pages=16–17 |publisher=Stanwood Camano News |oclc=36113496 }}</ref>

A short railroad, known as the [[H and H Railroad|Hall and Hall Railway]], was constructed in 1904 between the depot and downtown Stanwood and would operate until 1938.<ref name="Times-1949">{{cite news |date=October 30, 1949 |title=Twin Cities: Stanwood and East Stanwood |page=1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref name="WPA">{{cite book |author=[[Federal Writers' Project]] |origyear=1941 |year=2014 |title=The WPA Guide to Washington: The Evergreen State |pages=476–477 |series=[[American Guide Series]] |publisher=[[Trinity University Press]] |location=San Antonio |isbn=978-1-59534-245-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07PpCAAAQBAJ |via=Google Books }}</ref> The community around the depot was platted in 1906 as "East Stanwood", but initially relied on a [[chamber of commerce|commercial club]] to govern in lieu of a formal town government.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="Times-1954"/> East Stanwood was incorporated on February 7, 1922, after a series of civic disputes highlighted the need for a city government.<ref name="HL-Incorporation"/> East Stanwood was eventually bisected by the [[Pacific Highway (U.S.)|Pacific Highway]] in the 1920s and connected to Stanwood and [[Camano Island]] by paved roads constructed a decade earlier.<ref name="HL-Incorporation"/><ref name="Times-1954"/>

The "Twin City" maintained separate government facilities, schools, banks, sawmills, creameries, and [[frozen food]] plants.<ref name="Times-1954"/><ref name="Times-1990">{{cite news |last1=Duncan |first1=Don |last2=Shaw |first2=Linda |date=June 13, 1990 |title=Holding onto down-home ways: Stanwood unites east, west sides |page=F1 |url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19900613/1076956/holding-onto-down-home-ways----stanwood-unites-east-west-sides |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref> The school systems for the two cities were merged in 1944, ending a decades-long [[high school football|football]] rivalry between the two high schools.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref name="Times-1990"/> By the early 1950s, the competitiveness between merchants and citizens of both Stanwoods had softened and groups cooperated on events and various initiatives.<ref name="Times-1954"/> A formal merger of the two cities was proposed in 1954 and placed on the April 30 ballot; Stanwood voted in favor of the merger, but it failed to reach a majority in East Stanwood.<ref name="HL-Incorporation"/><ref>{{cite news |date=May 1, 1954 |title=East Stanwood Voters Turn Down Merger |page=2 |work=The Seattle Times |agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> The high cost of a modern [[sewage treatment]] system, required by the state government before further expansion could occur, spurred leaders in both cities to place a second consolidation referendum before voters on March 8, 1960.<ref name="HL-Incorporation"/> The referendum was passed by an overwhelming majority of voters in both cities and the merged government immediately approved a $520,000 sewer installation contract.<ref name="HistoryLink"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Essex |first=Alice |year=1998 |title=The Stanwood Story, Volume III |pages=53–65 |publisher=Stanwood Camano News |oclc=40399950 }}</ref>

Development of a new suburban commercial center east of the city began in the 1980s, centered around the relocated Stanwood High School campus.<ref name="EconomicPlan">{{cite book |date=June 2015 |title=City of Stanwood Comprehensive Plan |chapter=Section IV: Economic Development Element |pages=7–11, 21–22 |chapter-url=http://www.ci.stanwood.wa.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/community_development/page/2216/4_econ_devel_elem_final_clean_copy_pdf_060215.pdf |publisher=City of Stanwood |access-date=July 3, 2018 |archive-date=February 16, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170216010839/http://www.ci.stanwood.wa.us/sites/default/files/fileattachments/community_development/page/2216/4_econ_devel_elem_final_clean_copy_pdf_060215.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=McDermott |first=Terry |date=September 23, 1997 |title=Trouble invades the 'safe' town of Stanwood |page=B1 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> A {{convert|55|acre|ha|adj=mid}} farm at the intersection of State Route 532 and 72nd Avenue Northwest was redeveloped into a $50 million shopping and entertainment center. The commercial center opened in 1995 and has 50 businesses, 10 restaurants, [[office building]]s, a [[movie theater]], and an [[Amusement arcade|arcade]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Reardon |first=Kate |date=April 10, 2002 |title=Stanwood Village expansion planned |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/business/stanwood-village-expansion-planned/ |work=The Everett Herald Business Journal |access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wolcott |first=John |date=April 2001 |title=Community leaders: Baron's 'village' a boon for Stanwood |url=http://snohomishcountybusinessjournal.com/archive/apr01/solbaronsider-apr01.htm |work=The Everett Herald Business Journal |access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref> The development was later expanded to include multi-story [[Condominium (living space)|condominium]]s and upscale apartments with ground-floor retail space.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fetters |first=Eric |date=July 26, 2005 |title=Stanwood to get upscale apartments |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/business/stanwood-to-get-upscale-apartments/ |work=The Everett Herald Business Journal |access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wolcott |first=John |date=February 7, 2006 |title=Stanwood condo finished |work=The Everett Herald}}</ref> The area surrounding the center was developed into suburban [[subdivision (land)|subdivisions]], contributing to a doubling of the city's population to nearly 4,000 people by 2000.<ref name="HistoryLink"/> The subdivisions were [[annexation|annexed]] by the city government in the early 2000s, despite testimony from citizens against further growth.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kelly |first=Brian |date=November 6, 2001 |title=Stanwood council OK's controversial Cedarhome annex |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/stanwood-council-oks-controversial-cedarhome-annex/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref> In 2005, the city rejected a bid by [[Wal-Mart]] to build a store in Stanwood after public outcry from supporters of downtown businesses.<ref>{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Scott |date=December 12, 2005 |title=Homes replace store in plan |url=http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/12/12/100loc_awalmart001.cfm |work=The Everett Herald |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218140327/http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/05/12/12/100loc_awalmart001.cfm |archive-date=December 18, 2005 |access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Morris |first=Scott |date=March 26, 2005 |title=Store foes: Downtown would suffer |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/store-foes-downtown-would-suffer/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=July 3, 2018}}</ref>

The high school campus was replaced with a new building in 2021 that cost $147.5&nbsp;million to construct.<ref name="Herald-HS2021">{{cite news |last=Davey |first=Stephanie |date=January 26, 2021 |title=A brand-new Stanwood High School opens to empty halls |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/a-brand-new-stanwood-high-school-opens-to-empty-halls/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=January 28, 2021}}</ref> An adjacent {{convert|22|acre|ha|adj=mid}} site is planned to be developed into a large residential complex with 444 apartments and 72 townhomes. The complex is also planned to incorporate retail, amenity spaces, and expanded wetlands.<ref>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Brian |date=December 2, 2022 |title=516 Stanwood units planned in major mixed-use project |url=https://www.djc.com/news/re/12153038.html |work=[[Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce]] |url-access=subscription |accessdate=December 2, 2022}}</ref>