Gold Bar, Washington
City in the United States in Snohomish County
About Gold Bar
Gold Bar is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located on the Skykomish River between Sultan and Index, connected by U.S. Route 2. The population was 2,403 at the 2020 census.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How Gold Bar is governed
Form of government not yet listed.
0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.
Residents of Gold Bar
Registered voters elect the officials below.
-
Mayor
Executive
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.
-
City Manager / Administrator
Executive
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).
-
Police Chief
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Leads the police department.
-
Fire Chief
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Leads the fire and emergency services department.
-
Public Works Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.
-
Finance Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The budget, taxes, and city accounts.
-
Planning & Zoning Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Land use, zoning, building permits.
-
Parks & Recreation Director
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Parks, programs, and public facilities.
-
-
-
City Council
Legislative
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.
-
City Clerk
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.
-
City Attorney
Administration & departments
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.
-
Boards & Commissions
Legislative
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.
-
-
Municipal Court
Judicial
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.
-
Municipal Judge
Judicial
Not yet listed. Log in to add who holds this
Presides over the municipal court.
-
- Website
- cityofgoldbar.us
Looking for your county, state and federal representatives too? See who represents 98251 or everyone in Washington.
Population over time
From 2,075 in 2010 to 2,403 in 2020 (+15.8%).
Show the numbers
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 2020 | 2,403 |
| 2010 | 2,075 |
History
The ancestral home of the indigenous Skykomish people (sq̓ixʷəbš) was in the upper Skykomish Valley east of modern-day Sultan and including the drainage basins of the Sultan and Wallace rivers. They had a permanent village at the confluence of the Skykomish and Wallace rivers, where modern-day Gold Bar lies, named 'xaitəd. The village had a large potlatch house, built to accommodate a number of travelers, and a cemetery; it had an estimated population of 40 families in the late 19th century, representing approximately 240 people. 'xaitəd was used as a base camp for travelers coming to the area to hunt elk in the Sultan River basin. The Skykomish were a signatory party of the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott and assigned to the Tulalip Indian Reservation at the mouth of the Snohomish River. Many members of the tribe remained in the Skykomish Valley, with as many as 320 non-reservation residents estimated in 1900, but the Skykomish later ceased to have a distinct government and assimilated into the Tulalip Tribes.
The upper Skykomish Valley was visited by prospectors who sought gold deposits, which had been discovered in the Fraser Canyon and triggered a regional gold rush in 1858. A campsite at the confluence of the Skykomish and Wallace rivers was established by prospectors c. 1869 and given the name Gold Bar after a miner found traces of gold on a nearby gravel bar. After Gold Bar became a construction camp for the Great Northern Railway, anti-Chinese sentiment was inflamed by a shooting fray started by disreputable camp followers. To save the lives of the threatened Chinese, construction engineer Eduard Bauer slipped them out of camp in hastily constructed coffins. Gold Bar was officially incorporated on September 16, 1910. The 1940 population was 307.
In the mid-20th century, the city doubled in population as it attracted retirees as well as long-distance commuters to jobs in Everett and Seattle. In the 1990s, Gold Bar gained a new grocery store and several new businesses as it became more of a bedroom community. The city hall was expanded to double its size in 2001 to accommodate growth in the number of employees and services provided by the municipal government.
In 2012, the city government considered disincorporation to avoid bankruptcy due to low sales tax revenue and high expenses attributed to filling public records requests and fighting lawsuits from activist Anne Block. The city council voted against disincorporation and placed a property tax levy on the ballot, which was rejected by voters in November 2012. Block, an employment attorney, published a hyperlocal blog named the Gold Bar Reporter that alleged city officials of corruption and illegal acts. She was later disbarred and ordered in 2018 by a U.S. District Court judge to reimburse the Gold Bar city government $78,000 in attorney fees.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.