Lynden, Washington

How Lynden is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

lyndenwa.org

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Population over time

From 11,951 in 2010 to 15,749 in 2020 (+31.8%).

History

In 1870, Phoebe Judson and her husband Holden founded Lynden on the lands of the indigenous Nooksack people, near a settlement called Squahalish. Judson named the post office in 1893 after the Bavarian Hohenlinden as described in Thomas Campbell's poem "Hohenlinden", a town on a hillside by a river with a view of a mountain, because Lynden fit this description. According to her book A Pioneer's Search for an Ideal Home, Judson changed the spelling of "Linden" to be more visually appealing. Lynden was officially incorporated as a city on March 16, 1891. A statue of Judson at the intersection of Front and 6th Street was dedicated in 2017.

The city lies in a broad valley formed by the Nooksack River, which empties into nearby Bellingham Bay. The valley's forests were logged in the 1870s by the first wave of American settlers, and the clearing of log jams on the Nooksack River at the end of the decade opened more land to farming. The first road connecting to Whatcom (now Bellingham) was completed in 1875 and railroads reached Lynden a decade later. The region's raspberry, strawberry, and blueberry farms emerged after World War I alongside the dairy and poultry industries.

The region saw significant Dutch immigration in the early and mid-20th century and the establishment of Calvinist churches and Dutch language schools. The city began promoting its Dutch heritage in the 1980s, including the springtime Holland Days festival and a Sinterklaas celebration in December. Several buildings along Front Street were renovated with Dutch designs and businesses were renamed to match with "Dutch" names and products. Lynden retained its Dutch churches—numbering 28 by 1995—and many businesses voluntarily closed their stores on Sundays. By 2010, the city's population had grown to nearly 12,000 and 30 percent of Lynden residents claimed Dutch ancestry.

In 2005, a drug smuggling tunnel was discovered in Lynden, built by a band of Canadian smugglers in the basement of a residence 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Lynden along the Canada–U.S. border. At the time, this was the only known drug tunnel along the border.

The first time that a presumptive presidential nominee of a U.S. major political party came to Lynden during a general election year was in May 2016, when Donald Trump visited the city. The rally was originally planned to take place at Boeing Field in Seattle, but was relocated to Lynden after the permits were allegedly denied. The rally drew "thousands" of people and protestors outside of the venue; over $129,000 in extra policing and security costs were attributed to the event.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Other cities in Washington

• Seattle 737,015
• Spokane 228,989
• Tacoma 219,346
• Vancouver 190,915
• Bellevue 151,854
• Kent 136,588
• Everett 110,629
• Renton 106,785

All Washington cities →