Snohomish, Washington

How Snohomish is governed

Form of government not yet listed.

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

• Mayor

  Executive

  • Linda Redmon per Wikidata

  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

ci.snohomish.wa.us

Looking for your county, state and federal representatives too? See who represents 98290 or everyone in Washington.

Population over time

From 9,098 in 2010 to 10,126 in 2020 (+11.3%).

History

The Snohomish River Valley was originally inhabited by the Snohomish people, a Coast Salish tribe who lived between Port Gardner Bay and modern-day Monroe. An archaeological site near the confluence of the Snohomish and Pilchuck Rivers has indications of human habitation that began as early as 8,000 years before present. A village, sbadaʔɬ, was at the site of the modern-day city that now bears the tribe's name. The Snohomish had contact with white explorers in the early 19th century, with their name recorded as "Sinnahamis" by John Work of the Hudson's Bay Company, among the first to also use the name to describe the river. The Snohomish were signatories of the Point Elliott Treaty in 1855, which relocated the tribe to the Tulalip Indian Reservation.

In the early 1850s, the territorial government planned to construct a military road connecting Fort Steilacoom to Fort Bellingham, with a ferry crossing of the Snohomish River at Kwehtlamanish, a winter village of the Snohomish people. The road, proposed in the wake of the Pig War, was intended to be built far enough inland to be safe from British naval attacks. The confluence of the Snohomish and Pilchuck rivers, located near Kwehtlamanish, was sought by several American settlers from Steilacoom who arrived in 1859 to file homestead claims. Edson F. Cady and Heil Barnes, representing carpenter Emory C. Ferguson, settled near the proposed ferry landing, while Egbert H. Tucker filed a claim for a plot on the other side of the Snohomish River. The settlement was originally known as "Cadyville" and changed its name to Snohomish City in 1871. The name Snohomish comes from the name of the dominant local Native American tribe "sdoh-doh-hohbsh" ([sduhúbʃ]), whose meaning is widely disputed.

Although the military road was never completed, Snohomish quickly became a center of commerce in the expanding region. In 1861, Snohomish County separated from Island County and the Village of Snohomish was voted the county seat. The first school in the settlement was organized in 1867 or 1867. The first train on the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway arrived in Snohomish on July 16, 1888. Snohomish was incorporated as a town in 1888 and re-incorporated as a city in 1890 after Washington had achieved statehood. The first class graduated from Snohomish High School in 1894. The city lost its status as county seat in 1897, when the government relocated to the larger, yet much newer neighboring city of Everett after a controversial and contested county-wide vote.

By 1899, Snohomish had 2,000 residents, 25 businesses, and 80 homes. After First Street was paved with brick in 1903, a three-day celebration was held by residents to mark the occasion. The city's first public library was opened in 1910 with funds from industrialist Andrew Carnegie; the Snohomish Carnegie Building, the oldest public building in the city, remained in use as a library until it was replaced by a modern building at a different site in 2003.

On May 7, 1911, a memorable event took place near Snohomish, north of present-day Harvey Airfield, with the first powered flight in Snohomish County history by Fred J. Wiseman. He climbed to an altitude of approximately 18 meters in his self-built aircraft for less than a minute before landing somewhat roughly. Wiseman was the first amateur pilot and the first aircraft builder in California, and he further cemented his legacy with the first airmail flight on February 17/18 of the same year, from Petaluma to Santa Rosa.

On May 30, 1911, a major fire struck First Street and destroyed one block of buildings between Avenues B and C, affecting 35 businesses. It caused $170,000 in damage and prompted much of downtown to be rebuilt with brick. The population of Snohomish grew to over 3,000 in 1920 and remained relatively stable for the next 40 years. The city was connected to Everett by an interurban railway that ceased operations in 1921 after a trestle was damaged during a major flood.

The Great Depression was not acutely felt in Snohomish due to its primarily agrarian economy. One of the area's largest employers, the Bickford Ford car dealership, was founded in 1934 and flourished. The 1930s brought Snohomish national notice as the hometown of baseball star Earl Averill, the first Washingtonian elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Averill played from 1929 to 1941, mostly with the Cleveland Indians. An airport, named Harvey Airfield, was built south of downtown Snohomish by a local family and remains privately operated.

By the 1960s, Snohomish had entered a period of urban decay and investigated potential urban renewal plans to revitalize downtown. A plan presented in 1965 to demolish the south side of First Street and remodel existing buildings was opposed by residents and ultimately not realized due to a lack of funding. Several abandoned buildings on the south side were demolished for a riverfront park, while the city began annexing areas to the north of downtown Snohomish. In 1973, the city established a 26-block historic district and adopted design ordinances to retain historic buildings and encourage new construction in the same style. The Snohomish Historic Business District was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. Larger stores moved away from First Street into newer developments and strip malls that spread out along Second Street and Avenue D.

In 1974 the Seattle-Snohomish mill was gutted by fire and rebuilt by its owners. In 1975 a severe flood struck the area, damaging over 300 homes and killing 3,500 head of livestock, but the community rallied to support those who were affected. In 1985, U.S. Route 2 was rerouted around Snohomish on a bypass, which relieved downtown of chronic traffic congestion. In the 1990s, First Street was redeveloped to encourage tourism to the historic district. Sidewalks were rebuilt and public restrooms added, while the city hall and police station were moved away from First Street.

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 →