Snohomish () is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,126 at the 2020 census. It is located on the Snohomish River, southeast of Everett and northwest of Monroe. Snohomish lies at the intersection of U.S. Route 2 and State Route 9. The city's airport, Harvey Airfield, is located south of downtown and used primarily for general aviation.

The city was founded in 1859 and named Cadyville after pioneer settler Edson T. Cady and renamed to Snohomish in 1871. It served as county seat of Snohomish County from 1861 to 1897, when the county government was relocated to Everett. Snohomish has a downtown district that is renowned for its collection of antique shops and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

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" (), 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.

Geography

Snohomish is located along the north bank of the Snohomish River near where it is joined by the Pilchuck River. The city lies on the Getchell Hill Plateau, a low hill in the Snohomish River Valley that interrupts the wide, flat river valley. Some neighborhoods of the city are on a ridge that is west of the Pilchuck River, as well as Dutch Hill on the opposite bank. Blackmans Lake (formerly Stillaguamish Lake) is located north of downtown Snohomish and has a boat launch maintained by the city government. The river valley was formed approximately 14,000 years before present by the outflow of a glacial lake during the Vashon Glaciation event. The river itself floods during the winter season, occasionally breaching the dikes in Downtown Snohomish.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Snohomish's city limits are generally defined by the Snohomish River to the south, Fobes Hill to the west, several city streets to the north, and the Pilchuck River to the east. The city also has an urban growth area that extends north towards U.S. Route 2 and south of the Snohomish River to include Harvey Airfield.

The historic business and residential center of the town constitutes the Snohomish Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many houses bear plaques with the year the house was built and the name of the people who originally occupied it. Each year the city gives tours of the historic houses; one of them, the Blackman House, is a year-round museum.

Demographics

Snohomish is the eleventh-largest city in its county, with a population of 10,126 as of the 2020 census.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 10,126 people and 4,175 households living in Snohomish, which had a population density of . There were 4,347 total housing units, of which 96.0% were occupied and 4.0% were vacant or for occasional use. The racial makeup of the city was 81.2% White, 0.7% Native American and Alaskan Native, 0.7% Black or African American, 2.4% Asian, and 0.5% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander. Residents who listed another race were 5.0% of the population and those who identified as more than one race were 9.5% of the population. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 9.9% of the population.

Of the 4,175 households in Snohomish, 44.3% were married couples living together and 7.5% were cohabitating but unmarried. Households with a male householder with no spouse or partner were 18.2% of the population, while households with a female householder with no spouse or partner were 30.0% of the population. Out of all households, 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them and 30.0% had residents who were 65 years of age or older. There were 4,175 occupied housing units in Snohomish, of which 58.3% were owner-occupied and 41.7% were occupied by renters.

The median age in the city was 39.8 years old for all sexes, 38.3 years old for males, and 41.7 years old for females. Of the total population, 22.5% of residents were under the age of 19; 27.8% were between the ages of 20 and 39; 33.0% were between the ages of 40 and 64; and 16.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2010 census

As of the 2010 U.S. census, there were 9,098 people, 3,645 households, and 2,259 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,959 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.0% White, 0.5% African American, 1.1% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.0% of the population.

There were 3,645 households, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.0% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.99.

The median age in the city was 37.8 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.

Government and politics