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Fairhaven Historic District | |
Location | Roughly bounded by 10th and 13th Sts., Columbia and Larrabee Aves. |
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Nearest city | Bellingham, Washington |
Coordinates | 48°43′05″N122°30′25″W / 48.71806°N 122.50694°W |
NRHP reference No. | 77001363 |
Added to NRHP | August 19, 1977 |
Fairhaven (or Fairhaven Village) was a settlement in Washington state founded in 1883 by Dan Harris. In 1903, it became part of the city of Bellingham and remains a historic neighborhood.
The Fairhaven area is situated on the south side of Bellingham, [1] and borders Bellingham Bay on the west and Western Washington University on the northeast.
Since 1989, Fairhaven has been the southernmost terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway System, Alaska's state run ferry system. The Bellingham Cruise Terminal is also the departure point for summer passenger ferry service to the San Juan Islands and Victoria, British Columbia, Canada operated by Victoria/San Juan Cruises. Nearby is Fairhaven Station, a small transportation hub which serves as Bellingham's Amtrak Cascades station stop [2] as well as the Greyhound bus depot. [3] Connections can be made to local taxis or local transit. Whatcom Transportation Authority recently upgraded Fairhaven's bus service to every 15 minutes as part of its Red Line. Fairhaven also plays outdoor movies every weekend during the summer at the Pickford Outdoor Cinema in Fairhaven's historical district.
In the center of the Fairhaven area is the Fairhaven Historical District, which features a seasonal farmer's market as well as numerous restaurants and shops. The district is a popular tourist destination. All newly constructed buildings are required to conform in outward appearance to the community's traditional 19th-century style as defined by Bellingham Municipal Code, Design Review District, section 20.26. [4]
Daniel Jefferson Harris (aka Dirty Dan) arrived in the Bellingham Bay area in 1853 or 1854, and befriended John Thomas, who had filed a land claim along Padden Creek. He helped Thomas start a cabin there, but Thomas died before the cabin was finished. Dan finished the claim on the land and the patented was issued in 1871. He also acquired several surrounding properties and named this area Fairhaven, from the native name see-see-lich-em, meaning safe port or fair haven (possibly also from a town in Maine that may or may not have been his birthplace). He platted the town in 1883, and started selling lots. As his fortune improved so did his appears and reputation, allowing him to marry in 1885. In 1888, he sold most of his property in Fairhaven to Nelson Bennett and left for California. [5] Nelson Bennett, along with Charles Larrabee, who arrived in 1890, formed the Fairhaven Land Company, mostly financed by Larrabee, determined to grow Fairhaven into a major city. They promoted the land rich in natural resources, good weather, and endless possibilities, causing the population to grow from around 150 in 1889 to 8000 at the end of 1890. [6] Part of that increase was due to the purchase by the Fairhaven Land Company of a tiny settlement called Bellingham, tucked between Sehome and Fairhaven, which had a post office starting in 1883. [7] [8]
Fairhaven, like many other coastal Washington cities, competed with other Washington cities for the position of terminal city of the Great Northern Railroad, but that title ultimately fell on Seattle. During this period of competitiveness, which lasted from the late 1870s through mid-1880s, Fairhaven adopted its iconic 19th century style and took on an aesthetic appeal to architecture and design. Even after it was decided that Seattle would house the Great Northern Railroad terminal, population and aesthetically-minded construction continued to boom until the late 1890s. Fairhaven was officially incorporated on May 13, 1890.
During the speculative frenzy of the 1890s, the grand Fairhaven Hotel was built to attract railroad tycoons to choose Fairhaven as the west coast terminus of transcontinental railways. The railways never came, but the imposing remnant of the old hotel stood until a fire and demolition in 1953.
On October 27, 1903, citizens of Fairhaven and citizens of a neighboring city on Bellingham Bay, Whatcom City, voted to consolidate into one city named Bellingham. On December 28, 1903, the new city of Bellingham was officially established. [9]
In 1903, Fairhaven received a grant to build the area's first Carnegie-funded library on 12th Street. The library continues to operate as a branch of the Bellingham Public Library system.
Fairhaven is also known for its historical ties to salmon canning, and from the late 1800s through to the 1940s was the home of numerous salmon canning operations, employing as many as 4,500 workers in the area. In the 1940s, the Pacific American Fisheries was headquartered in Fairhaven, and was known as the largest salmon canning operation in the world. [10]
Bellingham is the most populous city in, and county seat of, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies 21 miles (34 km) south of the U.S.–Canada border and in between Vancouver, British Columbia and Seattle. The Bellingham Metropolitan Area's population is 231,919, making it the 204th-largest in the United States. Its growth rate of 13.28% between 2010 and 2023 made it one of the states fastest-growing large cities.
Whatcom County is a county located in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington, bordered by the Lower Mainland of British Columbia to the north, Okanogan County to the east, Skagit County to the south, San Juan County across Rosario Strait to the southwest, and the Strait of Georgia to the west. Its county seat and largest population center is the coastal city of Bellingham, comprising the Bellingham, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and as of the 2020 census, the county's population was 226,847.
Bellingham School District No. 501 is a public school district in Whatcom County, Washington, United States that serves the city of Bellingham. As of the 2022–2023 school year, the district has an enrollment of 11,623 students.
State Route 11 (SR 11) is a 21.28-mile (34.25 km) long state highway that serves Skagit and Whatcom counties in the U.S. state of Washington. SR 11, known as Chuckanut Drive, begins at an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) north of Burlington and continues northwest through several small towns and the Chuckanut Mountains to the Fairhaven district of Bellingham, where the highway turns east and ends again at I-5.
The Bellingham Herald is a daily newspaper published in Bellingham, Washington, in the United States. It was founded on March 10, 1890, as The Fairhaven Herald and changed its name after Bellingham was incorporated as a city in 1903. The Bellingham Herald is the largest newspaper in Whatcom County, with a weekday circulation of over 10,957. It employs around 60 people. It is owned by The McClatchy Company.
Charles Xavier Larrabee was an American businessman and a co-founder of the town of Fairhaven, Washington. Later in life, Larrabee and his wife Frances donated much land for civic purposes, including schools and parks, and were considered stewards of the city of Bellingham.
Fairhaven Station, also called Bellingham, is a train station serving Amtrak's Cascades route, as well as a bus station serving Greyhound Lines and local Whatcom Transportation Authority buses, in Bellingham, Washington, United States. Built in 1995, the station is located near the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, the southern connection for the Alaska Marine Highway. Water Taxi services and seasonal whale watching excursions also provide connections from the Bellingham Cruise Terminal to the San Juan Islands.
The Bellingham Public Library is a public library system serving Bellingham, Washington, US. It maintains four libraries, one in the Civic Center of downtown Bellingham, one in Fairhaven, one in Barkley Village, and one in the Cordata neighborhood, inside Bellis Fair Mall. The system is independent of the Whatcom County Library System, serving the entire county, but has a reciprocal borrowing agreement.
The Bellingham Waterfront consists of the land along Bellingham Bay in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It is mostly in Bellingham, Washington and other surrounding neighborhoods and cities. Various Bellingham neighborhoods are along the waterfront including is shared with Fairhaven.
The history of Bellingham, Washington, as it is now known, begins with the settling of Whatcom County in the mid-to-late 19th century.
The Fairhaven and Southern Railroad and its successor the Seattle and Montana Railroad were railroads in northwest part of the U.S. state of Washington, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They ran roughly south from Blaine, Washington on the U.S.-Canada border. The Fairhaven and Southern operated 1888-1898 and ran to Sedro. It operated from December 1891 as part of the Seattle and Montana Railway, and was merged with that into its successor, the Seattle and Montana Railroad, both of which extended service south to Seattle. The Seattle and Montana operated until 1907 when it merged into the Great Northern Railway Company.
Daniel Jefferson "Dirty Dan" Harris was an early settler of the Bellingham Bay area and founder of the town of Fairhaven, Washington. Following a stint as a whaler in the Pacific Ocean, Harris arrived in Washington Territory in either 1853 or 1854. After years of trading and buying land surrounding his original homestead, he platted the property into the town of Fairhaven in 1883 and began selling plots for gold. By 1889, Harris sold off his remaining land to Nelson Bennett and C. X. Larrabee for US$75,000. Bennett and Larrabee continued to develop Fairhaven until its incorporation with other Bellingham Bay towns into the city of Bellingham in 1903. Harris retired to Los Angeles where he died in 1890. Residents of Bellingham today celebrate an annual festival in Harris's honor where visitors can learn about the early history of the city.
Nelson Bennett was a Canadian-American railroad magnate who contributed to the growth of Fairhaven and Tacoma, Washington in the late 19th-century. Bennett was president of the Fairhaven and Southern Railroad, which first connected the Bellingham Bay region with the rest of the country.
The Interurban Trail is a rail trail in Whatcom County, Washington. Built for bicycle and hiking recreation, the trail runs 6.6 miles (10.6 km) between Fairhaven and Larrabee State Park in the Bellingham area.
The Bellingham Cruise Terminal is a ferry terminal and transportation hub located in Bellingham, Washington, United States. It is near the Fairhaven neighborhood and was completed in 1989 and provides easy interchange between various modes of transportation. Operated by the Port of Bellingham the facility serves over 200,000 passengers a year.
The Lottie Roth Block is an historic commercial building located near downtown Bellingham, Washington and is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Built by quarry manager and Washington State Legislator Charles Roth and named after his wife, Lottie, the building is clad in the famous Chuckanut Sandstone from his Bellingham Bay Quarry that would be used in countless building projects across the region. Completed in 1891, it was one of the last large commissions of noted Northwest architect Elmer H. Fisher and his only project in Whatcom County. While initially built as an office/retail building in anticipation of the commercial expansion of the town of Whatcom, it was converted entirely to Apartments by 1918 when commercial development moved in the opposite direction towards New Whatcom, which after 1903 became the new city of Bellingham's downtown. Still strictly serving as a residential building to the current day, the Lottie Roth Block was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 12, 1978.
John Joseph Donovan was a Washington State pioneer and the president of the state Chamber of Commerce, as well as one of the key founders of the City Council of Bellingham, Washington. During his life, Donovan actively participated in political, industrial, and commercial activity on city, county, and state levels. Several historic landmarks exist in Bellingham honoring J. J. Donovan, including his house, which was added to the National Historic Register, and a bronze statue installed in Fairhaven, Washington.
Charles F. Roehl was a pioneer and businessman of Bellingham, Washington. He was considered one of the most well-established businessmen of the city, influencing its industrial growth through his mercantile and real estate businesses.
William F. Roehl was a Washington state pioneer, liquor and cigar merchant, and property investor who lived in Bellingham.
Alfred W. Pettibone was one of the first Bellingham residents and pioneers who actively participated in the city's formation, in particular developing the merchandise trade and real estate businesses.