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.
