Florence | |
|---|---|
Historic town | |
  Florence Location of Florence, Washington | |
| Coordinates: Coordinates: 48°13′14″N122°19′55″W / 48.22056°N 122.33194°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Snohomish |
Florence is an unincorporated community in Snohomish County, in the U.S. state of Washington. [1] It's located on Florence Island in the Stillaguamish River delta. [2]
A post office called Florence was established in 1884, and remained in operation until 1949. [3] The community was platted in 1866 and named after the love interest of an early postmaster. [4]
During its heyday, Florence had several hotels, bars and restaurants, as well as a stagecoach line and dock for sternwheelers. Florence eventually lost out to nearby Stanwood as the area's main center of commerce. [5]
Snohomish County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Everett. The county forms part of the Seattle metropolitan area, which also includes King and Pierce counties to the south.
Arlington is a city in northern Snohomish County, Washington, United States, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The city lies on the Stillaguamish River in the western foothills of the Cascade Range, adjacent to the city of Marysville. It is approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Everett, the county seat, and 40 miles (64 km) north of Seattle, the state's largest city. As of the 2010 U.S. census, Arlington has a population of 17,926.
Darrington is a town in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located in a North Cascades mountain valley formed by the Sauk and North Fork Stillaguamish rivers. Darrington is connected to nearby areas by State Route 530, which runs along the two rivers towards the city of Arlington, located 30 miles (48 km) to the west, and Rockport. It had a population of 1,347 at the 2010 census.
Oso is a census-designated place (CDP) in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is located to the west of Darrington, south of the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River and approximately 50 air miles (80 km) from Seattle. The population of Oso was 180 at the 2010 census. The area was the site of a large landslide in March 2014 that killed 43 people, the deadliest incident of its kind in U.S. history.
Stanwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is located 50 miles (80 km) north of Seattle, at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River near Camano Island. As of the 2010 census, its population is 6,231.
Camano Island is a large island in Possession Sound, a section of Puget Sound. It is part of Island County, Washington, and is located between Whidbey Island and the mainland by the Saratoga Passage to the west and Port Susan and Davis Slough to the east. The island has one road connection to the mainland, via State Route 532 over the Camano Gateway Bridge at the northeast end of the island, connecting to the city of Stanwood.
The Sauk River is a tributary of the Skagit River, approximately 45 miles (72 km) long, in northwestern Washington in the United States. It drains an area of the high Cascade Range in the watershed of Puget Sound north of Seattle. The river is a popular destination for fly fishing. It is a National Wild and Scenic River.
The Stillaguamish River is a river in the northwestern region of the U.S. state of Washington. It is mainly composed of two forks, the longer North Fork Stillaguamish and the South Fork Stillaguamish. The two forks join near Arlington. From there the Stillaguamish River proper flows for 22 miles (35 km) to Puget Sound. The river's watershed drains part of the Cascade Range north of Seattle.
State Route 530 (SR 530) is a state highway in western Washington, United States. It serves Snohomish and Skagit counties, traveling 50.52 miles (81.30 km) from an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) southwest of Arlington past SR 9 in Arlington and Darrington to end at SR 20 in Rockport. Serving the communities of Arlington, Arlington Heights, Oso, Darrington and Rockport, the roadway travels parallel to a fork of the Stillaguamish River from Arlington to Darrington, the Sauk River from Darrington to Rockport and the Whitehorse Trail from Arlington to Darrington.
State Route 532 (SR 532) is a short Washington state highway in Island and Snohomish counties, located in the United States. It connects Camano Island and Stanwood to a junction with Interstate 5 (I-5) northwest of Arlington.
Fir Island is bounded by North and South Forks of the Skagit River and Skagit Bay of Puget Sound in the southwestern corner of Skagit County, Washington. Triangular in outline, 5.3 miles (8.5 km) east–west by 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north–south with an area of nearly 9,900 acres (40 km2), Fir Island is occupied by 195 families. The island is connected by bridge to the village of Conway, located on the east shore of the South Fork of the Skagit River. A second bridge, across the North Fork of the Skagit River, leads to La Conner, 3.7 miles (6.0 km) northwest. Near the northeast tip of Fir Island is the site of the 19th-century town of Skagit City which declined after upstream log jams were removed in 1877.
The Snohomish County Centennial Trail is a 30-mile-long (48 km) rail trail in Snohomish County, Washington, connecting the cities of Snohomish, Lake Stevens, and Arlington to Skagit County along the corridor of Washington State Route 9. The trail, administered by Snohomish County Parks and Recreation on the former right-of-way of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, comprises a 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) non-motorized trail and a 6-foot-wide (1.8 m) equestrian trail. The first segment of the corridor was opened in 1989, the centennial of the statehood of Washington, and the final segment between Arlington and the Skagit County line was opened in 2013.
Stanwood is an Amtrak train station in the city of Stanwood, Washington, United States. It is served by intercity Amtrak Cascades trains and consists of a single platform and an adjacent parking lot. The station is in downtown Stanwood, near the intersection of State Route 532 and the Pioneer Highway, and is also served by Community Transit and Island Transit buses.
Skagit City was a town on the western bank of the South Fork Skagit River, less than a mile southeast of where the river forks north and south, in the U.S. state of Washington. The Barker's Trading Post along the river, opened in 1869, was partially or fully responsible for drawing people to settle at the townsite, which became an important river transportation center during the late 1800s, most notably in 1872. The city prospered until shortly before the 1880s, after river access to the upstream community of Mount Vernon, Washington was established and Mount Vernon began to prosper. By 1906, only one business remained in the entire town, and soon after World War II the town disappeared entirely. Today, the unincorporated community of Cedardale is the closest community to the former townsite at 2.4 miles (3.9 km) distance, and the name "Skagit City" has become simply a placename on the northeastern tip of Fir Island near where two distributaries diverge and carry Skagit River water into Skagit Bay, which branches off the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Skagit City is sometimes confused with the nearby tiny hamlet of Skagit Forks, which was just to the northwest at the divergence of the North and South Forks of the Skagit River. The town played an integral part in the settlement of Skagit County.
Leque Island is a small island located in Snohomish County, in Washington, United States. It can be found just beneath the bridge between Camano Island and Stanwood, at the mouth of the Stillaguamish River, in Puget Sound.
A major landslide occurred 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Oso, Washington, United States, on March 22, 2014, at 10:37 a.m. local time. A portion of an unstable hill collapsed, sending mud and debris to the south across the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River, engulfing a rural neighborhood, and covering an area of approximately 1 square mile (2.6 km2). Forty-three people were killed and 49 homes and other structures destroyed.
The Whitehorse Trail is a rail trail in northern Snohomish County, Washington, connecting the cities of Arlington and Darrington. The 27-mile-long (43 km) trail uses a former Northern Pacific Railway spur built in 1901 and abandoned in 1990. The trail has been in development since the county government purchased it in 1993, with some sections open to the public.
The H & H Railroad, also known as Hall & Hall, Stanwood Street Railway or colloquially Dinky, ran over a 1 mile (1.6 km) long track from East Stanwood to Stanwood in Snohomish County, Washington. It was proclaimed "the shortest railroad in the world" by residents of Stanwood.
Clara Stanwood Pearson was an American pioneer in the Washington Territory and the eponym of the town of Stanwood.
Florence Island is the main island formed by the diked river delta of the Stillaguamish River as it flows into Port Susan on Puget Sound.
Similar to Stanwood in its general surroundings and in the nature of the occupations to which it is open is the village of Florence. This pleasant little place is located upon the south bank of the Stillaguamish river three and a half miles by boat and two miles by road east of Stanwood. It is located upon what may be called the delta of the river created by the sediment brought down through ages by that stream and by the spreading channels with which it enters the waters of the sound. A few miles above Florence the main river divides and a channel known as Hat slough leaves it toward the South. A little below Florence the river is again divided, what is known as South slough parting from it. Thus between the main river and the two sloughs and the waters of the sound lies a beautiful and fertile island. This is known as Florence island. The town of Florence is at the head of regular steamboat navigation on the Stillaguamish river.
Florence, a town in Snohomish County. The site was first settled in 1864 by Harry Marshall. Twenty years later F. E. Norton became postmaster of the first postoffice there, 1884. The latter named the office, it is said, after his old sweetheart. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, pages 368-869.)
Little evidence remains of the once-bustling settlement of Florence besides a large black-and-white photograph inside Stanwood's new QFC supermarket.
The photo, made early in the 1900s, shows a small store and post office, old cars and a sign offering Owl cigars for 5 cents each. Beneath the photo is the inscription, "E.A. Hevly Cash Store, Florence, Wash."
Florence may be relegated to faded images of the past, but the Hevly building still stands and is being restored after years of neglect.
Municipalities and communities of Snohomish County, Washington, United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs |
| |
| Other communities | ||
| Indian reservation | ||
| Military bases | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
 | This Snohomish County, Washington state location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |