Florence Island (Washington)

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Florence Island is the main island formed by the diked [1] river delta of the Stillaguamish River as it flows into Port Susan on Puget Sound. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

The historic Snohomish County settlement of Florence is located on the delta and gives the island its name. Florence Island is connected to the mainland by three bridges heading in the directions of Stanwood to the north, [5] Silvana and Arlington to the east, and Warm Beach to the south.

Bridges

Old Thomle Bridge

A truss bridge carried the main vehicular traffic over the Stilliguamish river between Stanwood and Florence. It was replaced by the current bridge in 1959 but remained open for local access for two decades. [6] The bridge was closed to traffic in 1979 after the county determined rebuilding the bridge would be too costly. [7] The bridge itself was removed and salvaged in November 1979. [7]

Estuary restoration

In 2022, the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians was awarded a $4.9 million grant to restore chinook salmon habitat in the Stillaguamish delta. The project involves creating a 230 acre estuary from previously diked farmland south of Boe Road on Florence Island. [8]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snohomish County, Washington</span> County in Washington, United States

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 72nd-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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arlington, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

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 2020 U.S. census, Arlington had a population of 19,868; its estimated population is 22,121 as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stanwood, Washington</span> City in Washington, United States

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 2020 census, its population is 7,705.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duwamish River</span> River in Washington, United States

The Duwamish River is the name of the lower 12 miles (19 km) of Washington state's Green River. Its industrialized estuary is known as the Duwamish Waterway. In 2009, the Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center was opened on the west bank of the river as part of the tribe's reassertion of its historic rights in the area and its continuing struggle for federal recognition of tribal status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camano Island</span> CDP in Washington, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stillaguamish people</span> Lushootseed-speaking people from Western Washington

The Stillaguamish people are a Southern Coast Salish people Indigenous to the Stillaguamish River valley in northwestern Washington State in the United States, near the city of Arlington, Washington. The Stillaguamish speak Northern Lushootseed, a Coast Salish language. Although usage of the language has declined, there are ongoing revitalization efforts by the Stillaguamish Tribe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulalip Tribes</span>

The Tulalip Tribes of Washington, formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. They are South and Central Coast Salish peoples of indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. Their tribes are located in the mid-Puget Sound region of Washington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skagit River</span> River in Canada and the United States

The Skagit River is a river in southwestern British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington in the United States, approximately 150 mi (240 km) long. The river and its tributaries drain an area of 1.7 million acres (690,000 hectares) of the Cascade Range along the northern end of Puget Sound and flows into the sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stillaguamish River</span> River in Washington, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinook salmon</span> Species of fish

The Chinook salmon is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other vernacular names for the species include king salmon, Quinnat salmon, Tsumen, spring salmon, chrome hog, Blackmouth, and Tyee salmon. The scientific species name is based on the Russian common name chavycha (чавыча).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge</span> National Wildlife Refuge near Puget Sound

The Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife preserve operated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on the Nisqually River Delta near Puget Sound in northeastern Thurston County, Washington and northwestern Pierce County, Washington. The refuge is located just off Interstate 5, between the cities of Tacoma and Olympia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 530</span> Highway in Washington

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington State Route 532</span> Highway in Washington

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fir Island</span> Island in Washington, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians</span> Federally-recognized Indian Tribe

The Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, formerly known as the Stillaguamish Tribe of Washington, is a federally recognized tribe of Stillaguamish people located in Snohomish County, Washington. They are descended from the aboriginal Stillaguamish, listed on the Treaty of Point Elliot as the Stoluck-wa-mish River Tribe.

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.

Florence is an unincorporated community in Snohomish County, in the U.S. state of Washington. It's located on Florence Island in the Stillaguamish River delta.

Clara Stanwood Pearson was an American pioneer in the Washington Territory and the eponym of the town of Stanwood.

Jack Gunter is an American self-taught artist and gallery owner from Camano Island in the state of Washington. He attended Bowdoin College and the University of New Hampshire.

References

  1. "New Holland on the Sound". The Seattle Sunday Times Magazine. December 3, 1950. pp. 1, 4.
  2. "Snohomish County – Florence". An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties. Interstate Publishing Company. 1906. p. 368.
  3. Riley, Rachel (April 9, 2021). "A tall task: Finding common ground in region's floodplains – Tribes, farmers, cities and other groups make some headway in the Stillaguamish River Basin". The Everett Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  4. Land claims near Steilaguamish River : Washington Territory, (1887) (Map). Florence Island (Washington). c. 1873. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  5. "Two Million in Road Work Bids Opened". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Olympia. Associated Press. July 2, 1958. p. 21.
  6. "County mulling over fate of old Thomle Bridge". Stanwood News . Stanwood, Washington. January 3, 1979. Some residents and farmers in the area concerned hope it will be possible to retain the old crossing, since without it they will be forced to drive further to the new bridge.
  7. 1 2 "Old Span Removed". Stanwood News . Stanwood, Washington. November 21, 1979.
  8. "Stanwood-area salmon habitat projects get $4.9 million in state grants". Stanwood Camano News . October 4, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2023. The site — south of the Boe Road and north of Hatt's Slough, west of the Marine Drive bridge over the Stillaguamish — is part of a larger effort to help restore salmon habitat, particularly the struggling chinook salmon.

48°13′15″N122°21′0″W / 48.22083°N 122.35000°W / 48.22083; -122.35000