Sauk City, Washington | |
|---|---|
  Sauk City  Sauk City | |
| Coordinates: 48°28′29″N121°37′35″W / 48.47472°N 121.62639°W Coordinates: 48°28′29″N121°37′35″W / 48.47472°N 121.62639°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Washington |
| County | Skagit |
| Elevation | 236 ft (72 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-8 (Pacific (PST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-7 (PDT) |
| Area code(s) | 360 |
| GNIS feature ID | 1529902 |
Sauk City, also known as Sauk, is a former unincorporated community in Skagit County, Washington. It was located along the Skagit River at its confluence with the Sauk River, west of the modern settlement of Rockport.
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not governed by a local municipal corporation; similarly an unincorporated community is a settlement that is not governed by its own local municipal corporation, but rather is administered as part of larger administrative divisions, such as a township, parish, borough, county, city, canton, state, province or country. Occasionally, municipalities dissolve or disincorporate, which may happen if they become fiscally insolvent, and services become the responsibility of a higher administration. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. In most other countries of the world, there are either no unincorporated areas at all, or these are very rare; typically remote, outlying, sparsely populated or uninhabited areas.
Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2010 census, the population was 116,901. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Skagit Indian tribe, which has been indigenous to the area prior to European-American settlement.
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 (6900 km2) of the Cascade Range along the northern end of Puget Sound and flows into the sound.
The community was founded in the 1880s as a transfer point between steamboats and a wagon road leading to the Monte Cristo mines during a gold rush. The town initially grew along the south bank of the Skagit River until a major flood in 1897 destroyed the settlement. A second town was built on the north side of the river near the site of the Great Northern Railway, which was completed in 1901 after another fire. The new Sauk City was destroyed by a second fire and it was abandoned as the area's mining and lumber fortunes dwindled in the early 20th century. [2] [3]
A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S or PS, however these designations are most often used for steamships.
Monte Cristo is a ghost town northwest of Monte Cristo Peak, in eastern Snohomish County in western Washington. The town was active as a mining area for gold and silver from 1889 to 1907, and later became a resort town that operated until 1983.
A gold rush is a new discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, South Africa and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.
During the early growth of the town, Sauk City was proposed as the county seat of the new Skagit County in 1891, but lost out to Mount Vernon. [2]
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is used in Canada, China, Romania, Taiwan and the United States. County towns have a similar function in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, and historically in Jamaica.
Mount Vernon is the county seat of Skagit County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,743 at the 2010 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area. Downtown Mount Vernon is known for its annual Tulip Festival Street Fair, which is part of the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The climate of Skagit County is similar to that of Northern France, with millions of tulips grown in the Skagit Valley. In 1998, Mount Vernon was rated the #1 "Best Small City in America" by the New Rating Guide to Life in America's Small Cities.
