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Skagit River Journal

of History & Folklore
Free Home Page Stories & Photos
The most in-depth, comprehensive site about the Skagit
Covers from British Columbia to Puget Sound. Counties covered: Skagit, Whatcom, Island, San Juan, Snohomish & BC. An evolving history dedicated to committing random acts of historical kindness

Noel V. Bourasaw, editor

810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, Washington, 98284
Home of the Tarheel Stomp

Mortimer Cook slept here & named the town Bug

Introduction to Skagit River Journal

Finding a story is as easy as 1... 2... 3

1. Newest photo features out of more than 675 on our site See our newest free homepage features:Blanket Bill Jarman June 27 History Show... 1906 History transcriptions... Origins of Lyman... Centennials: Concrete, Lyman, Alaska-Yukon, Historical Society... 1890 profile articles on Sedro & Woolley... Rebirth of Concrete Herald... Cascade Pass Road & Hwy 20... Walter Washington deLacy & 1858 Fraser River Gold Rush road... E.R. Million, early Mount Vernon attorney.... Vi Hilbert, R.I.P.... Hashbrowners in Sedro-Woolley... Ray Jordan's history of Hoogdal... New Book Reviews: Rev. B.N.L. Davis & Mount Vernon Church and Illustrated History of Snohomish... Hammer Mansion & Isabel Hammer... Minkler Mansion new Lyman City Hall?... How Lyman was named in 1880... Woolley's 3-Railroads triangle... Index of 29 Ray Jordan stories... Birth and timeline of Skagit Steel... Dolbeer Donkey & Shay Locomotive... How they marketed booze in Prohibition... Sedro & Woolley merge in 1898/debunking the myth & almost merged in 1891... Birth & Timeline of Skagit Steel of Woolley... Charles J. Wicker arrives Skiyou 1884... Two-Spot Locomotive Sedro-Woolley... KKK in Sedro-Woolley 1920s

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675+ features

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reunions

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edition

Who we
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Attention: please consider donating
to our research project Perhaps we have been too reluctant to state the obvious and stick our hand out in the past. We are always woefully under-funded, but we are facing a crucial balloon payment of a loan due, which we must make to continue these free pages at the level they have reached. If you have already donated or are a subscriber, we thank you and do not expect or ask any more. But if you enjoy these pages and want them to grow dramatically over the next year, please consider donating even a small amount to help us keep the shop open. We have a separate subscribers-paid online Journal magazine, now in its ninth year. If you want to donate or subscribe, just click the "Paypal Donate" button to pay by secure credit card, or mail checks to here. Subscriptions are $20/1 year; $35/2 years, or $100 for a "lifetime" 10-year rate. Or you can read details first about how or why to subscribe or donate, by either check or credit card, and how to share gifts with your friends and family. Thank you for your consideration and support. And see our offer of story/photo CDs from our first five years of the magazine. That way you can share what you read with those who do not have a computer. We are "open source" in the best meaning of the term and we want to share this information with all lovers of our God's Country history and genealogy. Thank you.

New Issue 47, subscribers-paid Journal magazine online: Harrison Clothier and Edward G. English, founders of Mount Vernon — Part One, the early years; Part Two, logging, going separate ways; Ed English kidnapped in 1908 and his obituary... The first saloons in Sedro-Woolley, Skagit County and up the Skagit River... F.A. Hegg and sons, Woolley's most famous grocers — Part One, Fred Hegg from Minnesota to Woolley; Part Two, Fred and sons become leading grocers; Earl "Fuzz" Hegg excels and his Fuzzy Wuzzy Grocery... Gust Gilbertson opens Sedro-Woolley J.C. Penney store, 1915... How J.C. Penney came from Missouri to Number One retailer

2. Follow these links to portal sections
of the areas and subjects that interest you:

Click on the underscored Sedro-Woolley link above for an interactive map showing the location of Skagit County at the far northwest corner of Washington and the United States.

Sedro-Woolley

Check out Sedro-Woolley First

Bug through Sedro-Woolley

Reader questions answered

Early timeline

Founders Mortimer Cook — P.A. Woolley — 4 British bachelors.

Areas surrounding Sedro-Woolley in all 4 directions

includes: Prairies, Duke's Hill, Northern State Hospital, Sterling, Skiyou, South of Skagit; Clearlake, Biglake, McMurray

Upper Skagit River: Utopia to Cascades

includes: north of Skagit from Utopia to mountains
and Sauk River-Illabot Creek area
Floods history

West Skagit County: Hwy 99 to Sound

includes: Mount Vernon to Belfast, west to Fidalgo, south to LaConner/Fir Island/Conway, north to Alger & Samish

Logging Section

includes: mills, donkey engines, equipment and logging railroads
Maps... Mining

Whatcom, the mother county til 1883;

Snohomish County, source of many early Skagit pioneers

The trains of the Northwest

includes: Fairhaven & Southern; Seattle & Northern; Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern

Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Puget Sound & Baker River, and more

Frontier Women

includes: Territorial Daughters, and biographies of and by pioneer women
Bios and obits, men and women, pioneers and descendants 29 Ray Jordan stories

Suggested reading and museums

Transcriptions old newspapers

Regional Museums

Skagit countywide features and history overviews	Skagit River & Steamboats, Past & Present	Odds & ends: short features & transcriptions
Our wish list: Docs/Photos/Memories Can you help?	Other Counties & State History: King, Island, San Juan, & all Washington	Interactive Genealogy Forum Frontier Timeline
See Dan Royal's Stump Ranch for in-depth history of Birdsview and upper Skagit River.

We research your family or business through public records and libraries; help create a family tree or create web pages for you. Please challenge us with your own request. Plus how to advertise on our site. Join our advertisers, who are carefully selected and who use our unique medium for appealing to visitors who come back for visits, and to local readers who want to read about historical businesses and who want to shop at businesses who support research into our history.

3.	Looking for something special on our site? Enter name, town or subject, then press "Find" Search this site powered by FreeFind
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Did you find what you were looking for? We have helped many people find individual names or places, so email us if you have difficulty finding them. The more details, the better.
Tip: Put quotation marks around a specific name or item of two words or more, and then experiment with different combinations of the words without quote marks. We are currently researching some of the names most recently searched for — check the list here. Maybe you have searched for one of them?

Now that you have taken a test drive, please give us your feedback on whether this new plan works and please let us know if you find dead links. And remember: 1) we always welcome corrections, additions and criticism, and 2) please send us your memories and copies of photos, old newspapers and documents. We do not need your originals

Please report any broken links so we can update them

Return to the new-domain home page

Links for portals to subjects and towns

Newest photo features

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See this Journal website for a timeline of local, state, national, international events for years of the pioneer period.

Did you enjoy this story? Remember, as with all our features, this story is a draft and will evolve as we discover more information and photos. This process continues until we eventually compile a book about Northwest history. Can you help?

Remember; we welcome correction & criticism.

Please report any broken links or files that do not open and we will send you the correct link. With more than 550 features, we depend on your report. Thank you.

Read about how you can order CDs that include our photo features from the first five years of our Subscribers Edition. Perfect for gifts.

You can click the donation button to contribute to the rising costs of this site. You can also subscribe to our optional Subscribers-Paid Journal magazine online, which has entered its seventh year with exclusive stories, in-depth research and photos that are shared with our subscribers first. You can go here to read the preview edition to see examples of our in-depth research or read how and why to subscribe.

You can read the history websites about our prime sponsors
Would you like information about how to join them?

Oliver-Hammer Clothes Shop at 817 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley, 86 years.

Peace and quiet at the Alpine RV Park, just north of Marblemount on Hwy 20, day, week or month, perfect for hunting or fishing
Park your RV or pitch a tent by the Skagit River, just a short drive from Winthrop or Sedro-Woolley

Joy's Sedro-Woolley Bakery-Cafe at 823 Metcalf Street in downtown Sedro-Woolley.

Check out Sedro-Woolley First section for links to all stories and reasons to shop here first
or make this your destination on your visit or vacation.

Are you looking to buy or sell a historic property, business or residence?
We may be able to assist. Email us for details.

Please sign our guestbook so our readers will know where you found out about us, or share something you know about the Skagit River or your memories or those of your family. Share your reactions or suggestions or comment on our Journal. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit our site.

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Email us at: skagitriverjournal@gmail.com

Mail copies/documents to Street address: Skagit River Journal, 810 Central Ave., Sedro-Woolley, WA, 98284.