• Read our exclusive annotated transcripts of the 1906 book, the Illustrated History of Skagit & Snohomish Counties. See why this is often called the "bible" of historians' collection as you read the first two Skagit County chapters with full annotations and photos about the first two decades of settling Skagit County mainland. Portal home with chapter links. Shared from our separate Subscribers-paid Edition. These first chapters are almost all about the western part of the valley, until part two of the second chapter, as the pioneers cut through the jams.
  

• Our exclusive profile of Harrison Clothier and the birth of Mount Vernon, the town he founded with Edward G. English in 1877 — Part one. Part 2 explains Ed English's growth in strength and control; plus an obit of English and the full story of his famous kidnapping while he was a timber magnate.
  
• Three John F. Conrad 1967 obituaries of three charter members of the Daughters of Pioneers of Washington, Skagit county chapter No. 11: Kate Dwelley Maloy, Lillie May Anderson Reay and Mame Anderson Hammack. We are moving all our original "stumpranchonline.com" features like this one to our new domain. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Capt. David Decatur arrived in Mount Vernon in December 1887 and quickly became one of the town's leading citizens. His home was replaced by our beloved Lincoln Theater. His descendants have shared some of the earliest photos of the town ever seen. Decatur built a sawmill and soon sold it to young Ed English, the young town co-founder, thus starting the most famous logging company in Skagit and Snohomish counties. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• William C. Ewing, founder of the Skagit News in Mount Vernon in 1884. And his famous family of jurists, politicians, generals and friends of presidents. And his climb of Mount Rainier. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• E.R. Million, Mount Vernon attorney and capitalist from 1889 to 1906, associate of timberman Ed English and friend of the high and mighty.
  
• Dr. Horace Downs, pioneer of LaConner and Mount Vernon and longtime Skagit county auditor. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• W.B. Davis and his family write letters in 1891 and the 20th century about his life in Skagit and Snohomish counties as a school teacher, government official and hardware retailer, from Bayview to Mount Vernon to Stanwood. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Jasper Gates, who homesteaded the land that became present downtown Mount Vernon in 1870. Joseph Dwelley homesteaded adjacent land and David E. Kimble homesteaded what is now southern Mount Vernon. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• A 1940 history of the settlement of the Mount Vernon area from 1870 on and the beginning of the town. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• The Skagit County Courthouse Fight of 1909, when Burlington tried to wrest the courthouse from Mount Vernon.
  

• Mount Vernon Log Jams Part One. Introduction to the famous Mount Vernon log jams and transcription of eye-witness articles about the work to remove them, dating from the 1870s. Includes the diary of Otto Klement, who arrived in the Skagit Valley in 1873. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Mount Vernon Log Jams Part Two. Rare newspaper issues of Eldridge Morse's Northern Star (Snohomish City) that pegs exactly when work on the log jams near Mount Vernon began and when it was completed; and issues of the Washington Standard newspaper in Olympia from the 1870s that detail the work on the jams. Includes a short history of the Standard and the first newspapers in Washington Territory and Olympia, from 1853 on. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Mike Aiken shares a November 1878 issues of C.B. Bagley's Puget Sound Weekly Courier, and the story of how the Upper Skagit was opened to settlement and logging that year as the log jams were conquered and our most important upriver pioneers staked their claims, including Mike's great-grandfather, Birdsey Minkler. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  

• Chapter 1 of the newly discovered 1937 History of Burlington. We are grateful to the Burlington Library for sharing. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us. All 4 stories shared from Subscribers-paid Edition archives.
  
• Another history of Burlington presented in a talk by Mrs. Lloyd Hartman on March 16, 1967. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• A 1910 manuscript by George G. Cressey, a very early Burlington pioneer. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• The amazing Dr. Hiram E. Cleveland, pioneer physician of Burlington. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• The amazing Kirkby family, featuring Roland and Verne Kirkby's contributions to Burlington's history and sport legends. An upcoming section will also feature the Kirkby ancestors who left such a mark on Kansas and Washington history. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  

• 1889 profile of the town of LaConner, with photos and a drawing from the period. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Profile of the first (brief) settler of the future LaConner area in 1863, A.R. Underwood, the bona fides that he had settled, however temporarily, in the area of future LaConner in 1865. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Ray Jordan's story of Alonzo Low, who opened the first Skagit valley store at Swinomish in 1967, and our research into the unheralded life of the Low family.
  
• Notes on the Dunlap family of LaConner. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• James Cochrane, a volunteer on the logjam-clearing team of 1877-79, Hamilton pioneer and owner of a pool hall in LaConner. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• The story of Carroll Anderson's memories of old LaConner passed away with our original website from 2001. It will be updated and re-posted next year.
  

• We have studied for 12 years the lives of the two men who first settled the area that became mainland Skagit county: Sam Calhoun and Michael Sullivan, who came to the Swinomish flats in 1863, plus the Calhoun brothers, Dr. George, Tom and Rufus. We are updating this major story; can you help?
  
• Our exclusive profile of 1869 Pleasant Ridge and Fir island pioneer, Magnus Anderson, his famous cabin and a brief history of the town of Fir and the South fork of the Skagit river. Updated 2011 with a full biography of Anderson and his fellow pioneer, William H. Sartwell.
  
• The Cornelius and Rudene families of Pleasant Ridge, and the Wallace, Mounts, Moa and Browning families they were related to. And Ruthinda Mounts Browning Wallace, the matriarch. Part 1 of 3 parts.
  
• The introduction of our major continuing genealogy series. Profile of the late John Flood Conrad, memorialist of the Skagit County Historical Society from 1949-73, who wrote obituary notes for the annual Pioneer Picnic, staged annually on the first Thursday in August. And the story of his father, Charles, an orphaned Swedish immigrant who farmed near Pleasant Ridge. The notes were in handwritten form, courtesy of Maurice Erickson, his nephew and you will find links in this intro section to every year as we post them.
  
• Peggy Gates recalls growing up in Rexville in western Skagit county during the Depression and becoming a charter member of the Rexville River Rats at the southern end of Pleasant Ridge (updated July 2006). This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  

• Introduction to Amos Bowman's writing: Before and After — the Anacortes founder publishes an 1879 letter predicting the boom and follows up with an 1890 article answering his own predictions. Includes brief profile and timeline for Amos and his wife, Annie (Curtis), namesake of the town. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Portal to many Anacortes Features
  
• Capsule profiles of Anacortes and Fidalgo Island pioneers, businesses and place names, Part 1: A-L. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Capsule profiles of Anacortes and Fidalgo Island pioneers, businesses and place names, Part 2: M-R. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Capsule profiles of Anacortes and Fidalgo Island pioneers, businesses and place names, Part 3: S-Z. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• George F. Kyle's Anacortes Hotel, symbol of the magnificent boom of 1890 and also the bust that followed almost immediately.
  
• Anacortes Historic Photos from the files of author Paul Dorpat; publisher Wallie Funk, the old Puget Sound Mail newspaper and other collectors. And details displayed with the Funk photo exhibit at the Anacortes Museum in 2008. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• The birth and boom of Ship Harbor and Anacortes and the Seattle & Northern train that finally chugged into Woolley in April 1890, the second of three rail lines in town. Transcripts from the 1906 Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish counties.
  
• Huntoon brothers, John and Isaac D., and their booming and real estate activities in Hamilton, Anacortes and Idaho. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Other upcoming Fidalgo and Anacortes Features: Preparations from the early 1870s-on for a future railroad terminus, and the Oregon Improvement Co . . . .The Seattle & Northern Railroad arrives on Nov. 27, 1890, as the Anacortes boom wanes . . . George F. Kyle and the Anacortes Hotel . . . Bill Lowman and his pioneer family and the beloved Bobo . . . Bill Mitchell's cut-out murals that define and illustrate Anacortes social history . . . William Munks, his ghost hotel and his two wives . . . Carrie White's 1998 essay — "Anacortes Before the Boom." Features will be shared with subscribers first.
  
• The Anacortes History Museum and Carnegie Gallery's official site includes photos, history and the context of the Anacortes boom of 1890 and the attempts since then to establish a viable economy through the ups and downs of the ensuring 11 decades. The museum is located in the original Anacortes Carnegie library. We also highly recommend the museum's extensive and well organized research library. If you have questions or want to make an appointment to research, you can email to coa.museum@cityofanacortes.org or write to 1305 8th St., Anacortes, WA 98221 or phone 360-293-1915. Director Steve Oakley, Curator of Collections Judy Hakins and Educator Terry Slotemaker and the knowledgeable staff are very helpful. Slotemaker's research and database are very impressive as are his own writings.
  

• Links to all the Journal features about Edward R. Murrow and the towns of Fravel and Blanchard. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• On Sunday, April 27, 2008, Lynn Lennox of the Blanchard Wedding Chapel hosted a 100th Birthday Party for Egbert "Edward" R. Murrow. See the Murrow Portal Section for all the stories about him and the towns of Blanchard and Fravel.
  
• Do you plan on seeing the new Edward R. Murrow movie, Good night and Good Luck? Read our multi-part series on the history of Blanchard, Murrow's home when he was a young man, which includes memories of Murrow when he was then known as Egbert, including first-hand accounts from people now in their 90s. With links to more stories. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Introduction to Stone & Webster Interurban Shared from the Subscribers Edition, a seven-part series on the famous Interurban electric railroad of Whatcom and Skagit counties, 1912-29, with links to more material on Chuckanut Drive, Andy Loft, the Great Northern railroad and the Dollar Way of Sedro-Woolley, the first concrete highway in Skagit County.
  
• Read the Journal profile of John Henry Fravel, Whatcom pioneer from the 1858 Fraser river gold rush, lineman for the original Puget sound telegraph line in 1864 and founder of the town of Fravel in 1871. After sharing the names of Fravel and Blanchard and various times, residents chose the name of Blanchard in 1913.
  

• Read Ray Jordan's 1976 story of Equality Colony, located in northwest Skagit county from 1897-1906. [Both stories shared from optional Subscribers Edition]
  
• Catherine Savage Pulsipher recalls the mill her father owned at the Equality Colony near Edison in 1898, life at the Colony and her brother's wedding there.
  

• List of four Journal stories about the town of Edison, including names of all the early pioneers. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Our portal site to the town of Bow, Washington, with links to all our photo features and other background sources for further reading.
  
• R.I.P. Claude Pocock, age 99. Read his obituary and the 2007 interview with his uncle-in-law Homer Alwood.
  
• The Bow General Store, only original business building still stands and will stand longer. Photos of the town that time almost forgot, and the story of the Bow History Project. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Read the full review of this fine book, Samish Island, a History, by Sue and Fred Miller, which all Skagit history-lovers will want to read, along with those who want to learn about the geology of the Puget Sound area and the "pre-history" of the Indians of the archipelago before the white settlers arrived. And see the new home of the terrific Samish Island history site.
  
• Part One — we explain the mystery of the Allen and Roray, dueling names for the town and the mill the two men opened there, plus a profile of Joy Busha.
  

• Fred Abbey, pioneer in the 1880s of the village named Lookout — now Alger, and later a judge in Anacortes. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Fred and Abi Abbey celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in 1939, look back at their pioneer days in Lookout/Alger in 1889 and their life in Anacortes. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Notes on the history of the towns of Lookout and Alger. T
  
• Russell A. Alger, logging capitalist, namesake of the Skagit town, governor of Michigan and Secretary of War for President McKinley, an appointment he may have wished he hadn't accepted. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Blanket Bill Jarman, the first settler of Whatcom and Skagit counties and homesteader at Edison [Alice Bay named for his Indian wife] and the prairie that now bears his name. With links to several other Jarman-related stories.
  
• The town of Belfast, once an important logging village north of Burlington. A story from Ray Jordan's Yarns of the Skagit County, transcribed by Larry Spurling. This story will soon be changed to this address. If neither file connects, please email us.
  
• Ray Jordan wrote about his childhood when his father worked on the old Cook Ranch, along with describing the town and school of Belleville.

   Did you find what you were seeking? We have helped many people find individual names or places, email if you have any difficulty.

See this Journal Timeline website of local, state, national, international events for years of the pioneer period.
Did you enjoy these stories and histories? The process continues as we compile and collaborate on research about Northwest history. Can you help? Remember; we welcome correction, criticism and additions to the record.
Please report any broken links or files that do not open and we will send you the correct link. With more than 800 features, we depend on your report. Thank you.

Skagit River Journal of History & Folklore! has been under the ownership of Skagit County Historical Society following the death of Noel Bourasaw's in 2015. SRJ is directed and maintained by the Societies' Publication Committee.

Any donations to Skagit River Journal should be given on the DONATE button here on the homepage only. There are hundreds of pages still not updated with corrections.