The Great Northern Rail Boom
Fairhaven residents are buzzing over rumors that their local rail line has been absorbed by the Great Northern, promising a future as a major Pacific terminal.
The story, cleaned up
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Inquiry among railroad men on the sound reveals that nearly everyone believes the Great Northern railway's progress westward was not stopped when Seattle secured terminal facilities. The principal organizers of the Seattle and Montana road, a division of the Great Northern, are actively seeking to control rights of way and have opened negotiations to purchase the Fairhaven and Southern railway from Mr. Nelson Bennett. While Bennett would not confirm the sale, he acknowledged the road will soon be built to Seattle. Business leaders in Fairhaven, including Charles I. Warner and J.F. Wardner, expressed immense enthusiasm, noting that if the Great Northern makes Fairhaven its terminal, it would trigger a massive and lasting boom for the city.
“This sale, when confirmed, will be heralded all over the east, and will be the cause of a great influx of people here, that will give us such a start that nothing will be able to stop the growth of the city for a minute.”
The frantic boosterism over rail terminals in 1890 echoes today's debates about infrastructure and economic development in Bellingham, where the city still grapples with its identity as a transportation hub. The promise of an 'unstoppable boom' remains a familiar refrain in local land-use politics.
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