The Birth of Fairhaven
A landmark petition to the Whatcom County Commissioners officially outlines the boundaries for the incorporation of the City of Fairhaven.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
We, the undersigned county commissioners of Whatcom County, State of Washington, hereby consent to the convening and holding of a special session of the board to be held on the 16th day of April, 1890, to consider the matter of incorporating the town or city of Fairhaven and to legalize and establish the Front street and Squalicum creek road. The undersigned, your petitioners, respectfully represent that they desire the city to be incorporated under and in pursuance of an act of the legislature of Washington, approved by the Governor on the 27th day of March, 1890. That the number of inhabitants included within these above boundaries is not less than thirty-five hundred.
“Wherefore, your petitioners pray that the said city of Fairhaven may be incorporated and that due legal notice as required by law shall be given thereof.”
This petition marks the formal political transition of Fairhaven from a speculative boomtown site to a chartered city, defining the geographical footprint that still shapes local governance and land use debates in modern-day Bellingham.
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