The Great Boundary Brawl of 1890
Fairhaven and Bellingham citizens mobilize to challenge New Whatcom's aggressive land-grab tactics before the county board.
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.
A large number of leading business men and property holders from Fairhaven and Bellingham assembled yesterday morning to attend the meeting of the county commissioners regarding the incorporation of the bay towns. The meeting was moved to the old Reveille building on the hill due to the massive turnout. Fairhaven and Bellingham argued for a fair municipal boundary, noting that if New Whatcom's expansive demands were granted, they would control 22 square miles, leaving Fairhaven with only five. Fairhaven attorneys pointed out that even major cities like Seattle and Tacoma maintained smaller footprints than what New Whatcom claimed. As the session progressed, New Whatcom attorneys utilized dilatory tactics, speaking against time to force an adjournment and delay a settlement. While New Whatcom officials pushed to absorb Bellingham, many local residents privately admitted that these claims were unfair and greedy.
“They would not only take churches in Bellingham, which Fairhaven people have helped to build, but the only school house in either Fairhaven or Bellingham.”
This civic tug-of-war over city limits and deep-water access mirrors the ongoing debates about annexation and development that defined Bellingham's early history and continue to shape the character of our waterfront neighborhoods today.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.