The Mill That Never Was: A Snohomish Land Deal and a Promise from Washington
While local men scramble for housing and business lots in the booming town of Snohomish, a mysterious letter from D.C. hints at federal support for a post route to Pullman, just as a major timber contract is awarded locally.
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 good number of gentlemen are in town looking for homes and business locations. We hope that such will not amass and stick with the very noted; there is room for plenty more.
From the number of houses now living in, and to be created this summer, it is plain to everyone, that at no distant day Snohomish will rank among the flourishing cities of the West.
Do You Want a Post Route? Mr. Secretary — Yours of April 1st came to hand today. I have examined a petition for the establishment of a Post Route from Snohomish City to Pullman City. I will draw a bill for a room tonight and present it in the House tomorrow. If it should not be of Congress to establish a Post Route, but you can depend upon it that I will get the route established and then have post offices established and postmasters appointed on your request. It may take after months or more to do this thing, but have patience and all will be done.
Yours truly, O. Lupus [Likely a pseudonym or OCR error for a real Senator/Representative]
The Petition for Post Route up river received considerable interest on the part of forwarders was forwarded to Washington by Sheriff Street.
The following lots were sold in this place: M. L. Sinclair to E. G. Cuthbert, All of 'L' Block No 8 Snohomish City Western port; Cuthbert and two, D. F. McAnull, H. W. Tranzt, D. P. [?] from W. R. Gill, J. Batt, and E. P. County Court House lot in town lots in Snohomish City Western part, together with 30 acres of land north of town.
The contract for the driving and piling the first two hundred and fifty feet of the mill road was taken by Mr. Coleman Vanderhow to Mr. Joe Sarber, and the work was commenced at once by the driving of a few piles to mark the lines. Mr. Sarber's contract includes the cutting of the whole, a piece of wild land 50 by 130 feet will be the first work now, so as to load the loading of the iron and other materials. Mr. Coleman will furnish everything, and Mr. Sarver will do all the work, the piling, roping, stringing, swathing but putting down the ties and irons.
Among the stories told at the fireside, the revivalist is the following: The rev-passer ing an iron foundry when the works were in full swing, and heard a workman swearing terribly. 'Young man,' said the revivalist, approaching the swearer, 'how bad do you suppose hell is!' The workman recognized his speaker, and putting his arms around him and looking him squarely in the face, said, 'Well, Mr. Flannery, I suppose it's an hot then; that if suddenly brought you a spoonful of molten iron you'd swear 'twas ice cream.' Mr. Flannery had nothing to say.
This snippet captures the frantic pace of Snohomish’s early 20th-century boom, where land speculation and infrastructure promises (like the post route) drove development as much as actual industry. The mention of 'room for plenty more' housing mirrors modern debates about density and affordability in a town that has since struggled to keep up with its own growth.
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