The Last Chance for a Snohomish Homestead
An 1880 land offering near the Snohomish River highlights the foundational scramble for riverfront property and the dream of independent homeownership.
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.
Good Bottom Land: The under-signed will offer for sale for the next sixty days, at moderate figures, a choice tract of right level land near Snohomish City, convenient to a saw-mill, the Agricultural Fair grounds, and to the river. A house and a desirable two acres of good level upland lot will be sold to accommodate those wishing a home. For terms and particulars, inquire at P. Morse's, or of J. N. Low, Snohomish City, April 7, 1880.
“A desirable two acres of good level upland lot will be sold to accommodate those wishing a home.”
This notice captures a moment when Snohomish's 'bottom land' was being carved into parcels for new settlers, a sharp contrast to today's market where riverfront accessibility is a luxury. The urgent call for 'those wishing a home' resonates with the perennial local struggle to maintain affordability in a town shaped by its geography and agricultural roots.
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