Life at the Edge of the Wilderness: The Nooksack Settlement of 1873
A rare window into the early days of agricultural pioneers, steam-powered dreams, and the quiet resilience of a solitary woman living on the edge of the Nooksack River.
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.
From the town of Whatcom on Bellingham Bay, a wagon road extends to the Fraser River. This road crosses the Nooksack River at a point some 18 miles from Whatcom. Until within the past few years, there has been hardly enough travel on this road to keep it open; now, the great number of settlers going into the upper Nooksack region is causing a large amount of travel. Of the settlers now residing in the vicinity of the crossing, Mr. B. Caldwell was the first one to settle there in 1870. There are now 48 men liable to poll tax in that road district. Immediately at the crossing, on the south bank of the river, Mrs. Eddy resides alone. The main settlement is on the opposite side of the river, and except by crossing the river, no families are to be found within several miles of her house. She is upwards of 50 years of age and came from Michigan to this coast for her health. Happening to come to Whatcom and hearing of this place, she took a fancy to it, purchased the improvements, and has lived on it ever since. Her relations all reside thousands of miles away, yet she is apparently the happiest woman in Whatcom County. Where can a stranger illustration of hermit life be found?
“Her relations all reside thousands of miles away, yet she is apparently the happiest woman in Whatcom county. Where can a stranger illustration of hermit life be found?”
Today's Nooksack Valley is a bustling agricultural hub, yet the story of early settlers struggling to connect to distant markets remains a familiar theme in Washington. Mrs. Eddy's choice to live in isolation on the riverbank speaks to a timeless desire for independence that modern residents of rural Snohomish County and the Nooksack region still seek out.
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