The Unwelcome Arrival at Marysville
As the Snohomish River valley faced economic stagnation, a new townsite at Marysville was pitched as a promise of fertile independence for fifty families.
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.
Last week attention was called to the improvements under way at Mr. Comfort's new townsite of Marysville, near the mouth of Ebey Slough. The region back at there affords more inducement to settlers than any other one point in this county. Some fifty families could easily be located on extra fertile land, much of it beaver marsh, all very easily improved, and most of it Government land subject to entry as pre-emptions or homesteads, on what will be a main traveled route between the Snohomish and Stillaguamish valleys. Mr. Comfort will gladly assist all desiring homes there in finding claims and locating on the land. For several years the place has been kept from settlement and cultivation because no one undertook doing what Mr. Comfort is so well doing. Those desiring homes should at least visit that region.
“Some fifty families could easily be located on extra fertile land, much of it beaver marsh, all very easily improved.”
The late 19th-century pitch for 'beaver marsh' land in Marysville mirrors the relentless expansion of Snohomish County's borders. Today, the focus has shifted from homesteading frontier lands to grappling with the scarcity of housing on that same ground, yet the role of developers in defining the character and accessibility of our towns remains constant.
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