A Frontier Exit Strategy
As one pioneer prepares to leave Snohomish for the East, his massive land divestment offers a snapshot of the region's early agricultural and industrial aspirations.
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.
Wishing to return to the East, I offer for sale all my real and personal property in this county, consisting of a very fine ranch adjoining Snohomish City, of 147 acres; 70 acres bottom land, the balance upland adjoining. 30 acres are cleared, with an excellent stock range. An average of over 20 head of stock has been kept on the place the past two years, with 85 head now there, of which 13 are milch cows. $200 worth of fruit is annually produced by the orchard. The location is one of the best for a dairy ranch in this county, and 80 tons of hay was cut on this place last year. I also offer for sale 170 acres of land at Qualco, near the forks of the river, with a valuable mill privilege and building for a mill ready to put the machinery in. Besides these two valuable places, I will sell one house and lot in Snohomish City. The house is well built, hard finished, one and one-half stories high and contains 7 rooms. For terms, apply to the undersigned at Snohomish City. — Royal Haswell.
“Wishing to return to the East, I offer for sale all my real and personal property in this county.”
Royal Haswell’s sprawling 147-acre ranch and additional industrial acreage represent the massive, centralized land holdings that defined early Snohomish development. Today, these tracts have been subdivided into the residential neighborhoods and commercial zones that reflect our current, intense struggle with housing inventory and sprawl.
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