The Forgotten Colony of 'La Grande Marsh'
Promoters promised a thriving agricultural paradise on the outskirts of Snohomish, marketing deep-water access and fertile soil to lure a new generation of settlers.
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.
The best opportunity ever offered to settle on the Sound is at La Grande Marsh, situated four miles from Snohomish City. This land is divided into twenty-one strips of about nine acres, extending back from the water to include timber and cold clear running water. Credit will be given at low rates of interest to those intending to buy and clear down. This location is not excelled by any other place on the Sound for fishing, milling, or shipbuilding purposes. All the steamers down the Sound to Snohomish, Steilacoom, and Island Counties stop there going and returning. In addition to the above will be sold 320 acres of the finest marsh land in the territory, known as the Hurley Ranch, with 20 acres of upland. La Grande Marsh is well drained, not subject to overflow, soil extra fertile, dry and nearly ready for the plow. There is a wagon road to the premises, and products can be taken by this road or by boats from the premises to market. Terms are easy; this is the best chance ever offered in the territory to secure a fine farm. Just the location for a colony! As it can be subdivided into twenty-acre tracts, each of which will yield an abundant support for a family.
“Just the location for a colony! As it can be subdivided into twenty-acre tracts, each of which will yield an abundant support for a family.”
This 19th-century land advertisement reflects the same relentless pressure to convert rural Snohomish County wetlands into residential and agricultural parcels. While the 'colony' dream of the 1880s promised self-sufficiency, today’s headlines focus on the environmental costs and the tension between preservation and the desperate need for affordable land.
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