The Promised Land on the La Grande Marsh
Developers in the late 19th century marketed Snohomish's tide lands and marshy acreage as prime agricultural real estate, promising fertile soil and easy access to market.
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 is here, on easy terms that will soon be very valuable. The valuable tide land townsite property is divided into twenty-two strips of about nine acres each, extending from the high water mark to include meadow and garden land already cleared and ready for transfer to the buyer. These are available at the low rate of $10 per acre for those who can pay cash down. Also, small property on the farm for sale or lease on reasonable terms. For particulars, please apply to the tracts of 40 and 80 acres adjoining the townsite. The natural advantages of Mukilteo are not excelled by any other place on the Sound for fishing, milling, ship building or manufacturing purposes. All the steamers down the Sound to Snohomish, Whidbey and Island tellings call there going and returning; it is also on the direct route of steamers up the Sound. There is also an excellent landing for deep water vessels to ship the products of Snohomish, Whidbey and Island Counties in deep water vessels. In addition to the above, we will sell 300 acres of the finest marsh land in the territory known as the 'La Grande Marsh,' with 20 acres of upland. This is only four miles from Snohomish. It is well drained, not liable to overflow, soil extremely fertile, dry and nearly ready for the plow. There is a wagon road to Snohomish and profitable can be taken by this road or by boats from the premises to market. Terms easy. The best chance ever offered in the territory to secure a fine farm. Just the location for a colony, and it can be subdivided into forty new tracts, each of which will yield an abundant support for a family.
“The best chance ever offered in the territory to secure a fine farm. Just the location for a colony.”
This advertisement showcases the classic 19th-century 'pioneer' marketing pitch, selling marshland as a ready-made agricultural utopia. Today, Snohomish residents have a much more sophisticated understanding of these wetlands, prioritizing environmental restoration and flood management over the intense subdivision schemes that once defined early territorial development.
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