The Town That Grew in Ninety Days—and Then Waited for the Railroad

Several years ago Amos Bowman, a civil engineer who had been in the employ of the dominion government, took up his residence on the north end of Fidalgo Island, where the city of Anacortes now stands, built a home, had a wharf constructed to supply passing boats with wood, water, etc., and began, through charts of his own make, worked on a lithograph press, to let the outside world know the character of country surrounding him. To him its topographical situation, at the very portals of the Sound and rich back country, together with its means of ingress and egress, forced the belief that some day it would be the site of a city. He had married a Miss Anna Curtis, and, in thinking up a name for the future city, mingled the letters into 'Anacortes,' and when a postoffice was later established it went on the record under that title.

Fidalgo Island, on which the new city is being built, is really one of the San Juan group, otherwise one of the De Haro archipelago, and it is the only one accessible by rail from the continent, the Swinomish slough dividing it. It belongs to Skagit county. Anacortes is situated on Ship Harbor and Guemes Channel, which separates it from Guemes Island. It is about sixty miles north of Seattle.

In the fall of 1889 the Oregon Improvement Company secured a large subsidy of land from Bowman and other property owners on Ship Harbor, conditioned that it would build a railroad from Anacortes to the Hamilton coal fields, about thirty-two miles east on the Skagit River. It was also understood by the public at large that the thirty-two miles of road were to be merely a beginning, and the road, now known as the Seattle Northern, would continue east to Sauk City, and thence across the Skagit pass to Spokane, thus making Anacortes the terminal of a direct overland railway.

About the same time James F. McNaught, chief attorney for the Northern Pacific, J. M. Buckley, recent assistant manager of the Northern Pacific, John P. Hoyt, Bailey Gatzert, Struve, Haines and McMiken, and others of Seattle, secured realty in that vicinity, and on the 15th of January, 1890, the work of cutting down the forest and platting for a new city was commenced. In thirty days thereafter Anacortes was the talk of the state. Glowing accounts of its wonderful upbuilding were written up and printed. The work of building wharves and grading for the railroad commenced; lots were put on the market at $300 and $1,000 each, and sold at an advance; two and three times a week shacks were being rushed up by the dozen, and ninety days after the city was platted it was estimated that there was a population of 2,000 in the place. Lots were offered as gifts to those who would put up a certain class of brick structure. Brick yards were opened, and a few weeks after the kilns were commenced several substantial brick buildings, including two large hotels, a bank and commodious business houses, were under way. The Oregon Improvement Company put in excellent water works, with a full supply of hydrants; fire apparatus was secured, and within a year after the first survey preliminary steps were taken to incorporate.

The town was lucky in getting in a good mayor and progressive council. A first-class engineer was secured and set at work street grading—result, the little town has grown into the handsomest on the Sound, from Olympia to Bellingham bay.

Anacortes has been moving quietly but steadily along during the past year, making improvements and carrying out plans to meet the requirements of a very large city.

Among the notable improvements of a public character are a $40,000 brick school building; Episcopal church building, $1,500; Methodist Episcopal church, $5,000; Presbyterian church, $6,000; city hall (brick) about finished, $8,000; two brick hotels, each about $30,000. The city is well lighted by electricity, and an electric road eleven miles long to connect with the other end of the island has been graded and the track laid, but it is not in use owing to the stringency of the money market.

Two sawmills—the Skagit and the Anacortes—a planing mill and sash and door factory give employment to about sixty men. It is also reported that another large sawmill is to be located here.

A recent consolidation of the interests of the Northern Pacific, Oregon Improvement Company, McNaught Land and Improvement Company and other corporations holding large areas of land in the city and adjoining has been consummated, and, as usual, the people are hoping that the combine will give business a new life.

Owing to the financial troubles of the Oregon Improvement Company, it is not known when its road will be extended up the valley or the railroad bridge built across the Skagit River to what is known as the Hamilton coal mines. The prospecting or development work on these has been closed down, and it is not known when it will be recommenced.

At present the Seattle Northern railroad is of little or no benefit to Anacortes. Its rate for hauling passengers is little less than the stage rates.

The utter disregard of the Oregon Improvement Company to the interests of those whom its agents induced to purchase its land is shown in the recent action in closing from traffic what is known as the ocean wharf at the foot of Avenue P in the old and thickly settled portion of the city, thus forcing the residents to go half a mile or more to reach what is known as the McNaught wharf. This dog-in-the-manger policy has forced the citizens of that end to build a wharf for themselves at the end of Avenue Q. This latter will be finished in a few days, after which all the Sound boats passing will stop there. The new wharf and warehouse will cost about $2,700.

The city has three good weekly newspapers, the Washington Farmer, American and the Courier, the latter having succeeded the Anacortes Progress. All are striving to show the outside world why Anacortes is likely to be a great city.

The conformation of the land upon which the city is built presents an opportunity for a perfect system of sewage into the current of Guemes Channel.

With the products of Lopez and Guemes islands within a mile or two, the Samish flats on the north, Whitney Island and the diked flats in the rear, together with the towns of Avon, Burlington, Bay View, Wooley and Hamilton to draw upon, it looks as if Anacortes holds an excellent position commercially.