The Boom That Never Was: How Utsalaay Tried to Steal Seattle's Thunder
In 1901, a rival town on Puget Sound launched an aggressive land sales campaign, claiming its harbor was superior and its resources 'inexhaustible,' while Seattle’s own economy sat in a dull slump.
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.
Utsalaay has more natural resources tributary to it than any other town on the Lower Sound. Utsalaay is the natural outlet for the world-renowned Skagit and Stillaguamish valleys. The marvelous wealth of this region is simply astonishing. There are inexhaustible quantities of the finest timber. There is a large agricultural country whose fertility cannot be equalled. There is coal and iron in unlimited quantities. There are lead and silver mines as rich as they are numerous. There are mountains of the finest lime and marble, and the finest quality of asbestos. There is an aggregation of wealth sufficient to support millions.
Utsalaay never had a 'boom'—but is advancing steadily on the MERIT of the place. Large improvements are being made; streets graded; residences and business blocks are going up; another new hotel is ready to accommodate the public... Utsalaay will be the terminus of the Utsalaay, Mountlake & Murray Eastern Railroad, connecting with the N.P. system at Lake McMurray: and a line from Stanwood (only six miles east) will bring the Great Northern into Utsalaay.
Look at your map; study the situation intelligently, and you will cast your lot with Utsalaay. Lots and acres for sale now on easy terms. Special inducements to those who will build at once. Free sites for manufacturing.
This 1901 advertisement reveals a time when Seattle’s dominance was not yet guaranteed, and neighboring towns like Utsalaay (now part of Mountlake Terrace) aggressively marketed their own potential as rival commercial hubs. Today, the 'Utsalaay' name survives only in local geography, while the town itself was absorbed into the greater Seattle metropolitan area, a testament to how quickly real estate booms can fade when infrastructure plans fail to materialize.
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