The Boomtown Hopes of Marysville, 1885
Before it was a suburban hub, a settler reports back on the 'tender years' of Marysville and the desperate need for roads to connect the new frontier.
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.
Those who are in search of homes I would advise to take a trip on either of the Snohomish river steamers, the Nellie or the Josephine, as far as Marysville. A word or two, first, for this new little town, which is situated at the mouth of Ebey's slough, or about a mile and a half from the mouth of the Snohomish river. From the deck of the steamer one is led to the idea that the town is built upon the tideflats, but this is not the case; for, after leaving the wharf, you cross a narrow neck of tideflat land, say 300 feet, when at a glance you see the solid terra firma upon which the town is situated. At present Marysville is but in its infancy, but, for a burg of such tender years, is doing pretty well. Cosieford's new hotel, the 'Arlington,' is about finished and ready for business. Mr. Cosieford, the proprietor, is very well posted on the resources of his county, and will exert himself to furnish any assistance in his power to enable those in search of homes to find suitable places. When one or two families go into the country to hew out for themselves a home, the fight is severe and the inconveniences are real, and perhaps there is no greater nuisance with which a frontiersman has to contend than the absence of roads. It is with these views to my mind I suggest the settlement of that locality with a colony, a suggestion not entirely out of place regarding others as well as it.
“There is no greater nuisance with which a frontiersman has to contend than the absence of roads.”
Marysville's transition from a marshy frontier outpost to a sprawling commuter city mirrors the recurring cycle of Snohomish County development. The author's lament about the 'absence of roads' remains a central, albeit shifted, anxiety in the region today, as modern growth continues to grapple with the infrastructure demands of an expanding population.
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