Mukilteo ( ) is a city in
Snohomish County, Washington
Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...
, United States. It is located on the
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
between
Edmonds Edmonds may refer to:
* Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname)
* Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US
** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US
* Edmonds station (SkyTra ...
and
Everett, approximately north of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. The city had a population of 20,254 at the
2010 census and an estimated 2019 population of 21,441.
The current site of Old Town Mukilteo was inhabited by the
Snohomish people
The Snohomish are a Lushootseed Native American tribe who reside around the Puget Sound area of Washington, north of Seattle. They speak the Lushootseed language. The tribal spelling of their name is ''Sdoh-doh-hohbsh,'' which means "lowland peo ...
prior to the arrival of American settlers in the 19th century. The
Treaty of Point Elliott
The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot (with one ''t'') / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes ...
was signed in Mukilteo in 1855, opening the region to settlement. A new town was founded at Mukilteo and became the provisional
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Snohomish County in early 1861. The area remained a trading post for loggers and was home to other industries, but was overshadowed by Everett and grew slowly.
Mukilteo was used during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
as an auxiliary fueling facility, due to its proximity to the newly built
Snohomish County Airport Snohomish can refer to:
* Snohomish people, a tribe of the Lushootseed people native to Puget Sound in Washington State
* Snohomish dialect, the dialect of Lushootseed spoken by the tribe
* Snohomish, Washington, a city located in the county of the ...
(now Paine Field). Mukilteo was
incorporated as a city in 1947 and saw new suburban development, which accelerated after the opening of the nearby
Boeing Everett Factory
The Boeing Everett Factory is an airplane assembly facility built by Boeing in Everett, Washington, United States. It sits at the northeast corner of Paine Field and includes the largest building in the world by volume at 13,385,378 m3 (472,37 ...
in the late 1960s. The city annexed large suburban areas on the west side of Paine Field in the 1980s and 1990s, including Harbour Pointe and the
State Route 525 corridor, while also revitalizing the Old Town area in the 2000s.
Today, Mukilteo is a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
with a small job base centered around manufacturing industries. It is also a major transportation hub, with connections to
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...
via the
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals loca ...
system,
Sounder commuter trains to Seattle, and
public transit
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
services to nearby cities. The city is recognized for its
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
and is one of the most affluent in Washington state, with a high
median income
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of ...
.
History
Establishment and early history
![Native Americans in canoes on Mukilteo Beach, circa 1861–62](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Native_Americans_in_canoes_on_Mukilteo_Beach%2C_circa_1861%E2%80%9362.jpeg)
The
Lushootseed
Lushootseed (txʷəlšucid, dxʷləšúcid), also Puget Salish, Puget Sound Salish or Skagit-Nisqually, is a language made up of a dialect continuum of several Salish tribes of modern-day Washington state. Lushootseed is one of the Coast Salish ...
name Muckl-te-oh or Buk-wil-tee-whu (), meaning "good camping ground" or "narrow passage" according to some sources, was given to the
headland
A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...
and nearby waters by the
Snohomish people
The Snohomish are a Lushootseed Native American tribe who reside around the Puget Sound area of Washington, north of Seattle. They speak the Lushootseed language. The tribal spelling of their name is ''Sdoh-doh-hohbsh,'' which means "lowland peo ...
.
The Snohomish had a year-round village in the area for at least 600 years before the arrival of European and American explorers in the 19th century. Early artifacts uncovered during waterfront construction in the 2010s were
carbon dated
Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of radiocarbon, a radioactive isotope of carbon.
The method was dev ...
to 1,000
years before present
Before Present (BP) years, or "years before present", is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Becau ...
.
The
Vancouver Expedition
The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...
, led by British explorer
George Vancouver
Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...
, visited the area on May 30, 1792, and landed at modern-day Mukilteo the following day. Lieutenant
William Robert Broughton
William Robert Broughton (22 March 176214 March 1821) was a British naval officer in the late 18th century. As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, he commanded HMS ''Chatham'' as part of the Vancouver Expedition, a voyage of exploration through th ...
and botanist
Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies ( ; 15 March 1754 – 15 February 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. He spent many years at sea, serving with the Royal Navy, private merchants, and the Vancouver Expedition. He was the first recorded Euro ...
named the site "Rose Point" after the wild
Nootka roses that grew along the shore.
An American expedition led by
Charles Wilkes
Charles Wilkes (April 3, 1798 – February 8, 1877) was an American naval officer, ship's captain, and explorer. He led the United States Exploring Expedition (1838–1842).
During the American Civil War (1861–1865), he commanded ' during the ...
in 1841 renamed the headland "Point Elliott" for Samuel Elliott, a midshipman.
After its 1853 establishment, the
Washington territorial government looked to negotiate treaties with the local tribes of the Puget Sound region to secure land for settlement. On January 22, 1855, representatives from the territorial government and 82 local tribes signed the
Treaty of Point Elliott
The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot (with one ''t'') / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes ...
, which ceded tribal territories in exchange for compensation, the establishment of Indian reservations, and access to traditional hunting and fishing areas. An American settlement at Point Elliott was established two years later by Morris H. Frost and J. D. Fowler, two merchants from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
The two men established a store and saloon on the southwest side of Point Elliott,
which was renamed to Mukilteo in 1860 by Fowler, using an
anglicized
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
name of the Lushootseed campsite.
Mukilteo was the area's first
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
and served as the interim
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of the newly created
Snohomish County
Snohomish County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. With a population of 827,957 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous county in Washington, after nearby King and Pierce counties, and the 75th-most populous ...
beginning January 14, 1861.
In the first county elections on July 8, 1861, the county seat was moved to Cadyville (now
Snohomish) by a 17–10 vote. Mukilteo remained the county's only port and a major trading post for the
Possession Sound
Possession Sound is part of Puget Sound, located in the U.S. state of Washington between Whidbey Island and the shoreline of Snohomish County approximately between the cities of Everett and Mukilteo. Possession Sound connects the main Puget Sou ...
region, and soon after received the county's first
post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
and
telegraph
Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
station.
The town was relocated to another, more protected side of Point Elliott and supported the regional lumber industry, including regular shipments to Whidbey Island and a sawmill of its own. By the 1880s, it had also gained a
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...
, a gunpowder plant, and the Puget Sound region's first
cannery
Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although un ...
.
Mukilteo was planned to become the largest port on Possession Sound, with a
summer resort
A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort' ...
accessible by
steamship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
, but the efforts ceased after the establishment of nearby
Everett by East Coast industrialists.
Early 20th century
![Mukilteo, WA - Rosehill Community Center 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Mukilteo%2C_WA_-_Rosehill_Community_Center_01.jpg)
The
Seattle and Montana Railroad
The Fairhaven and Southern Railroad and its successor the Seattle and Montana Railroad were railroads in northwest part of the U.S. state of Washington, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They ran roughly south from Blaine, Washingt ...
(later part of the
Great Northern Railway) was completed in 1891, connecting Mukilteo with Everett,
Edmonds Edmonds may refer to:
* Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname)
* Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US
** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US
* Edmonds station (SkyTra ...
, and
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. Mukilteo was
plat
In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bear ...
ted in anticipation of the railroad and was on the shortlist of towns considered for the terminus of the
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...
, but lost out to
Tacoma in 1873. Following the
1890s economic depression, the town experienced a major employment and population boom, with a larger lumber mill and gunpowder factory both built along the shore. The iconic
Mukilteo Lighthouse was built in 1906 by the federal
Lighthouse Service
The United States Lighthouse Service, also known as the Bureau of Lighthouses, was the agency of the United States Government and the general lighthouse authority for the United States from the time of its creation in 1910 as the successor of the ...
to serve the increased maritime traffic in the area.
Japanese immigrants arrived to work in Mukilteo's mills after the turn of the century, establishing a
Japantown
is a common name for Japanese communities in cities and towns outside Japan. Alternatively, a Japantown may be called J-town, Little Tokyo or , the first two being common names for Japantown, San Francisco, Japantown, San Jose and Little To ...
in modern-day
Japanese Gulch
Japanese Gulch, is a drainage basin located in Snohomish County, Washington. Within the drainage basin, the City of Mukilteo owns 147 acres of land including a dog park, waterfront access, open space, and a community garden. With its rich histo ...
.
Passenger ferry
A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
service between Mukilteo and Whidbey Island began in 1911 and was followed by the introduction of
automobile ferry
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their o ...
service in 1919. The town also gained a highway connection in 1914 with the completion of
Mukilteo Boulevard, which traveled east to Everett. Until the closure of the lumber mill in 1930, Mukilteo was a
company town
A company town is a place where practically all stores and housing are owned by the one company that is also the main employer. Company towns are often planned with a suite of amenities such as stores, houses of worship, schools, markets and re ...
that relied on the Crown Lumber Company to assist in civic endeavors, including its parks, fire department, and water district; at its peak, it employed 250 men.
During the
Prohibition Era
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...
, Mukilteo became a major transiting point for
rum-running
Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The ter ...
and was a stopover for smugglers transporting alcohol from British Columbia to Seattle. The town's gunpowder plant was destroyed on September 17, 1930, in an after-hours explosion that leveled or damaged dozens of homes, causing $500,000 in damage. It was felt as far as downtown Everett and injured eight people, but none were killed. On August 30, 1938, the vacant lumber mill was destroyed in a fire during dismantling work. The fire came weeks after a mail ferry rammed into the town's wharf, which was destroyed in the collision.
After the United States entered
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the site of the former lumber mill was acquired by the federal government and rebuilt as a
ammunition
Ammunition (informally ammo) is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. Ammunition is both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines) and the component parts of other weap ...
loading dock for warships. The recently built
Snohomish County Airport Snohomish can refer to:
* Snohomish people, a tribe of the Lushootseed people native to Puget Sound in Washington State
* Snohomish dialect, the dialect of Lushootseed spoken by the tribe
* Snohomish, Washington, a city located in the county of the ...
(later renamed Paine Field) southeast of the city was converted into a military base while retaining some civilian uses, including passenger service provided by
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...
. During the early 1950s, the loading dock was expanded with ten large
storage tank
Storage tanks are containers that hold liquids, compressed gases (gas tank; or in U.S.A "pressure vessel", which is not typically labeled or regulated as a storage tank) or mediums used for the short- or long-term storage of heat or cold. The t ...
s that were used to store
jet fuel
Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...
for military planes until 1989.
Incorporation and late 20th century
![Aerial Paine Field August 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Aerial_Paine_Field_August_2009.jpg)
On April 29, 1947, Mukilteo residents voted 223 to 137 in favor of
incorporating as a fourth-class city and elected school administrator Alfred Tunem as its first mayor. The incorporation was certified by the state government on May 8; at the time, Mukilteo had an estimated population of 775 people and encompassed .
The new municipal government took over services that were previously handled by the self-organized Mukilteo Improvement Club, which was established in the 1930s.
The area experienced additional population and commercial growth after the opening of
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
's
Paine Field factory for passenger
jetliner
A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly clas ...
s in 1967, which was connected to Mukilteo by a short railroad along the floor of Japanese Gulch. The
Boeing Freeway was opened in 1969, linking southern Mukilteo and the Boeing plant to a junction with
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
near the newly built
Everett Mall
Everett Mall is a indoor/outdoor shopping mall located in Everett, Washington, United States. Planned in the late 1960s, the mall began with the construction of two anchor stores, Sears in 1969 and White Front in 1971; the mall was originally ...
.
Mukilteo completed its first major
annexation
Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...
in November 1980, adding 2,500 people living on to the south along
State Route 525. This annexation nearly tripled the city's population and doubled its land area. Additional annexations and natural growth by the end of the decade brought the city's population to 6,000.
The annexation of the large Harbour Pointe community was completed in 1991 and doubled the city's size to .
A competing proposal had sought to incorporate the
planned community
A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
into a new city of 24,000 people, tentatively named Highland Bay, but residents supported annexation as a mutually agreeable option to reduce their taxes and benefit from city services.
The annexation was also influenced by the county government's plans to allow passenger flights from Paine Field, which residents in Mukilteo and Harbour Pointe opposed alongside other nearby cities.
The county ultimately withdrew their proposal to introduce passenger flights.
Several parties that opposed the annexation, including the county
fire district, withdrew their complaints and allowed Mukilteo to annex Harbour Pointe on March 26, 1991.
The annexation added 4,779 residents and to Mukilteo, doubling the city's population to 6,662 and size to .
It required the construction of two new
fire station
__NOTOC__
A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire h ...
s, three schools, and a new
city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
to house new employees.
Kamiak High School
Kamiak High School is a public high school in Mukilteo, Washington, United States. It was the second high school in the Mukilteo School District when it opened on September 8, 1993. The first and only high school within Mukilteo city limits, it ...
was built in the Harbour Pointe area and opened in 1993 to serve Mukilteo, which had outgrown
Mariner High School, and featured a technology-oriented curriculum.
The full build-out of Harbour Pointe increased the city's population to over 18,000 by 2000, a 1,164 percent increase from 1980. The geographic and commercial center of Mukilteo was shifted further south towards Harbour Pointe, leading to cultural clashes with residents of older neighborhoods.
21st century
![MV Kittitas at Mukilteo Ferry Terminal (17960607616)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/MV_Kittitas_at_Mukilteo_Ferry_Terminal_%2817960607616%29.jpg)
An agreement to transfer ownership of the
Mukilteo Lighthouse from the
U.S. Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...
to the city government was signed in 1999 after a decade of partial use as a museum by the local
historical society
A historical society (sometimes also preservation society) is an organization dedicated to preserving, collecting, researching, and interpreting historical information or items. Originally, these societies were created as a way to help future gen ...
. The changeover was made on August 19, 2001, with the Coast Guard retaining use of the working lights and the city government planning rehabilitation work to support the building's use as a tourist landmark. The adjacent
Mukilteo State Park was transferred to the city government in February 2003, following an offer from the
Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission
The Washington State Park System is a set of state parks owned by the state government of Washington, USA. They are managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. There are over 140 parks throughout the state, including 19 marine ...
to donate the park in order to stave off a budget shortfall. The new city park, named Mukilteo Lighthouse Park, underwent $6.6 million in renovations that were completed in 2008 to add a
playground
A playground, playpark, or play area is a place designed to provide an environment for children that facilitates play, typically outdoors. While a playground is usually designed for children, some are designed for other age groups, or people ...
and other park amenities.
The decommissioned fuel storage tank complex on the city's waterfront was identified for potential redevelopment in the 1990s, including use for a new ferry terminal.
The
Port of Everett
The Port of Everett is a public seaport authority located on Port Gardner Bay in Everett, Washington, United States. Founded in 1918, it operates a small cargo terminal, a public marina, waterfront real estate, and public recreational lands. The P ...
led environmental cleanup of the site and constructed a new
pier
image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.
A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...
to transport large airplane sections for the
Boeing 787
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
project, replacing the existing pier.
The cleanup was completed in late 2006 after several delays due to the discovery of Indian artifacts that triggered an archaeological investigation. The existing pier was demolished in 2015 to make way for the new ferry terminal, which opened on December 29, 2020.
The new terminal includes connections to an adjacent
commuter rail station
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
, which opened in 2008 and was expanded in 2016 by
Sound Transit
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...
. A
research station
Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of resear ...
for the
Northwest Fisheries Science Center (part of
NOAA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
) on the tank farm site was closed in 2020 and planned to be demolished in 2020 until the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
halted work. A project to build a new facility by 2022 was cancelled in March 2021 after NOAA received no bids below $40 million, which had been appropriated by the U.S. Congress; ownership of the property is expected to revert to the Port of Everett, which NOAA took over ownership from in 2001.
On July 30, 2016, a
mass shooting
There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 200 ...
occurred at a house party in the Chennault Beach neighborhood of Mukilteo, around midnight. Three people were killed using an
AR-15 style rifle
An AR-15-style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative of Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design. The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation d ...
and another was left with serious injuries. The perpetrator, a graduate of Kamiak High School, was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The Mukilteo shooting, one of several mass shootings in the state in the 2010s, was cited as the inspiration for an
assault weapons
In the United States, ''assault weapon'' is a controversial term used to define firearms with specified characteristics. The definition varies among regulating jurisdictions, but usually includes semi-automatic firearms with a detachable ma ...
restriction that was rejected by the state legislature and passed by voters in 2018 as
Initiative 1639. In February 2018, an Everett resident was arrested prior to a planned
school shooting
A school shooting is an attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of firearms. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple c ...
that would have targeted
ACES Alternative High
Mukilteo School District No. 6 is a public school district that mainly serves Mukilteo, Washington. The Mukilteo School District includes all of the city, but also a portion of south Everett, Lynnwood, and Edmonds. The district had more than 1 ...
or Kamiak High School.
On May 2, 2017, a small airplane taking off from Paine Field crashed into several cars and an overhead power line at the intersection of Harbour Pointe Boulevard and the Mukilteo Speedway. There were no fatalities and only two minor injuries, while the pilot and sole passenger were unhurt.
Geography
![Aerial view of Mukilteo, 2019](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Aerial_view_of_Mukilteo%2C_2019.jpg)
Mukilteo is located in southwestern Snohomish County, approximately north of
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
.
The city generally runs north–south, with a length of and a width of .
It is bordered to the west by the
Possession Sound
Possession Sound is part of Puget Sound, located in the U.S. state of Washington between Whidbey Island and the shoreline of Snohomish County approximately between the cities of Everett and Mukilteo. Possession Sound connects the main Puget Sou ...
, a section of the
Puget Sound
Puget Sound ( ) is a sound of the Pacific Northwest, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is located along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected ma ...
, and to the north by
Port Gardner Bay
Port Gardner, also known as Port Gardner Bay, is an inlet of Possession Sound on which the city of Everett, Washington is located. The Snohomish River flows into the north end of the bay.
It was named by George Vancouver for his patron and former ...
. Mukilteo's eastern border with
Everett is defined by 44th Avenue and
Japanese Gulch
Japanese Gulch, is a drainage basin located in Snohomish County, Washington. Within the drainage basin, the City of Mukilteo owns 147 acres of land including a dog park, waterfront access, open space, and a community garden. With its rich histo ...
until it reaches
State Route 526. From there, the city's eastern boundary continues along
State Route 525 along the west side of
Paine Field
Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...
in
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Snohomish County. Mukilteo's southern border, also facing unincorporated neighborhoods, is defined by Beverly Park Road, the Picnic Point Ravine, and Hulk Creek, which drains into Possession Sound.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
Mukilteo also has a designated
urban growth area that extends south to 148th Street Southwest, bordering
Lynnwood
Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...
, and east to
State Route 99. An advisory vote on whether to annex the entire urban growth area (with a population of 11,000 people) was rejected by city voters in 2010.
The majority of Mukilteo is located on a plateau overlooking Possession Sound and the
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high – Mount Olympus is the highest at ; however, the easter ...
to the west and
Port Gardner Bay
Port Gardner, also known as Port Gardner Bay, is an inlet of Possession Sound on which the city of Everett, Washington is located. The Snohomish River flows into the north end of the bay.
It was named by George Vancouver for his patron and former ...
to the north. A major railroad runs along the shore, which is situated below a set of tall
bluffs that are divided by
ravine
A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.[gulch
In xeric lands, a gulch is a deep V-shaped valley formed by erosion. It may contain a small stream or dry creek bed and is usually larger in size than a gully. Sudden intense rainfall upstream may produce flash floods in the bed of the gulch.
I ...](_blank)
es along several creeks. The bluffs were formed approximately 5,000 years
before present
Before Present (BP) years, or "years before present", is a time scale used mainly in archaeology, geology and other scientific disciplines to specify when events occurred relative to the origin of practical radiocarbon dating in the 1950s. Becaus ...
and eroded away over time to form beaches and Point Elliott itself. The city has several recognized drainage basins, including
Japanese Gulch
Japanese Gulch, is a drainage basin located in Snohomish County, Washington. Within the drainage basin, the City of Mukilteo owns 147 acres of land including a dog park, waterfront access, open space, and a community garden. With its rich histo ...
, Big Gulch, the Chennault Ravines, and
Picnic Point Gulch.
Mukilteo is also traversed from northwest to southeast by the
Southern Whidbey Island Fault, a shallow
earthquake fault
In geology, a fault is a Fracture (geology), planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of Rock (geology), rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust (geolo ...
zone discovered in 1996.
Neighborhoods
![Mukilteo library and ballot box](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Mukilteo_library_and_ballot_box.jpg)
With the exception of Old Town Mukilteo, the city is divided into several large neighborhoods that are named for various
developed subdivision
Subdivision may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Subdivision (metre), in music
* ''Subdivision'' (film), 2009
* "Subdivision", an episode of ''Prison Break'' (season 2)
* ''Subdivisions'' (EP), by Sinch, 2005
* "Subdivisions" (song), by Rus ...
s that were annexed in the late 20th century. Among these subdivision neighborhoods are Chennault Beach, Harbour Pointe, Olympus Terrace, and
Picnic Point.
Mukilteo's
urban growth area includes the neighborhoods of Lake Serene,
Meadowdale Meadowdale may refer to:
*Meadowdale High School (Washington), Lynnwood, Washington
*Meadowdale High School (Ohio), Dayton, Ohio
*Meadowdale International Raceway
*Carpentersville, Illinois
Carpentersville is a village in Kane County, Illinois ...
, and
Lake Stickney.
Old Town Mukilteo is located at the north end of the city, between
Port Gardner Bay
Port Gardner, also known as Port Gardner Bay, is an inlet of Possession Sound on which the city of Everett, Washington is located. The Snohomish River flows into the north end of the bay.
It was named by George Vancouver for his patron and former ...
and 5th Street (Mukilteo Boulevard). The city's
landmark lighthouse is located on Point Elliott at the northwest corner of Old Town, adjacent to the
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals loca ...
terminal and
commuter train station. The waterfront's sole connection to the rest of Mukilteo is via the Mukilteo Speedway (
State Route 525), which also serves ferry traffic; a second street, Mukilteo Lane, was closed in 2008 after severe erosion was discovered along the road.
Mukilteo's largest neighborhood is Harbour Pointe, located on in the south-central part of the city between Possession Sound and
State Route 525. It is bordered to the south by South Gulch and Picnic Point and to the north by Big Gulch and Olympus Terrace. The site was originally owned by the Port Gamble Lumber Company and was sold to
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
in 1952 as part of a plan to build an
oil refinery
An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...
at Picnic Point. After protests over a similar proposal for
Kayak Point in the 1960s, Standard Oil abandoned plans to build refineries in Snohomish County and turned over the Picnic Point site to the county government and private
real estate developers
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...
.
Development of Harbour Pointe began in 1978 and its first phase was completed in 1989 with the opening of the neighborhood's
golf course
A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...
. A public
marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
was proposed for the development's Chenault Beach section in 1983, but was rejected due to concerns from fisheries officials over potential impacts on Indian fishing.
Harbour Pointe was annexed by Mukilteo in 1991 and is now home to
Kamiak High School
Kamiak High School is a public high school in Mukilteo, Washington, United States. It was the second high school in the Mukilteo School District when it opened on September 8, 1993. The first and only high school within Mukilteo city limits, it ...
, the city library, and a large industrial district.
Climate
Mukilteo has a general climate similar to most of the Puget Sound lowlands, with dry summers and mild, rainy winters moderated by a marine influence from the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. On average, the area gets of annual
precipitation
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
, spread over approximately seven months. Mukilteo lies within the
Puget Sound Convergence Zone The Puget Sound Convergence Zone (PSCZ) is a meteorological phenomenon that occurs over Puget Sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is formed when the large-scale air flow splits around the Olympic Mountains and then converges over Puget Sound. ...
, a local weather phenomenon that affects areas of Snohomish County.
Economy
Mukilteo is primarily a
bedroom community
A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...
, with a concentration of employers at an
industrial park
An industrial park (also known as industrial estate, trading estate) is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more "heavyweight" version of a business park or office park, ...
near Harbour Pointe and several small
office park
A business park or office park is a designated area of land in which many office buildings are grouped together. These types of developments are often located in suburban areas where land and building costs are more affordable, and are typically ...
s. The
Puget Sound Regional Council
The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is a metropolitan planning organization that develops policies and makes decisions about transportation planning, economic development, and growth management throughout the four-county Seattle metropolitan a ...
estimated that the city had a total of 10,557 jobs , with the largest share in the manufacturing and services sectors. The largest employer in Mukilteo is the
Mukilteo School District
Mukilteo School District No. 6 is a public school district that mainly serves Mukilteo, Washington. The Mukilteo School District includes all of the city, but also a portion of south Everett, Lynnwood, and Edmonds. The district had more than 1 ...
, followed by the
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
Technical Center in Harbour Pointe, with over 1,200 employees.
Mukilteo also has several companies that are headquartered or based in the city, including aerospace equipment manufacturing firm
Electroimpact, audio equipment manufacturer
Rane, furniture manufacturer
Kaas Tailored
Kaas Tailored is an American furniture and upholstery manufacturer based in Mukilteo, Washington.
Background and history
Kaas Tailored was founded by cousins Larry and Allan Kaas in 1974 under the name Kaasco International, Inc. The company oper ...
, laser manufacturer
Synrad, and stovemaker
Travis Industries.
, Mukilteo has an estimated
workforce
The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the Pooling (resource management), pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single types of companies, company or ...
population of 16,935 and an
unemployment rate
Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work during the referen ...
of 6.7 percent. Under 7 percent of the city's workers have jobs located within Mukilteo city limits, with the majority commuting to employers in other cities.
Over 26 percent of workers commute to Everett, home to the
Boeing Assembly Plant and the county government. An estimated 19 percent travel to
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, 6 percent to
Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to:
Placenames
Australia
* Bellevue, Western Australia
* Bellevue Hill, New South Wales
* Bellevue, Queensland
* Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales
Canada ...
, and 5 percent to
Lynnwood
Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...
.
Demographics
Mukilteo is the ninth largest city in Snohomish County, with an estimated population of 21,240 in 2017.
The city has a significant population of
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
residents, which began growing in the late 1980s. It is one of the most affluent suburbs of Seattle and has a median household income of $94,863 and a
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
of $44,690,
ranking 21st of 281 areas within the state.
Approximately 4.9 percent of families and 5.7 percent of the overall population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 9.3 percent of those under the age of 18 and 4 percent aged 65 or older.
The city was ranked 10th on a list of top 100 small U.S. towns to live in by
''Money'' magazine in 2009, based on
quality of life
Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
criteria. Mukilteo rose to ninth place in the magazine's 2011 list, becoming the only
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
city in the top 10. Mukilteo was previously recognized in 2006 by ''
BusinessWeek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
'' magazine as one of the best affordable suburbs due to lower housing prices compared to
King County
King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...
cities and its low crime rate.
2010 census
As of the
2010 census, there were 20,254 people, 8,057 households, and 5,660 families residing in the city of Mukilteo. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 8,547 housing units at an average density of . The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 74.9% White, 1.7% African American, 0.6% Native American, 17.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 1.1% from other races, and 4.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.4% of the population.
There were 8,057 households, of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 29.8% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.00.
The median age in the city was 41.8 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.9% were from 25 to 44; 34.5% were from 45 to 64; and 10.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.2% male and 49.8% female.
2000 census
As of the
2000 census, there were 18,019 people, 6,759 households, and 4,981 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,842.5 people per square mile (1,097.3/km
2). There were 7,146 housing units at an average density of 1,127.3 per square mile (435.2/km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 82.06% White, 1.48% African American, 0.79% Native American, 10.97% Asian, 0.25% Pacific Islander, 1.13% from other races, and 3.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.90% of the population.
There were 6,759 households, out of which 40.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.8% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 28.2% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 6.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.5 males.
Government and politics
![Mukilteo, WA city hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Mukilteo%2C_WA_city_hall.jpg)
The City of Mukilteo operates as a non-charter
code city with a
mayor–council government
The mayor–council government system is a system of local government that has a mayor who is directly elected by the voters serve as chief executive, and a separately elected legislative city council. It is one of the two most common forms of loc ...
, consisting of a mayor and a seven-member city council who are elected to four-year terms.
Elections for the
at-large
At large (''before a noun'': at-large) is a description for members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent a whole membership or population (notably a city, county, state, province, nation, club or association), rather than ...
positions are held in odd-numbered years and conducted in a
nonpartisan
Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias towards, a political party.
While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of ''partisan'' includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers sp ...
manner, with city council seats staggered for a maximum of four seats per election.
Former two-term mayor Joe Marine was re-elected to a third term as mayor in 2021, defeating former city councilwoman and two-term mayor Jennifer Gregerson, who defeated him in 2013; Marine previously served as mayor from 2006 to 2013. Management of the city government was also delegated to a full-time
city administrator
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
until the position was eliminated in 2014. A proposal to create the position of
city manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...
and change to a
council–manager form of government was rejected by voters in the November 2019 elections.
The city government has 113 full-time employees and operated in 2016 on a budget of $32 million that is predominantly funded by
sales tax
A sales tax is a tax paid to a governing body for the sales of certain goods and services. Usually laws allow the seller to collect funds for the tax from the consumer at the point of purchase. When a tax on goods or services is paid to a govern ...
es.
Mukilteo maintains its own
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
and
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...
services, as well as departments for recreation,
planning
Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...
, and
public works
Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...
.
Other services, including utilities, garbage collection, public transportation, and the
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
, are contracted to regional agencies and organizations.
Mukilteo's
city hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
is located in Harbour Pointe and was constructed in 2008, costing $8.5 million and integrating recycled materials and other environmentally friendly features. The city hall was formerly housed at the Rosehill Community Center in Old Town and was temporarily moved to a leased Harbour Pointe warehouse in 1992 to accommodate more employees. After initially approving a site near the Rosehill Center in Old Town, the city government chose the Harbour Pointe site in 2006 as a compromise between disagreeing factions of the city council.
At the federal level, Mukilteo has been part of the
2nd congressional district since 2012 and is represented by Democrat
Rick Larsen
Richard Ray Larsen (born June 15, 1965) is an American politician and lobbyist serving as the United States House of Representatives, United States representative for since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Part ...
of
Arlington.
Prior to post-census redistricting in 2012, Mukilteo was part of the
1st congressional district and was represented by
Jay Inslee
Jay Robert Inslee (; born February 9, 1951) is an American politician, lawyer, and economist who has served as the 23rd governor of Washington since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. House of Representat ...
. At the state level, the city and
Edmonds Edmonds may refer to:
* Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname)
* Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US
** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US
* Edmonds station (SkyTra ...
comprise the
21st legislative district.
Mukilteo is wholly part of the
Snohomish County Council
The Snohomish County Council is the legislative body of Snohomish County, Washington. The county council was created in 1979 and consists of five members serving four-year terms.
Members
;Notes
History
The county council was created on No ...
's 2nd district, which also covers Everett and the
Tulalip Indian Reservation
The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, lut, dxʷlilap), formerly known as the Tulalip Tribes of the Tulalip Reservation, is a federally recognized tribe of Duwamish, Snohomish, Snoqualmie, Skagit, Suiattle, Samish, and Stillaguamish people. The ...
.
Culture
Events
The city's main annual festival is the three-day Mukilteo Lighthouse Festival, held at
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park encompasses the lighthouse at the west end of the city of Mukilteo, Washington, and south of it. The property is west and south of the Washington State Ferries terminal with ferry service to Clinton, Whidbey Island, and ...
in late August or early September. It was established in 1965 and features a parade, fireworks, a
fishing derby
''Fishing Derby'' is a fishing video game written by David Crane for the Atari Video Computer System (renamed to the Atari 2600 in 1982) and published by Activision in 1980. It's one of the first video games developed by Activision.
Gameplay
...
, and
fun run
A fun run is a friendly race that involves either road running or cross country running with participants taking part for their own enjoyment rather than competition. A fun run will usually be held to raise funds for a charity, with sponsors pro ...
s. The city also organizes a
farmers' market
A farmers' market (or farmers market according to the AP stylebook, also farmer's market in the Cambridge Dictionary) is a physical retail marketplace intended to sell foods directly by farmers to consumers. Farmers' markets may be indoors or o ...
at
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park encompasses the lighthouse at the west end of the city of Mukilteo, Washington, and south of it. The property is west and south of the Washington State Ferries terminal with ferry service to Clinton, Whidbey Island, and ...
that runs on weekends during the summer months; the 2019 season of the farmers' market was canceled due to a shortage of volunteers and a declined request for city officials to take over the event.
Parks and recreation
![Mukilteo, WA - Lighthouse Park 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Mukilteo%2C_WA_-_Lighthouse_Park_01.jpg)
Mukilteo has of total open space, including of
public park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to re ...
s and of privately owned open spaces, that occupy 13 percent of the city's total land area. The city's largest open spaces are
conservation area
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...
s in the Big Gulch and
Japanese Gulch
Japanese Gulch, is a drainage basin located in Snohomish County, Washington. Within the drainage basin, the City of Mukilteo owns 147 acres of land including a dog park, waterfront access, open space, and a community garden. With its rich histo ...
drainage basins. Mukilteo's parks are maintained by a city department that is also tasked with organizing recreational programs for citizens; it was funded by a 1996
ballot measure
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
that was approved by voters. In addition to city-owned parks and public spaces, Mukilteo is also located near
Picnic Point Park
A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event s ...
, a county park along Puget Sound southwest of Harbour Pointe.
The Old Town neighborhood has several of the city's major parks, including
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park encompasses the lighthouse at the west end of the city of Mukilteo, Washington, and south of it. The property is west and south of the Washington State Ferries terminal with ferry service to Clinton, Whidbey Island, and ...
, a former
state park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
that was acquired by Mukilteo in 2003 and is the city's most-used park facility.
The park includes a
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
,
boat launch
A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving small ...
, playground, and picnic areas. To the southeast of the waterfront park is the Rosehill Community Center, the city's main multi-purpose recreation center. It was built in 2011 to replace the existing community center, a former school that opened in 1928 and was re-purposed for various uses between the 1970s and its demolition in 2010.
The Japanese Gulch conservation area, located between Old Town and Paine Field, is the most-used natural area in Mukilteo. The area is predominately forests and
wetland
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
s that are home to a variety of birds, as well as
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
, deer, and
mountain beaver
The mountain beaver (''Aplodontia rufa'')Other names include mountain boomer, ground bear, giant mole, gehalis, lesser sasquatch, sewellel, suwellel, showhurll, showtl, and showte, as well as a number of Chinookan and other Native American terms ...
s. It has several
hiking trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...
s that were developed by Japanese immigrants who settled in the gulch in the early 20th century. The city government acquired land in the gulch in stages between 1996 and 2014.
The city's largest conservation area, Big Gulch, is located near Harbour Pointe and comprises of protected land and of trails. At the northeast corner of Big Gulch is Mukilteo's largest neighborhood park, 92nd Street Park, which spans along the Mukilteo Speedway. It includes a playground, hiking trails, picnic tables, and a
dog park
A dog park is a park for dogs to exercise and play off-leash in a controlled environment under the supervision of their owners.
Description
Dog parks have varying features, although they typically offer a 4' to 6' fence, separate double-gated ...
.
Media
Mukilteo's
public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants.
There are ...
is operated by the inter-county
Sno-Isle Libraries
Sno-Isle Libraries is a public library system serving Island and Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington. The system is among the largest in Washington state and has an annual circulation of 11 million materials. The library's 23 bra ...
system and is located in Harbour Pointe. It was opened on July 27, 1998, after the city's voters approved an annexation into the library system with a $2.8 million bond in 1996.
The city's original library opened on October 19, 1963, replacing an earlier
bookmobile
A bookmobile or mobile library is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Bookm ...
that was run by one of Sno-Isle's predecessors until Mukilteo was incorporated.
It closed on December 31, 1994, due to budget cuts and the defeat of a city levy to fund its operations.
Prior to its formal annexation into the Sno-Isle system in 1996, Mukilteo had also considered contracting with a private library operator or joining the
Everett Public Library
The Everett Public Library (EPL) serves the residents of Everett, Washington. EPL operates a main library at 2702 Hoyt Avenue and the Evergreen branch, at 9512 Evergreen Way. The main library overlooks Puget Sound and the southern end of Whidbey I ...
system.
The city's main newspaper is the ''Mukilteo Beacon'', a weekly publication first issued on July 22, 1992; it has sister papers in Edmonds and
Mill Creek. Mukilteo is also covered by ''
The Everett Herald
''The Everett Herald'' is a daily newspaper based in Everett, Washington, United States. It is owned by Sound Publishing, Inc. The paper serves residents of Snohomish County.
History
''The Daily Herald'' was first published on February 11, 190 ...
'' and ''
The Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...
'', the region's daily newspapers.
Notable people
*
Anita Borg
Anita Borg (January 17, 1949 – April 6, 2003) was an American computer scientist. She founded the Institute for Women and Technology and the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.
Education and early life
Borg was born Anita Borg Naf ...
, computer scientist and philanthropist
*
Heather Boushey
Heather Marie BousheyThe New York Times''Weddings/Celebrations; Heather Boushey, Todd Tucker'' accessed August 25, 2011. (born 1970) is an American economist. Boushey currently serves as a member of President Joe Biden's Council of Economic Adv ...
, economist and presidential advisor
*
Tim Eyman
use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) -->
, death_place =
, death_cause =
, body_discovered =
, resting_place =
, resting_place_coordinates ...
, political activist
*
Marko Liias
Marko Sakari Liias (born July 17, 1981) is an American politician serving as a member of the Washington State Senate, representing the 21st district since 2014. The district, located entirely within Snohomish County, includes portions of Lynnwoo ...
, state senator and former city councilmember
*
James Mongrain, glass sculptor
*
Lillian Ortiz-Self
Lillian Ortiz-Self (born 1960) is an American politician serving as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 21st District. Ortiz-Self was appointed to the state legislature on January 21, 2014 by the Snohomish County Council ...
, state legislator
*
Gina Segadelli, former soccer player and coach
*
Brian Sullivan, former mayor and county councilman
*
Andy Walken
Andy Walken (born April 26, 2006) is an American actor, known for his role as William Cleary in '' The Kids Are Alright'' and Ralphie Parker in ''A Christmas Story Live!''. In 2022, he won the first-ever Children's and Family Emmy Award for Out ...
, actor
*
Jim Watkins, businessman and owner of
8chan
8kun, previously called 8chan, Infinitechan or Infinitychan (stylized as ∞chan), is an imageboard website composed of user-created message boards. An owner moderates each board, with minimal interaction from site administration. The site ha ...
*
Ron Watkins
Ronald Watkins, also known by his online pseudonym CodeMonkeyZ, (born April 18, 1987) is an American Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist and site administrator of the imageboard website 8kun (formerly known as 8chan). He has played a major r ...
, conspiracy theorist and former administrator of 8chan
*
The Fall of Troy
The Fall of Troy is an American rock band from Mukilteo, Washington. The band is a trio consisting of Thomas Erak (guitars, vocals, keyboards), Andrew Forsman (drums, percussion) and Tim Ward (bass, screamed vocals) who was later replaced by Fra ...
, post-hardcore band with members
Thomas Erak
Thomas Joseph Erak is an American singer, songwriter, and musician from Mukilteo, Washington, best known as a founding member of the Seattle-based progressive mathcore band, The Fall of Troy and as a member of the band Just Like Vinyl; as well ...
,
Andrew Forsman
Andrew Clark Forsman is an American drummer and percussionist from Mukilteo, Washington, known as one of the founding members of the Seattle-based progressive rock band The Fall of Troy.
Early life and youth career
Forsman grew up in Mukilteo, ...
, and
Tim Ward
Education
![Kamiak High School, Mukilteo, WA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Kamiak_High_School%2C_Mukilteo%2C_WA.jpg)
The
Mukilteo School District
Mukilteo School District No. 6 is a public school district that mainly serves Mukilteo, Washington. The Mukilteo School District includes all of the city, but also a portion of south Everett, Lynnwood, and Edmonds. The district had more than 1 ...
, established in 1878, manages the public school systems of Mukilteo and neighboring areas in south Everett and
unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to:
* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality
* Unincorporated entity, a type of organization
* Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...
Snohomish County.
It serves a population of 93,222, or nearly quintuple the city population, across and has a student enrollment of approximately 15,000. Seven of the district's 24 schools are located within Mukilteo city limits, including
Kamiak High School
Kamiak High School is a public high school in Mukilteo, Washington, United States. It was the second high school in the Mukilteo School District when it opened on September 8, 1993. The first and only high school within Mukilteo city limits, it ...
, two
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
s, and four
elementary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...
s. Kamiak High School opened in 1993 to relieve the overcrowded
Mariner High School and boasts a high student
graduation
Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is a ...
rate of 94 percent.
Mukilteo is located near two
community college
A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
s—
Edmonds Edmonds may refer to:
* Edmonds (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the surname)
* Edmonds, Washington, a city in Washington, US
** Edmonds station (Washington), a passenger train station in Washington, US
* Edmonds station (SkyTra ...
and
Everett—that offer two-year degree programs.
The city also has three
private school
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s catered towards preschool and
kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
education.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Downtown Mukilteo is a multimodal transportation hub that is served by state highways, ferries, commuter trains, and buses. The city is bisected from north to south by
State Route 525, also known as the Mukilteo Speedway, which connects the downtown
ferry terminal
A passenger terminal is a structure in a port which services passengers boarding and leaving water vessels such as ferries, cruise ships and ocean liners. Depending on the types of vessels serviced by the terminal, it may be named (for example) ...
to Harbour Pointe,
State Route 99, and
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...
.
State Route 526 (the Boeing Freeway) travels from west to east and provides direct connections to the
Boeing Everett Factory
The Boeing Everett Factory is an airplane assembly facility built by Boeing in Everett, Washington, United States. It sits at the northeast corner of Paine Field and includes the largest building in the world by volume at 13,385,378 m3 (472,37 ...
and Interstate 5. Other major roads include Mukilteo Boulevard, which connects the city to Everett, and Harbour Pointe Boulevard, which encircles the eponymous neighborhood and golf course.
State Route 525 continues north from Mukilteo to
Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island (historical spellings Whidby, Whitbey, or Whitby) is the largest of the islands composing Island County, Washington, in the United States, and the largest island in Washington State. (The other large island is Camano Island, ...
on the
Clinton ferry, which is operated by
Washington State Ferries
Washington State Ferries (WSF) is a government agency that operates automobile and passenger ferry service in the U.S. state of Washington as part of the Washington State Department of Transportation. It runs ten routes serving 20 terminals loca ...
. The Clinton–Mukilteo ferry route is the state's busiest for automobiles and second-busiest overall, carrying 4 million passengers and 2.2 million vehicles annually. The Mukilteo ferry terminal was built in 1952 and was replaced with a new terminal, which began construction in 2018 and opened on December 29, 2020.
The city is also served by three
public transportation
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
agencies:
Sound Transit
Sound Transit (ST), officially the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, is a public transit agency serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It operates the Link light rail system in Seattle and Tacoma, r ...
, which runs
Sounder commuter trains from
Mukilteo station
Mukilteo station is a train station serving the city of Mukilteo, Washington. It is owned by Sound Transit, who runs the N Line of the Sounder commuter rail service through the station from Everett to King Street Station in Seattle. The s ...
to Seattle during
peak period
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...
s on weekdays; and local buses operated by
Community Transit
Community Transit (CT) is the public transit authority of Snohomish County, Washington, United States, excluding the city of Everett, in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates local bus, paratransit and vanpool service within Snohomish Cou ...
and
Everett Transit
Everett Transit is the public transit authority of Everett, Washington, the only city in Snohomish County not to belong to Community Transit. As of 2017, Everett Transit operates 42 buses within Everett on ten routes. Its annual ridership in 2016 ...
. Community Transit's buses include a local route connecting Mukilteo and Harbour Pointe to
Lynnwood
Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...
; commuter express routes to Downtown Seattle and the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...
campus; and a commuter bus connecting
Lynnwood Transit Center
Lynnwood Transit Center, also known as Lynnwood TC or LTC, is a bus station and future light rail station in Lynnwood, Washington. It is the largest transit hub in southwestern Snohomish County and is served by Community Transit and Sound Trans ...
to the Boeing Everett Factory. Everett Transit operates a single route in Mukilteo, connecting downtown and the ferry terminal to
Everett via Mukilteo Boulevard. Mukilteo is the largest city in Snohomish County without a dedicated
park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
facility for Community Transit.
Paine Field
Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...
is located southeast of Mukilteo and serves the Boeing Everett Factory, as well as
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
and passenger flights, which resumed in 2019. The passenger terminal and general aviation facilities are located on the east side of the airport, facing Everett, while the west side in Mukilteo has two museums, the
Future of Flight Aviation Center (which includes a tour of the Boeing factory) and the
Historic Flight Foundation. The Mukilteo city government has opposed the airport's use for passenger flights since the 1990s, citing concerns about noise pollution and traffic congestion.
Utilities
Electric power
Electric power is the rate at which electrical energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt, one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with other SI units: thousands, millions and billions o ...
in Mukilteo is provided by the
Snohomish County Public Utility District
The Snohomish County Public Utility District is a public utility agency providing power to over 367,000 customers in Snohomish County and on Camano Island, Washington. It provides water service to about 23,000 customers in the northeast section ...
(PUD), a consumer-owned
public utility
A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and r ...
that serves all of Snohomish County.
Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) is an energy utility company based in the U.S. state of Washington that provides electrical power and natural gas to the Puget Sound region. The utility serves electricity to more than 1.1 million customers in Island, Ki ...
provides
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
service to the city's residents and businesses. The city government also contracts with
Waste Management
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal.
This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...
and Rubatino Refuse Removal for curbside
garbage
Garbage, trash, rubbish, or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or gaseous wastes, or toxic waste produc ...
,
recycling
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...
, and
yard waste
Green waste, also known as "biological waste", is any organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green waste does not inclu ...
collection and disposal.
Mukilteo's
tap water
Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
and
sewage
Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...
systems are managed by the Mukilteo Water and Wastewater District and the Alderwood Water District, two independent
municipal corporation
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...
s. The Mukilteo district, founded in 1920, serves most of the city and part of south Everett; the Alderwood district extends into Edmonds and Lynnwood. The city government formerly operated its own
sewage treatment
Sewage treatment (or domestic wastewater treatment, municipal wastewater treatment) is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable for discharge to the surrounding envir ...
plant and the wastewater system until contracting in the 1990s with the Olympus Terrace Sewer District, which was merged into the Mukilteo district in 2007. The Big Gulch Wastewater Plant near Harbour Pointe was opened in 1970 and now serves as the main outflow from Mukilteo and the rest of the water district.
A major
submarine communications cable
A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried tel ...
system named
Pacific Crossing Transpacific crossings are voyages of passengers and cargo across the Pacific Ocean between Asia, Australia and the Americas. Cruises offer transpacific crossing which passes through the International Date Line. The first recorded crossing of the P ...
(operated by
TE Connectivity
TE Connectivity is an American Swiss-domiciled technology company that designs and manufactures connectors and sensors for several industries, such as automotive, industrial equipment, data communication systems, aerospace, defense, medical, o ...
) uses fiber-optic cables that travel from Mukilteo and
Grover Beach, California
Grover Beach is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 13,156 at the 2010 census, up from 13,067 in 2000. Grover Beach is the location of the Pacific Crossing cable Landing station. This is where trans-pa ...
, to the Japanese cities of
Hitachinaka
file:Hitachinaka Town Hall2.JPG, 250px, Hitachinaka city hall
is a Cities of Japan, city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 154,663 in 64,900 households and a population density of 1547 persons per km2 ...
and
Shima
Shima may refer to:
Places
, Japan
* Shima Province (志摩), one of the old provinces of Japan
* Shima, Fukuoka (志摩), a former town in Fukuoka Prefecture
* Shima, Mie (志摩), a city in Mie Prefecture
** Shima, Mie (town), a former town ...
. The cable's switching center is in Harbour Pointe and provides 80 gigabyte per second for data transfers.
Health care
Mukilteo is located near two
general hospital
''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
s: the
Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett and
Swedish Edmonds Hospital in Edmonds.
References
External links
City website
{{Authority control
1858 establishments in Washington Territory
Cities in Snohomish County, Washington
Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area
Cities in Washington (state)
Populated places established in 1858