Snohomish () is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 72nd-most popul ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, United States. The population was 10,126 at the 2020 census. It is located on the

Snohomish River The Snohomish River is a river in Snohomish County, Washington, formed by the confluence of the Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers near Monroe. It flows northwest entering Port Gardner Bay, part of Puget Sound, between Everett and Marysville. ...

, southeast of Everett and northwest of

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

. Snohomish lies at the intersection of

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...

and State Route 9. The city's airport,

Harvey Airfield Harvey Airfield, also known as Harvey Field , is a privately owned, public-use airport in Snohomish, Washington, United States, northeast of Seattle. The airfield has one asphalt runway, one turf runway, and fourteen hangar bays. It covers an ...

, is located south of downtown and used primarily for general aviation. The city was founded in 1859 and named Cadyville after pioneer settler E. F. Cady and renamed to Snohomish in 1871. It served as

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Snohomish County from 1861 to 1897, when the county government was relocated to Everett. Snohomish has a downtown district that is renowned for its collection of

antique shop An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops generally have a physical presence in a shop where the wares are stored and displayed, but some antique shops are online, with no phy ...

s and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

The Snohomish River Valley was originally inhabited by the

Snohomish people The Snohomish people (, , ) are a List of Lushootseed-speaking peoples, Lushootseed-speaking Coast Salish, Southern Coast Salish people who are Indigenous peoples, indigenous to the Puget Sound region of Washington (state), Washington State. Mo ...

, a

Coast Salish The Coast Salish peoples are a group of ethnically and linguistically related Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, living in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. They speak on ...

tribe who lived 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 Captain (Royal Nav ...

and modern-day

. An

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or recorded history, historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline ...

near the confluence of the Snohomish and Pilchuck Rivers has indications of human habitation that began as early as 8,000

years before present Before Present (BP) or "years before present (YBP)" 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. Because ...

. A village, ''sbadaʔɬ'', was at the site of the modern-day city that now bears the tribe's name. The Snohomish had contact with white explorers in the early 19th century, with their name recorded as "Sinnahamis" by John Work of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, among the first to also use the name to describe the river. The Snohomish were signatories of the

Point Elliott Treaty The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as the Treaty of Point Elliot / Point Elliot Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes of the greater ...

in 1855, which relocated the tribe to the

Tulalip Indian Reservation The Tulalip Tribes of Washington (, ), 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. They are South a ...

. In the early 1850s, the

territorial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, o ...

planned to construct a

military road A military road is a type of road built by an armed force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and ma ...

connecting

Fort Steilacoom Fort Steilacoom was founded by the U.S. Army in 1849 near Lake Steilacoom. It was among the first military fortifications built by the U.S. north of the Columbia River in what was to become the State of Washington. The fort was constructed due ...

Fort Bellingham Fort Bellingham (1856–1860) was a U.S. Army fort built to prevent attacks by Native Americans from British Columbia, Canada and from Alaska, on the bayside villages of Fairhaven, Washington, Fairhaven, Sehome and Bellingham, Washington, Whatcom. ...

, with a

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

crossing of the Snohomish River at Kwehtlamanish, a winter village of the Snohomish people. The road, proposed in the wake of the Pig War, was intended to be built far enough inland to be safe from British naval attacks. The confluence of the Snohomish and Pilchuck rivers, located near Kwehtlamanish, was sought by several American settlers from Steilacoom who arrived in 1859 to file homestead claims. Edson F. Cady and Heil Barnes, representing carpenter Emory C. Ferguson, settled near the proposed ferry landing, while Egbert H. Tucker filed a claim for a plot on the other side of the Snohomish River. The settlement was originally known as "Cadyville" and changed its name to Snohomish City in 1871. The name ''Snohomish'' comes from the name of the dominant local Native American tribe " sdoh-doh-hohbsh" (), whose meaning is widely disputed. Although the military road was never completed, Snohomish quickly became a center of commerce in the expanding region. In 1861,

separated from

Island County Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 86,857. Its county seat is Coupeville, while its largest city is Oak Harbor. The county's name reflects the fact that it is compos ...

and the Village of Snohomish was voted the

. The first school in the settlement was organized in 1867 or 1867. The first train on the

Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway The Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway (SLS&E) was a railroad founded in Seattle, Washington, on April 28, 1885, with three tiers of purposes: Build and run the initial line to the town of Ballard, Seattle, Ballard, bring immediate results ...

arrived in Snohomish on July 16, 1888. Snohomish was incorporated as a town in 1888 and re-incorporated as a city in 1890 after Washington had achieved statehood. The first class graduated from

Snohomish High School Snohomish High School (SHS) is a secondary school located in the Snohomish School District, in Snohomish, Washington, United States. SHS, built for 1200 students, contains 1,565 9th–12th graders (as of 2022–23). The school serves primarily t ...

in 1894. The city lost its status as county seat in 1897, when the government relocated to the larger, yet much newer neighboring city of Everett after a controversial and contested county-wide vote. By 1899, Snohomish had 2,000 residents, 25 businesses, and 80 homes. After First Street was paved with brick in 1903, a three-day celebration was held by residents to mark the occasion. The city's first

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending 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 servic ...

was opened in 1910 with funds from industrialist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

; the Snohomish Carnegie Building, the oldest public building in the city, remained in use as a library until it was replaced by a modern building at a different site in 2003. On May 30, 1911, a major fire struck First Street and destroyed one block of buildings between Avenues B and C, affecting 35 businesses. It caused $170,000 in damage and prompted much of downtown to be rebuilt with brick. The population of Snohomish grew to over 3,000 in 1920 and remained relatively stable for the next 40 years. The city was connected to Everett by an

interurban railway The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

that ceased operations in 1921 after a trestle was damaged during a major flood. The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

was not acutely felt in Snohomish due to its primarily agrarian economy. One of the area's largest employers, the Bickford Ford

car dealership A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintena ...

, was founded in 1934 and flourished. The 1930s brought Snohomish national notice as the hometown of baseball star

Earl Averill Howard Earl Averill (May 21, 1902 – August 16, 1983) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1929 to 1941, including 11 seasons for the Cleveland Indians. He was a six-tim ...

, the first Washingtonian elected to the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

. Averill played from 1929 to 1941, mostly with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. An airport, named

, was built south of downtown Snohomish by a local family and remains privately operated. By the 1960s, Snohomish had entered a period of

urban decay Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban decay. ...

and investigated potential

urban renewal Urban renewal (sometimes called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address real or perceived urban decay. Urban renewal involves the clearing ...

plans to revitalize downtown. A plan presented in 1965 to demolish the south side of First Street and remodel existing buildings was opposed by residents and ultimately not realized due to a lack of funding. Several abandoned buildings on the south side were demolished for a riverfront park, while the city began annexing areas to the north of downtown Snohomish. In 1973, the city established a 26-block

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

and adopted design ordinances to retain historic buildings and encourage new construction in the same style. The Snohomish Historic Business District was placed on the

in 1974. Larger stores moved away from First Street into newer developments and strip malls that spread out along Second Street and Avenue D. In 1974 the Seattle-Snohomish mill was gutted by fire and rebuilt by its owners. In 1975 a severe flood struck the area, damaging over 300 homes and killing 3,500 head of

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

, but the community rallied to support those who were affected. In 1985,

was rerouted around Snohomish on a bypass, which relieved downtown of chronic traffic congestion. In the 1990s, First Street was redeveloped to encourage tourism to the historic district. Sidewalks were rebuilt and public restrooms added, while the city hall and police station were moved away from First Street.

Geography

Snohomish is located along the north bank of the

near where it is joined by the

Pilchuck River The Pilchuck River () is a river in Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is a tributary of the Snohomish River. The name is derived from the Chinook Jargon ''pilpil'' ("blood", " ...

. The city lies on the Getchell Hill Plateau, a low hill in the Snohomish River Valley that interrupts the wide, flat river valley. Some neighborhoods of the city are on a ridge that is west of the Pilchuck River, as well as Dutch Hill on the opposite bank. Blackmans Lake (formerly Stillaguamish Lake) is located north of downtown Snohomish and has a

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 ...

maintained by the city government. The river valley was formed approximately 14,000

by the outflow of a glacial lake during the

Vashon Glaciation The Vashon Glaciation, Vashon Stadial or Vashon Stade is a local term for the most recent period of very cold climate in which during its peak, glaciers covered the entire Salish Sea as well as present day Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and other surr ...

event. The river itself floods during the winter season, occasionally breaching the

dikes Dyke or dike may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), formations of magma or sediment that cut through and across the layering of adjacent rocks * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess ...

in Downtown Snohomish. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and is water. Snohomish's

city limit City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate li ...

s are generally defined by the Snohomish River to the south, Fobes Hill to the west, several city streets to the north, and the Pilchuck River to the east. The city also has an urban growth area that extends north towards U.S. Route 2 and south of the Snohomish River to include

. The historic business and residential center of the town constitutes the Snohomish Historic District, which is listed on the

. Many houses bear plaques with the year the house was built and the name of the people who originally occupied it. Each year the city gives tours of the historic houses; one of them, the Blackman House, is a year-round museum.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 U.S. census, there were 10,126 people, and 4,221 households in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . The racial makeup of the city was 88.0% White, 0.4% African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.2% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 6.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.6% of the population. The median age in the city was 38.0 years. 22.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.5% were between the ages of 20 and 24; 28.6% were from 25 to 44; 25.0% were from 45 to 64; and 17.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.5% male and 54.5% female. The median income for a household in the city was $70,234. The per capita income for the city was $36,717. About 8.0% of the population was below the poverty line.

2010 census

As of the 2010 U.S. census, there were 9,098 people, 3,645 households, and 2,259 families residing in the city. The

was . There were 3,959 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.0% White, 0.5% African American, 1.1% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 3.6% from other races, and 3.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.0% of the population. There were 3,645 households, of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.0% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the city was 37.8 years. 24.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.7% were from 25 to 44; 27.9% were from 45 to 64; and 11.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.2% male and 51.8% female.

Government and politics

Snohomish is a noncharter code city that has a strong

mayor–council government A mayor–council government is a system of local government in which a mayor who is directly elected by the voters acts as chief executive, while a separately elected city council constitutes the legislative body. It is one of the two most comm ...

, with an elected mayor and an elected city council. The seven part-time city councilmembers are elected

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 tha ...

to four-year terms that are staggered, with odd years for elections. The city operated under a

council–manager government The council–manager government is a form of local government commonly used for municipalities and counties in the United States and Ireland, in New Zealand regional councils, and in Canadian municipalities. In the council-manager government, ...

from 1971 to 2017 after a vote in November 1971 to change the system of government. Snohomish switched back to a mayor–council system in 2017 after a vote that passed by a margin of 11 votes. Former city councilmember Linda Redmon was elected mayor in 2021 as part of a shift to more progressive officials. The city government has 50 full-time employees and operated under a $22.7 million budget in 2016. It is led by the

city administrator A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, an unelected position appointed by the mayor and confirmed by a city council vote. Heather Thomas has served in the role since 2022. At the federal level, Snohomish is part of the 1st congressional district, represented by Democrat Suzan DelBene. The district encompasses parts of Snohomish and King counties between Arlington and

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

that generally lie east of Interstate 5. At the state level, the city is part of the 44th legislative district, which also includes Mill Creek, southeastern Everett, and unincorporated areas. Snohomish is also 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 ...

's 5th district, which also includes Lake Stevens and the Skykomish Valley.

Parks and recreation

The city government has nine developed

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s with of space reserved for public recreation, nature preserves, or other uses. These include Ferguson Park and Hill Park on Blackmans Lake; Morgantown Park and Pilchuck Park on the Pilchuck River; and Cady Park and KlaHaYa Park in downtown on the Snohomish River. These parks include playgrounds, walking trails, picnic areas,

es, and sports fields. The city also owns the local

Boys and Girls Club Boys & Girls Club may refer to: * Boys & Girls Clubs of America * Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada * Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Clubs, Bronx, United States * Essex Boys and Girls Clubs, in Essex and East London, England * The Boys' and Girls' Clubs ...

and

senior center A senior center (or senior centre or older adult center) is a type of community center where older adults congregate for fellowship with others to fulfill many of their social, physical, emotional, and intellectual needs. A regular part of senio ...

, leasing them out to their respective organizations. The Snohomish area is also home to several county parks and privately owned recreational spaces that are primarily used for organized youth sports, such as

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. Snohomish is the southern terminus of the Centennial Trail, an intercity

multi-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

for pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians. It travels from the city through Lake Stevens and Arlington along a former railroad, terminating to the north at the

Skagit County Skagit County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,523. The county seat and largest city is Mount Vernon. The county was formed in 1883 from Whatcom County and is named for the Upper and ...

. The trail is maintained by the county government and is planned to be extended south from Snohomish to

Woodinville Woodinville is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 13,069 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is east of Bothell. Woodinville has waterfront parks on the Sammamish River, a wine ...

, where it would connect with the Eastrail network. A new trail to the west along the Snohomish River is planned to connect the Centennial Trail to the Interurban Trail in Everett. The Snohomish city government maintains its own network of multi-use paths, which range from gravel and unpaved trails along the Snohomish River to paved connections between downtown and Blackmans Lake. The city is home to the Snohomish Aquatic Center, a public pool complex built by the Snohomish School District for its high school swim teams. It opened in 2014 at a cost of $22.2 million and was partially funded by the city government, which provides discounts for residents. The facility replaced the Hal Moe Pool, which originally opened in 1972 as an outdoor pool and covered in the 1989 by the school district. The pool was closed in 2007 and was demolished in 2018 to make way for a city park.

Education

The Snohomish School District operates public schools that serve residents of Snohomish and nearby unincorporated areas, including

Cathcart Cathcart (; , )
is an area of

Machias Machias may refer to: Places * Machias, Maine, a New England town ** Machias (CDP), Maine, the main village within the town * Machias Bay, in Washington County, Maine * Machias River (Aroostook River tributary) in northern Maine * Machias River ...

, and Three Lakes. , the district has a total enrollment of 9,421 students, 488 teachers, and 18 total schools. It has two conventional high schools,

and Glacier Peak High School, and an alternative high school program. These high schools are fed by two

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

s, which in turn draw from ten elementary schools. The district is governed by a five-member

school board A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional area, ...

and had a budget of $154 million for the 2020–21 school year. The Snohomish area also has several

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

s operated by churches and other organizations. The St. Michael Catholic Church founded its

parish school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

in 2007, becoming the sixth in Snohomish County operated under the

Archdiocese of Seattle The Archdiocese of Seattle () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in western Washington State in the United States. The diocese was known as the Diocese of Nesqually from 1850 to 1907. The mother ch ...

. Other Christian schools include Lighthouse Christian Academy, the Academy of Snohomish, and Zion Lutheran School.

Culture

Arts

The city's largest performing arts venue is Tim Noah's Thumbnail Theater, a non-profit theater at the historic

Church of Christ, Scientist The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded in 1879 in Boston, Massachusetts, by Mary Baker Eddy, author of '' Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,'' and founder of Christian Science. The church was founded "to commemorate the word and ...

. It was founded in 2003 and hosts theatrical performances, concerts, and

improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv or impro in British English, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted, created spontaneously by the performers. In its ...

among other forms of entertainment. Several films have been shot in Snohomish, including 1981 comedy-drama '' Bustin' Loose'' and the 1985 drama '' Twice in a Lifetime''. The city's high school was also a setting in the 1983 film ''

WarGames ''WarGames'' is a 1983 American techno-thriller film directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a ...

'', which was primarily filmed in California.

Events

Snohomish hosts an annual summer festival called Kla Ha Ya Days, which attracts up to 25,000 visitors and began in 1913. It is one of several community events affiliated with the regional

Seafair Seafair is an annual summer festival in Seattle, Washington, that encompasses a wide variety of small neighborhood events leading up to several major citywide celebrations. Its main events include the Torchlight Parade (and accompanying Torc ...

, held annually in July.

Media

The city is part of the Seattle–Tacoma media market and is served by a daily newspaper, ''

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 in the Seattle metropolitan area. History Sam Perkins (1901–1905) ...

''. A local weekly newspaper, the '' Snohomish County Tribune'', is published in Snohomish. Snohomish's

is operated by

Sno-Isle Libraries Sno-Isle Libraries is a public library system serving Island County, Washington, Island and Snohomish County, Washington, Snohomish counties in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The system is among the largest in Washington state ...

, a regional system that annexed the city-run library. Located near downtown, the building is the third-largest in the Sno-Isle system and serves over 5,000 weekly patrons. It opened in July 2003 at a cost of $8 million, replacing an earlier Carnegie library building that was a third of the size. The Snohomish library was named one of the favorite libraries of book commentator and celebrity librarian

Nancy Pearl Nancy Pearl (born January 12, 1945) is an American librarian, best-selling author, literary critic and the former executive director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library.Rebekah DennNancy Pearl trading the quiet confin ...

in 2008. The city was home to Snohomish County's first lending library, founded by local citizens in 1876. A permanent library building funded by

opened in 1910 and was expanded in 1968 with the construction of an annex that doubled its size. The building was determined to be too small to adequately meet Snohomish's needs in the 1990s, leading to proposals to build a second annex or replace it with a new building. The library building was converted into a temporary space for art exhibits following its closure in 2003 and was later used as a rentable community center. The building closed again in 2017 to undergo a $2.7 million renovation, which included demolition of the 1968 annex and restoration of an original crystal

chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...

. It reopened in 2021.

Sports

Snohomish has several semi-professional soccer teams and hosts major

youth soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the ga ...

tournaments at Stocker Fields. The tournaments are organized by Snohomish Youth Soccer, which also operates

Snohomish United Snohomish United is an American soccer club based in Snohomish, Washington, in the Seattle metropolitan area. They plan to field a semi-professional men's team in the Northwest Division of USL League Two in 2025. History Snohomish Youth Soccer ...

, a

USL League Two USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

team that is planned to debut in 2025. The Snohomish Sky was founded in 2023 and operates men's and women's teams in the

United Premier Soccer League The United Premier Soccer League (UPSL) is an American for-profit soccer league that was founded in Santa Ana in Southern California, with teams in regionalized conferences throughout the United States, and recently Canada and Mexico. The leagu ...

and

Western Indoor Soccer League The Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL) is an American semi-professional indoor soccer league. It was formed on June 20, 2014 by a group of arena operators and team owners in the Pacific Northwest. The WISL began its first season on November 15, 2 ...

. The Snohomish Soccer Dome also hosts practices for the

Washington Wolfpack The Washington Wolfpack are a professional indoor football team based in Everett in the U.S. state of Washington. They were announced as one of the inaugural teams for the revived Arena Football League (AFL), beginning play in 2024. They are n ...

, an

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

team that plays in Everett.

Notable people

Snohomish has produced several professional athletes in American football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey, including three baseball players named "Earl." *

, professional baseball player and

inductee *

Earl Averill Jr. Earl Douglas Averill (September 9, 1931 – May 13, 2015) was an American professional baseball player who was a catcher and outfielder in the Major Leagues in 1956 and from 1958 to 1963 for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Whi ...

, professional baseball player * Lexi Bender, professional ice hockey player * Kyle Bjornethun, professional soccer player *

Jon Brockman Jonathan Rodney Brockman (born March 20, 1987) is an American former professional basketball player. He was the starting power forward and team captain for the University of Washington men's basketball team. He is the University of Washington's ...

, professional basketball player *

Tom Cable Thomas Lee Cable Jr. (born November 26, 1964) is an American football coach for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He served with four National Football League (NFL) franchises between the 2006 and 2021 seasons. Cable ...

, American football offensive line coach and assistant head coach * Adam Eaton, professional baseball player *

David Eddings David Carroll Eddings (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009) was an American fantasy writer. With his wife Leigh, he authored several best-selling epic fantasy novel series, including ''The Belgariad'' (1982–84), '' The Malloreon'' (1987–91), '' The ...

, fantasy writer * Emory C. Ferguson, county commissioner and co-founder of Snohomish *

Chelsey Glasson Chelsey Glasson (born 1982 or 1983) is an American user researcher, author, and workers' rights advocate. She sued Google, her former employer, for pregnancy discrimination, which ended in an undisclosed settlement after two years of litigation ...

, American user researcher and author *

Keith Gilbertson Keith Steven Gilbertson Jr. (born May 15, 1948) is a retired American football coach and player. He was the head coach at the University of Idaho (1986–1988), the University of California, Berkeley (1992–1995), and the University of Washingt ...

, professional American football player and coach * Roy Grover, professional baseball player *

Larry Gunselman Larry Gunselman (born December 1, 1960) is an American former stock car racing driver and team owner. He was the owner of Max Q Motorsports, which fielded the No. 37 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from 2009 to 2012. Career Gunselman be ...

, NASCAR driver * Kevin Hamlin, NASCAR driver * Richard Harriman, NASCAR driver * Bret Ingalls, American football offensive line coach *

Curt Marsh Curt Marsh (born August 25, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected in the first round by the Oakland Raiders out of the University of Washingto ...

, professional American football player *

Finn McKenty Finnegan "Finn" McKenty (born September 7, 1978) is an American marketing strategist, music commentator, writer and graphic designer who is director of marketing at the online education platform URM Academy. Previously, he ran the YouTube chan ...

, YouTuber * Jesper Myrfors, card game art director and creative officer * Jeff Ogden, professional American football player * Jim Ollom, professional baseball player *

John Patric John Patric (May 22, 1902 – August 31, 1985) was an American writer. He was a contributing writer for ''National Geographic'' during the mid- to late 1930s and early 1940s and was the author of two books. His 1943 book, ''Yankee Hobo in the Or ...

, author, journalist, and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates are most common where there is no limit on the number of times that a person can run for office and little cost ...

Don Poier Donald Robert Poier (February 24, 1951 – January 21, 2005) was an American sports play-by-play announcer who called telecasts of Pac-10 football and basketball games and was the radio and television voice for the Vancouver / Memphis Grizzlies. ...

, sports announcer *

Chris Reykdal Christopher Paul Simon Reykdal (born September 12, 1972) is an American educator and politician serving as the 15th Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2017. Previously, he served as a Democratic member of the Washingt ...

, elected official and former state legislator *

Theodore Rinaldo Theodore Anthony Rinaldo (March 11, 1944 – February 13, 2000) was an American religious leader, entrepreneur, and child sex offender whose life was marked by a complex blend of charismatic leadership and legal controversies. Born in Oneida, New ...

, religious leader, businessman, and convicted child sex offender *

Doug Roulstone Douglas R. Roulstone (born January 11, 1950) is a former United States Navy officer. He served for two months in the Washington House of Representatives. A Republican, he was appointed on September 26, 2014, by Governor Jay Inslee to serve out t ...

, Navy officer and state representative *

Chrissy Teigen Christine Diane Teigen (born November 30, 1985) is an American model, television personality, and author. She made her professional modeling debut in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsuit Issue, in 2010, ...

, author and professional model * Karen Thorndike, sailor and solo circumnavigator *

Earl Torgeson Clifford Earl Torgeson (January 1, 1924 – November 8, 1990) was an American Major League Baseball player from Snohomish, Washington. A first baseman, he played on five teams for 15 years, from 1947 through 1961. He was known by his middle name, ...

, county commissioner and professional baseball player * Willis Tucker, journalist and county executive * Hal Uderitz, professional soccer player *

Josh Vanlandingham Joshua Thomas "Josh" Vanlandingham (born January 22, 1984) is an American-born Filipino-German former professional basketball player. He last played for the Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Born in Snohomish, Washington ...

, professional basketball player * Fred W. Vetter Jr., Air Force brigadier general * Brooke Whitney, professional ice hockey player

Infrastructure

Transportation

Snohomish is bisected by two major highways:

(US 2), which

bypasses Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart b ...

the city to the north and east, continuing on to Everett and

Stevens Pass Stevens Pass (elevation ) is a mountain pass through the Cascade Mountains located at the border of King County and Chelan County in Washington, United States. U.S. Route 2 travels over the pass, reaching a maximum elevation of . The Pacific ...

; and State Route 9, which runs north–south and connects to

and Lake Stevens. Other major roads in Snohomish include Bickford Avenue (which continues south as Avenue D), which formerly carried US 2 and is named for a local car dealership, Machias Road (Maple Avenue), and 2nd Street (92nd Street).

Community Transit Community Transit (CT) is the public transit authority of Snohomish County, Washington, United States, in the Seattle metropolitan area. It operates Public transport bus service, local bus, paratransit and vanpool service within Snohomish Count ...

, the countywide

public transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of wh ...

authority, provides

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

paratransit Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...

, and

vanpool Vanpools or vanpooling is an element of the transit system that allow groups of people to share the ride similar to a carpool, but on a larger scale with concurrent savings in fuel and vehicle operating costs and thus usually a lower cost to the ...

service to Snohomish from surrounding cities. Two routes travel from

Everett Station Everett Station is a train station serving the city of Everett, Washington, United States. The station has been served by ''Amtrak Cascades, Cascades'' and ''Empire Builder'' since opening in 2002, replacing an earlier station near the Port o ...

(with limited service to the

Boeing Everett Factory The Boeing Everett Factory, officially the Everett Production Facility, is an airplane assembly facility operated by Boeing in Everett, Washington, United States. It sits on the north side of Paine Field and includes the largest building in th ...

) to Snohomish and continue east along US 2 to Monroe,

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

, and

Gold Bar A gold bar, also known as gold bullion or a gold ingot, is a quantity of refined metallic gold that can be shaped in various forms, produced under standardized conditions of manufacture, labeling, and record-keeping. Larger varieties of gold ...

. Another route travels from

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 Mill Creek to Snohomish and follows the State Route 9 corridor north to Lake Stevens. Community Transit also operates a commuter bus route that connects Snohomish and Monroe to

Downtown Seattle Downtown is the central business district of Seattle, Washington. It is fairly compact compared with other city centers on the U.S. West Coast due to its geographical situation, being hemmed in on the north and east by hills, on the west by ...

with intermediate stops on Interstate 405 and State Route 520. The city has one

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 commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

lot, located near Avenue D and State Route 9, that is owned by the

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

(WSDOT). The city was formerly served by the

Everett–Snohomish Interurban The Everett–Snohomish Interurban was a long interurban, interurban electric railroad between Everett, Washington, Everett and Snohomish, Washington. It was inaugurated by the Everett Railway & Electric Co. of Everett, on December 1, 1903. L ...

, an electric

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

railway that ceased operations in 1921. A small replica

train depot A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a Rail transport, railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passenger train, passengers, freight rail transport, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one railwa ...

was opened in 2005 near the Avenue D Bridge to serve as a

visitors center A visitor center or centre (see American and British English spelling differences), visitor information center or tourist information centre is a physical location that provides information to tourists. Types A visitor center may be a Civic ce ...

. A privately owned airport,

, is situated to the south of downtown Snohomish. It was established in 1944 and remains under the ownership of the Harvey family. The airport is generally used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

and small businesses, including

skydiving Parachuting and skydiving are methods of descending from a high point in an atmosphere to the ground or ocean surface with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent using a parachute or multiple parachutes. For hu ...

clubs and

hot air balloon A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket (in some long-distance or high-altitude balloons, a capsule), which carri ...

operators.

Utilities

Utility services for residents and businesses in Snohomish are split between the city government and other providers. 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 sectio ...

provides

electric power Electric power is the rate of transfer of electrical energy within a electric circuit, circuit. Its SI unit is the watt, the general unit of power (physics), power, defined as one joule per second. Standard prefixes apply to watts as with oth ...

to customers Snohomish and most of the county, while

Puget Sound Energy Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (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 1.2 million customers in I ...

supplies

natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...

. The city government contracts with

Republic Services Republic Services, Inc. is a North American waste disposal company whose services include non-hazardous solid waste collection, waste transfer, waste disposal, recycling, and energy services. It is the second largest provider of waste disposal in ...

for collection and disposal of curbside

garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), 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 ...

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

, and yard waste. Since the closure of the Cathcart Landfill near Snohomish in 1992, garbage is generally sent to a landfill in Roosevelt for processing and burial. The city government manages

tap water Tap water (also known as running water, piped water or municipal water) is water supplied through a Tap (valve), tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used f ...

service within Snohomish, which is delivered through a system of pipes. The city purchases 90 percent of its water from the City of Everett, which sources from

Spada Lake The Culmback Dam (also known as the George Culmback Dam or the Snoqualmie National Forest Dam) is a large rockfill hydroelectric and water supply dam on the Sultan River, a tributary of the Skykomish River, in Washington. Built in 1965, the dam i ...

and the

Sultan River The Sultan River is a river in Snohomish County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a tributary of the Skykomish River, which it joins at the town of Sultan, Washington. The river is dammed in its upper third by Culmback Dam to form Spada ...

basin; the remainder is purchased from the Snohomish County Public Utility District, which treats

well water A well is an excavation or structure created on the earth by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...

near Lake Stevens. The city government operated its own water treatment plant on the Pilchuck River near Granite Falls until 2017, when it was determined to be too costly to maintain and upgrade to meet modern fish passage standards. A portion of Snohomish is within the service area of the Cross Valley Water District, which primarily serves unincorporated areas south of the city. Snohomish's

wastewater Wastewater (or waste water) is water generated after the use of freshwater, raw water, drinking water or saline water in a variety of deliberate applications or processes. Another definition of wastewater is "Used water from any combination of do ...

system consists of a combined overflow for downtown and other older neighborhoods and a separated

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 sewerage, sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged fro ...

and

stormwater Stormwater, also written storm water, is water that originates from precipitation (storm), including heavy rain and meltwater from hail and snow. Stormwater can soak into the soil ( infiltrate) and become groundwater, be stored on depressed lan ...

system for the rest of the city. A plan to replace the combined overflow system was approved in 2014 following interventions by the

Washington State Department of Ecology The Washington State Department of Ecology (sometimes referred to simply as "Ecology") is the state of Washington's environmental regulatory agency. Created in February 1970, it was the first environmental regulation agency in the U.S. predating ...

. The city's

wastewater treatment plant Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater. It thus converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once back in the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on ...

on the Snohomish River was upgraded, replacing an earlier proposal to send sewage to the City of Everett for treatment.

Health care

The city's nearest general hospital is EvergreenHealth Monroe, managed by a public

hospital district Hospital is a Districts of Costa Rica, district of the San José (canton), San José canton, in the San José Province, San José province of Costa Rica. It is one of the four administrative units that form San José, Costa Rica, San José downto ...

that includes Snohomish and the Skykomish Valley. Until its affiliation with the EvergreenHealth system in 2015, it was known as the Valley General Hospital. Snohomish is home to several general and specialty

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

s, including those managed by

Providence Health & Services Providence Health & Services is a not-for-profit Catholic Church, Catholic healthcare system headquartered in Renton, Washington. The health system includes 51 hospitals, more than 800 non-acute facilities, and numerous assisted living faciliti ...

and The Everett Clinic.

References

External links

*
Katherine Duffy Ashe Kla Ha Ya Flight Collection
at The Museum of Flight Digital Collections {{Authority control 1859 establishments in Washington Territory Cities in the Seattle metropolitan area Cities in Snohomish County, Washington Cities in Washington (state) Former county seats in Washington (state) Populated places established in 1859 Washington (state) placenames of Native American origin