Trafton is a small

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located in

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 ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. It is located near the city of Arlington, and although many things in the area are named Trafton (such as the historic

Trafton School The Trafton Elementary School in Arlington, Washington, USA was founded in 1888, rebuilt after a fire in 1912, and is listed on the Washington State Heritage Register and the National Register of Historic Places.Gale FiegeBudget squeeze may close ...

and

Trafton Cemetery __NOTOC__ Trafton may refer to the following: People * Mark Trafton (1801–1901), American minister and U.S. Congressman * Adeline Trafton (1842–1920), American author * George Trafton (1896–1971), American football player * Step ...

), most residents consider themselves residents of Arlington.

Etymology

The community derives its name from

Trafalgar, Indiana Trafalgar is a town in Nineveh and Hensley townships, Johnson County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,101 at the 2010 census. This town is south of Indianapolis. It is the home of the transmitters for WTTV, WTTS, WSOM and WHZN ...

History

Before colonization, the Stillaguamish had built a large winter village along the river, next to what is now the current site of Trafton. The village was called ''chuck-kol-che,'' with only the early transliteration of the native

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 Salis ...

name being known. There were at least 200 people living at the village, with permanent structures including a large longhouse, a smaller house, and a smokehouse. One of the village headmen, or "chiefs," was ''chad-is''.

References

Unincorporated communities in Snohomish County, Washington Unincorporated communities in Washington (state) {{SnohomishCountyWA-geo-stub