Edison is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, su ...

(CDP) in

Skagit County, Washington 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 Skagit ...

, United States. The population was 133 at the 2010 census. It is included in the

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is ...

– Anacortes, Washington

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

First settled in 1869 by Ben Samson, it was later named for inventor

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invent ...

. In 1897 Edison became the headquarters of a national

utopian socialist Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often ...

project known as

Equality Colony Equality Colony was a United States socialist colony founded in Skagit County, Washington by a political organization known as the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth in 1897. It was meant to serve as a model which would convert the rest of ...

, backed by an organization known as the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth.Charles Pierce LeWarne, ''Utopias on Puget Sound, 1885-1915.'' Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1995; pp. 63-66. The

socialist colony An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious ...

was established on 280 acres just outside Edison and it engaged in farming and timber milling and included a school as well as blacksmith and copper-working shops. The Edison-based Brotherhood also published a newspaper called ''Industrial Freedom'' for national circulation to its approximately 3,000 supporters. The socialist community folded shortly after 1903, by which time only about 100 colony members remained.

Geography

Edison is located at (48.562531, -122.436514). 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 An economy is an area of th ...

, the CDP has a total area of 0.6 square miles (1.5 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 133 people, 52 households, and 35 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 227.4 people per square mile (88.5/km²). There were 55 housing units at an average density of 94.0/sq mi (36.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.48%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 3.76% Native American, 2.26% Asian, and 1.50% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population. There were 52 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.6% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 21.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.03. In the CDP, the age distribution of the population shows 24.8% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 39.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 118.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 122.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $46,607, and the median income for a family was $50,982. Males had a median income of $40,000 versus $21,719 for females. The

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 ...

for the CDP was $18,547. None of the population or families 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 ...

Notable people

* George Boomer (1862–1915) and

Harry Ault Erwin Bratton "Harry" Ault (1883–1961) was an American socialist and trade union activist. He is best remembered as the editor of the ''Seattle Union Record'', the long-running labor weekly (turned daily) published from 1912 to 1928. After termi ...

(1883–1961), journalists and members of the Equality ColonyH.W. Halladay, "Equality Colony: A Brief History Showing Our Objects and Present Condition — Cooperative Colonies Are Not All Failures," ''Industrial Freedom'' quality, WA New Series no. 9 (Nov. 1, 1901), pg. 1 *

Edward R. Murrow Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broadcasts from Europe fo ...

(1908–1965), news journalist, graduate of Edison High School

Schools

Edison High School was in use as Edison Elementary School until its replacement with a new, larger building in 1996. Currently, the only school located in Edison is (the new) Edison Elementary School, a K-8 school, built on the site of the former Edison High School.

Footnotes

External links

"Browse Issues: ''Industrial Freedom,'' Edison Washington,"
Chronicling America, Library of Congress, chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ {{authority control Census-designated places in Skagit County, Washington Census-designated places in Washington (state) 1869 establishments in Washington Territory Utopian communities in Washington