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Local History

Indians lived in the coastal Northwest for centuries before white people arrived. The tribes that lived in this area belonged to the Coast Salish family and included the Semiahmoo, the Nooksack, and the Lummi. They occupied the land surrounding Bellingham Bay, the Nooksack River, and the northwestern portion of Whatcom County.

William "Blanket Bill" Jarman, of Gravesand, England, is believed to have been the first white man to visit these shores in 1848. In the years to follow other adventurous men and women sailed into local waters and took up residence here. On March 9, 1854 the Territorial Legislature established the County of Whatcom, named after Chief Whatcom of the Nooksacks.

By 1858 three small communities had been established on Bellingham Bay: Whatcom, Sehome, and Pattle's Point, which later became Unionville and, subsequently, Bellingham. In 1890 it was absorbed by the incorporated town of Fairhaven. By 1903 the original four towns of Whatcom, Sehome, Bellingham, and Fairhaven had consolidated as one town under the name of Bellingham.

Settlers following the Nooksack River upstream staked their claims in Ferndale, Lynden, and Everson. Newly arriving settlers penetrated the interior country as far as a boat could take them and then spread out to the northern sections of the county on foot to reach their claims.

In 1860 rumors of gold sent the first known white party to explore the area east of Whatcom to the headwaters of the Nooksack River's Middle Fork. They passed through the heavily forested valley of the South Fork before prospecting at the junction of the North and Middle Forks.

In following years other gold seekers and early explorers pushed into the hills and valleys of the county and the homesteaders followed. The wilderness gave way to those staking their claims and clearing the land. Timber was large and plentiful, and mills sprang up everywhere. Promotional ventures in the early 1900's, such as the Mount Baker Marathon, attracted attention and furthered the drive towards development.

Bellingham was an early home to the world's largest salmon cannery. At one time the Bellingham Mine was the largest coal mine in the state with a yield of 125,000 tons a coal per day, during its peak. Development continued, gradually picking up speed until the county was a network of connected roads and thriving enterprise.

Up to the early 1950's Whatcom County's economic base was dependent on agriculture, fishing, forestry, and mining. In the 1960's the economy shifted towards increased activity in manufacturing, trade, services, and government. More than two million people now live within a sixty minute freeway drive of the greater Bellingham area.

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Holly Street as it appeared in the town of Whatcom, WA around the turn of the century.
Hegg photo