Stanwood

Originally designated Centerville, it had a wharf to accommodate steamboat transportation. Loggers and mill men from the nearby Utsalady mill on Camano Island were among those who established homesteads and businesses, and the town began to grow. The Great Northern Railroad Company, providing long awaited rail connection, bypassed Stanwood a mile away from the waterfront in 1891. When two major lumber companies were established between 1888 and 1903 on the waterfront, they needed access to a railroad, so the Hall & Hall Railroad, the “Shortest Railroad in the World,” was incorporated to transport lumber. As the mills closed in the 1930s, food processing became the primary economy with the establishment of Twin City Foods and the Pacific Coast Condensery near the depot. The depot area became known as East Stanwood, and it was incorporated in 1922, creating two separate towns one mile apart—Stanwood and East Stanwood. The citizens voted to consolidate in 1960 when the cities faced an issue they could not resolve on their own.

The historical society, chartered in 1972, operates the D.O. Pearson House museum, the Eldridge Center, and the Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center. All photographs were generously donated to the collections over the years by local families and collectors.