160 years ago, Snohomish County had a populace “of the forty-four pioneers of civilization whose names appear on the census of 1862, quite a number had been constrained to adopt some of the customs and habits of their Indian neighbors….” All were men, there were no
family units, no women, nor any children. By 1880 the County’s population had grown to 1,387 and by 1890 to 8,514, including this writer’s Pilchuck homesteading ancestors. Most of their stories reflected the County as a “lonely place;” 160 acres of isolation. The County was formed in 1861, the County ‘continued the Territory’s Orange Act property taxes (in 1886 amended so that revenue producing property of churches is taxable). Many homesteaders lost their land to these “Everett taxes to pave their streets.” It was difficult to “create cash” living on a rural, isolated homestead and for some, it was difficult to find a wife and have a family. There were no phones, no electricity, no running water.
History Farm Prose & Primary Level Question
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