Everett, Washington as we know it today, was a far different place back in the 1890’s when it was first established. The Snohomish tribes inhabited the area long before the first settlers set up camp there. After the Indian Wars, the tribes were moved to a reservation near Tulalip Bay. The people started to pour in as a result of the abundance of logging available in the area. The area soon became the Snohomish County and people became attracted to the area because of the logging industry. The city soon became an important logging area because of the nearby Port Gamble, which made it easy to ship and move lumber from the area. Everett is located north of the Seattle area and, much like Seattle, has easy access to waterways.

This fact helped Everett in attracting more people to the area. The ‘official’ economic boom occurred in 1900 when the city established itself as an industrial area. The city set consisted of many lumber industries, as well as fisheries that made use of the easily assessable water. The boom occurred from 1900 to 1910 where the population increased from 8,000 to 24,000.
The lumber industry carried its importance well into the early 1920’s, but soon after, the Great Depression hit the nation. Everett, as well as the whole Snohomish County was one of the most affected Washington areas because of its dependence on the lumber industry. Without the demand, the industry fell into the depression.
The city maintained the lumber industry until a new economic boom hit the area.

Photo of Boeing assembly plant

In the 1960’s, Boeing and the aerospace services it provided created a new economy for the people of Everett. There was even further economic growth when many electronic companies provided jobs and services for the Everett area. This attracted more people to the area and created that meant more housing was needed so Everett slowly expaned outward from the original boundaries. Many layoffs in the middle to late 90’s slowed the expansion of the city, but it is still growing outward because of the many jobs and services in the area. Today Everett has many different industries that help support the economy and attract people to more to the area. These industries include aerospace, telecommunications, computer technology, electronics, health care, tourism, education and government business, and the paper products of Kimberly-Clark. All these industries have helped Everett expand and grow over the years.

Pictures taken from the Everett Public Library and Western Washington Sport car Council