Visit a local Snohomish County Historical Site

Below is a list of local historic sites put together by the Snohomish County Historic Preservation Commissioners.

Downtown Snohomish

In the 1960’s the City of Snohomish made it a priority to preserve the downtown buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the character and success of the city as a whole. To meet this goal the city first declared downtown Snohomish a historic district, which is the precursor to being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. After much work, on November 13th, 1974 it was announced that Historic Downtown Snohomish had been added to the State and National Register of Historic Places. To this day buildings Historic Downtown Snohomish are held to a high architectural standard to keep the character of the area to the same levels as it has been over the better part of the last century.

The Historic Everett Theatre

The historic Everett Theatre opened in 1901, it was the largest of the eight theatres in Everett at the time. The Theatre offered residents of Everett the opportunity to attend plays in the early days, and as time went on movies were added to the line up at the theatre. In 1923 the theatre was gutted by a massive fire, but the people of Everett and the owners were determined to rebuild, and in 1924 it was reopened as the “New Everett Theatre.” From here the Everett Theatre gained a reputation of being one of the best movie houses in Everett, with the ability to seat up to 1,200. In the 1950’s the theatre was completely remodeled to keep up with the “space age” design that was popular, and to remain relevant in an ever changing and increasingly difficult movie business. Eventually, due to declining attendance the Everett Theatre closed in the 1980’s. The Historic Everett Theatre society formed years later and they were able to restore the theatre to its 1924 appearance and reopen the theatre in 1993.

The Marysville Opera House

The Marysville Opera House was built in 1911 to serve as a meeting space for the The International Order of Odd fellows Ebey Lodge #104. The group intended for the new building to serve as a community gathering space as well. Upon its completion in August of that year, it was only the second structure in Snohomish County to be built with poured concrete. During the Great Depression the Ebey Lodge and the opera house served as a place of refuge and offered relief to those feeling the effects of the economic crisis. After its long history of service to the community, the Ebey Lodge of the Odd Fellows disbanded in 1966. Since then the Marysville Opera House has served many functions to the city, as a roller skating rink, a furniture store and a night club. In 1982 the opera house was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and to this date is the only structure in the City of Marysville on that list. The City now owns the opera house, and after much work to return it to its former glory, is now available to be rented out for events.

The Little WHite Church on the hill-Silvana

The church was built by Pioneer families in 1890 and established as Zion Lutheran Church. Its position on the hill offered beautiful views across the Stillaguamish Valley and made it visible from the town of Silvana below. Today the Church is used for services by the Silvana Peace Lutheran Church in July and August along with Christmas and Easter. It is a popular destination for weddings in the area. The site is also home to the Zion Lutheran and Pleasant Hill Cemeteries, where many early pioneers of the Stillaguamish Valley were laid to rest.

The Pacific Highway Cedar Stump

This Western Red Cedar stump has become synonymous with the Pacific Highway and eventually Interstate 5 going through Smoky Point and into Arlington. The stump is over 1,000 years old and was cut down a few miles south of Island Corner along present day Smoky Point Boulevard. The stump was then moved a little ways to the east along the Pacific Highway which followed the present day route of I-5 through Island Corner. During its time there cars would stop off and drive through the stump and take pictures with the artifact. One of the stumps most famous visitor was Prince Olav and Princess Martha of Norway in 1939 when the pair went on their U.S. tour to strengthen ties between the two nations on the eve of World War II. In the 1950’s the highway was expanded and I-5 was put in its place, the cedar stump sat along side the highway in the same place for a number of years until 1971 when the Department of Transportation moved the stump a mile south to the Smoky Point rest stop. Visitors on their way north to Mount Vernon, Bellingham or even Canada can now take a rest and visit this 1,000 year old piece of history.

The Trafton School

The Trafton School was built in 1912, and was the second school on the site after a fire destroyed the original. The school was used continuously until 2012 when the Arlington School board decided to close it, arguing that it would be more expensive to fix the school up then move the students to nearby schools. At the time of its closure it was the oldest continually operating school in Washington State. The school is still the site of the Trafton Fair every September. It is listed on the Washington State Register of Historic Places along with the National Register of Historic Places.