The idea for lamp post banners began with the intention to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the county’s founding, especially since Snohomish won the election in July 1861 to host the county seat. E. C. Ferguson returned to Snohomish that July with the county records in his vest pocket. His home overlooking the river, and still standing, was de facto the first Snohomish County courthouse.
E. C. Ferguson, considered the “founding father” of Snohomish, apprenticed as a carpenter in the place of his birth in Westchester County, New York. He arrived in 1860 aboard a side-wheeler steamship with enough supplies to establish a store.
Mary Low Sinclair, with her infant son and household goods, arrived at Cadyville, (eventually renamed “Snohomish”) on May 1, 1865, which she described in her 1911 remembrance: “There was no time to be lonesome …”
John Harvey was born near Modbury, in Devonshire County, England, 14 miles from Plymouth, on March 9, 1828. Harvey had a boyhood dream of going to America. Harvey’s Homestead established 1860, is located on the south side of the Snohomish River, directly across the river from the City of Snohomish.
This was a volunteer project for the Historic Downtown Snohomish (HDS) organization.