Towns
Skagit
County was created in 1883 from Whatcom county. The county
seat is Mount Vernon.
Still
mostly agricultural, the Skagit Valley is famous for
tulips and the spring Tulip Festival.
PLACE NAMES FOR SKAGIT COUNTY:
definitions information from ORIGIN OF WASHINGTON
GEOGRAPHIC NAMES as published by Edmond S. Meany,
Professor of History at the University of Washington,
President of the Mountaineers...etc. Book published 1923
and WASHINGTON STATE PLACE NAMES by James W. Phillips
published 1971.
SKAGIT...
was the name of an Indian tribe which lived on the river
now known by the same name. John Work, of Hudson's Bay
Company in 1824, referred to Scaadchet Bay. George Gibbs
used the current spelling Skagit on March 1, 1854.
(Pacific Railroad Reports, Vol 1, pag 471). The treaty, by
which the Skagits ceded their lands was dated January 12,
1855 and used the current form Skagit. Skagit county was
created by the Legislature of the Territory of Washington
on November 28, 1883 from the southern part of Whatcom
County.
...Scatchet Head is a bluff located at the
southern extremity of Whidbey Island.
...Skagit Bay and Skagit Island are located
near the northern extremity of Whidbey Island.
...Skagit City began with Barker's trading
post in 1869. The townsite was platted on the homestead of
W. H. McAlpine. It was short lived.
Skait Island, see Skagit.
Allan
Island, west of Fidalgo Island, was named in 1841 by
the Wilkes Expedition in honor of Captain William Henry
Allen of the US Navy. Proof (even with the different
spelling A instead of E) is the fact that Wilkes chart
shows the waterway between Fidalgo Islands as "Argus Bay"
and it was on the Argus that Captain Allen was mortally
wounded while fighting the British brig Pelican on Aug 14
1813. It was a favorite scheme of Wilkes to link the name
of an American naval officer with his ship by placing two
geographic names close together.
...Argus Bay is now Burrows Bay but
the old name of the Island remains.
...Allan and Burrows had previously been
named by the Spaniards in the "Sutil y Mexicana"
Expedition as Las dos Islas Morrows.
Allen. Shingle mill operated by Allen, Roray, and Sanburn was the name course for the Samish River community.
Atlanta, on Samish Island, near Point Williams. "Platted by ex-Sheriff G. W. L. Allen in 1883. He erected a two-story hotel, established a store, secured a post office and built an extensive wharf, but failed in his larger purpose. This was the extent of the town's growth." History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 247.)
Anacortes,
located on Fidalgo Island. It was settled about 1860 and
recieved the name of Ship Harbor. In 1876, Amos
Bowman, a civil engineer, bought the site and platted a
town. He sought to give it the maiden names of his wife -
Anna Curtis - but the spelling was purposely changed in
order to give a Spanish tone. Anacortes has petrolium
processing plants and a huge Marina. It also has the
Ferry Terminal for Victoria and the San Juan Islands. It
is a pleasant town, that hasn't gone cutsey tourist,
although tourism is a big part of the economy.
Avon,
established as a "no saloons" temperance town, the first
settler there was E. H. Miller 1882. He sold part of his
land to A. H Skaling on October 27, 1883 who opened a
store. In 1890, H. W. and F. S. Graham started a nearby
town which was called North Avon. It is said that
those early settlers sought to honor Shakespeare.
Baker,
see Concrete
Baker
River, a tributary of the Skagit River in Whatcom
and Skagit Counties. "In 1877, a party, consisting of Otto
Klement, Charles von Pressentin, John Duncan, John Rowley
and Frank Scott, set forth from Mt Vernon in canoes manned
by Indians to explore the upper Skagit. At the mouth of
what the Indians called the Nahcullum river, which
Klement renamed Baker River, the party debarked."(from
History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 118). The
proximity of the Mt Baker was the reason for the
rechristening.
Bayview,
a town on Padilla Bay. It was platted and named on April
7, 1884 by William J. McKenna, the pioneer who died on May
3, 1915. The object in selecting the place was the desire
of D. A. Jennings, a wholesale grocer of Seattle, to
establish there a branch store.
Belfast.
Name suggested by William Gilmore, pioneer merchant at
nearby Edison, to honor his hometown in Ireland.
Bellingham
Channel, the waterway between Cypress and Guemes
Islands. The Indian name was Tut-segh. The
Spaniard Eliza, 1791, called it Canal de Guemes.
The present name was given by the US Coast Survey in 1853,
taking it, of course, from the large bay just beyond.
Bessemer,
a projected town. It was platted by Harrison Clothier in
1890 when the Cokedale mines were opened. It was town in
name only.
Big
Lake, east of Mt Vernon. It was known as Delacy's
Lake."
Birdsview.
Name derived in 1880 from that of the first postmaster,
Birdsey D. Minkler
Blanchard.
Founded by and named for George B. Blanchard about 1885.
To avoid duplication of post office designations, the town
was renamed Fravel after another pioneer family,
but the present name was re-established by vote when the
other Blanchard post office was discontinued.
Boulder
Reef, off the northwest shore of Sinclair Island, It
was discovered and named by the US Coast Survey in 1854.
The description includes: " A huge erratic granite boulder
is seen at ordinary tides inside the outer point of the
reef." The British Admiralty chart of 1859 sought to name
this Panama Reef, probably from an accident to the
steamship Panama, which was on the San Francisco run
during the Fraser River gold excitement of 1858.
Boyd
Creek. Named for L. A. Boyd who located a home there
in 1882.
Bow.
Originally known as Brownsville after William J.
Brown, who homestead the townsite in 1869. Advent of the
railroad resulted in a population boom and the need for a
post office. In deference to the growth brought about by
the railroad, Brown suggested the new name of Bow, after
the large railway station in London, England - which in
turn was named for the bow or poplar tree.
Branham,
an obsolete town (as of 1923). Its name was in honor of a
man who once ran a shingle mill there.
Broughton
Point, on the southeast shore of Cypress Island. The
name does not appear on recent charts. It is found on the
British Admiralty Chart for 1858-1859, and was undoubtedly
given in honor of W. R. Broughton, a lieutenant under
Captain George Vancouver, in 1792.
Burlington.
Established by John P. Millet and William McKay as a
logging camp in 1882, platted by McKay in 1 Jan 1891 and
named after Burlington Vt. It has become an important
railroad center (as of 1923). Just north of Mt Vernon
on the I-5 corridor, Burlington has become the supermall
location for Skagit County.
Cement
City, a townsite by that name was platted in Skagit
County in July 1905. Recent editions (as of 1923) of the
Postal Guide do not show such an office at present
Clark
Point, on the northern end of Guemes Island in
Skagit County. It was named by the Wilkes Expedition,
1841, in honor of Levin Clark, captain of the top in one
of the Wilkes crews.
Concrete.
The site was first settled upon in 1888 by Richard
Challanger. In 1892. a post office was secured and the
name Baker applied, as it was at the junction of
the Baker and Skagit Rivers. In June 1905, the cement
industry started and the Concrete eventually replaced Baker.
My first impression - a nice place to end a country
drive. (1970's) Last impression - speed trap set along
highway running south of town. (1990's)
Conway.
Thomas P. Jones and Charles Villeneure settled on the site
in 1872. The Great Northern Railway built a line through
there in 1891 and Mr. Jones platted the town. Located
on the I-5 corridor just south of Mt. Vernon. Conway has
no manufacturing base. It depends on the tourism, it is
one of the ways to LaConnor. A few Antique Stores, a
lively Tavern and hamburger joint, and an eccentric car
collector (2005)
Cypress
Island, in the western portion of Skagit Co.,
Eliza's map of 1791 shows the Spanish name as Isla de
S. Vincente in honor of a part of the Mexican
Viceroy's long name. Captain George Vancouver named the
island Cypress in 1792 from the trees he thought were
cypress. Botantists have since declared the trees to be
junipers.
Day
Creek, drains Day lake into the Skagit River. They
were named in 1882 for the brothers, John and Mike Day,
who had a lumber camp there for years (Matie F. Prenedus,
in Names MSS.,
Deception
Island, a small wooded island at the western
entrance of Deception Pass, near the boundary between
Island and Skagit counties. It was named by the US Coast
Survey in 1854 after the older name of Deception Pass.
Deception
Pass, at the northern end of Whidbey Island,
separates Island and Skagit Counties. This is one of the
most remarkable geographical features. It was named Boca
de Flon by Eliza on the Spanish chart of 1791, but
apparently was not explored then. The English explorer,
Captain George Vancouver, 1792, had named the inner
waterway Port Gardner. Later, one of his small
boat crews in command of Master Joseph Whidbey found the
western entrance of this passage. Vancouver, feeling that
he had been "deceived" as to the nature of his Port
Gardner, wrote on his chart "Deception Pass." He also
honored his officer, who had found the passage and who had
thus disclosed the existence of an island, by calling the
large area, Whidbey Island (Vancouver's Voyage, second
edition, Volume II., page 180.) Vancouver said: " A very
narrow and intricate channel, which, for a considerable
distance, was not forty yards in width, and abounded with
rocks above and beneath the surface of the water. These
impediments, in addition to the great rapidity and
irregularity of the tide, rendered the passage navigable
only for boats or vessels of very small burthen." Today,
Deception Pass, is a tourist stop. It's natural beauty
(high bridge over swirling water, paths down the bank to
the water) and the parade of boats 'daring' to navigate
the passage attract many sightseers. Deception Pass does
have its share of shipwreck stories and fatalities. The
bridge that spans the Pass and the curvey narrow road
leading to it, are the only way to Whidbey Island except
by ferry.
Deepwater
Bay, on the east coast of Cypress Island. It first
appears on the British Admiralty Chart, 1859.
Dennis
Shoal, a quarter of a mile off the southwest face of
Allan Island in Burrows Bay. Captain George Davidson says
it was named Denis Rock by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841.
Dewey,
town on the southern part of Fidalgo Island. The original
name was Deception on account of its location
being near Deception Pass. In 1889, F. J. Carlyle and
George Loucke secured holdings at Deception City
and platted Fidalgo City. Legh R. Freeman also
laid out a town near the other, Calling it Gibraltar.
After the Spanish-American war the name of Dewey was given
to the place in honor of the hero of the battle of Manila
Bay.
Dot
Island, a small island in Padilla Bay, between Hat
and Saddlebag Islands, southeast of Guemes Island. The
Wilkes Expedition, 1841, included the little island in a
group under the name of Porpoise Rocks. The name
of Dot Island appears on the US Coast and Geodetic
Survey...corrected to 1904. There is another small island
with the same name in Union Bay, Lake Washington, in the
city of Seattle, This was named in honor of Miss Dot
McGilvra, daughter of John J. McGilvra, the pioneer owner
of the land.
Ehrlich,
a town in the southwestern part. It was named in honor of
F. O. Ehrlich, who had a mill there. (Postmaster, Ehrlich,
in Names MSS., Letter 29.)
Equality,
name of a social colony which flourished for a short time
near Bow. It was called the Freeland Colony. In
1904, the property was sold by the court to satisfy
creditors.
Fidalgo.
Two attempts have been made to use this name for towns.
One near Deception Pass has been merged into Dewey. The
other was on Fidalgo Bay at Munks Landing, where William
Munks began a trading post in the {186o's}sixties. A
postoffice was established there in 1890 but though it is
carried on charts, the US Postal Guide no longer carries
the name. (as of 1923)
Fidalgo
Bay, off the northeast shore of Fidalgo Island.
Fidalgo
Island on the eastern shore of Skagit County. In
1791, the Spaniard Eliza charted what we know now as
Rosaria Strait as Canal de Fidalgo. Vancouver in
1792 discovered and named Deception Pass but did not learn
that the northern shore was part of a large island. That
discovery was made by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, on
whose chart it is shown as Perrys Island in honor of
Oliver Hazard Perry of the US Navy. The highest land on
the island was called Mount Erie after Perry's famous
victory in the Battle of Erie, in the War of 1812. The
name of the island was later changed, but that of the
mountain remains. On the British Admiralty Chart, Kellett,
1847, the name of Fidalgo Island appears first and
permanetly. It was a part of Captain Kellett's plan to
restore Spanish names as far as he could. In this case the
changed the name of a channel to that for an island.
Fir.
The place was first known as Mann's Landing, as C.
H. Mann settled there in 1876 to take advantage of logging
trade. Old settlers say it was the site of an old Indian
burial ground.
Flounder
Bay on the northwest extremity of Fidalgo Island.
See Boxer Cover.
Fravel,
see Blanchard.
Freeland
Colony, see Equality.
Grandy
Creek, a tributary of the Skagit River, named for
John Grandy, who located there in 1878. A large Fish
hatchery is maintained there by the United States
Goverment. (as of 1923)
Guemes
Island and Channel, in the northwestern part of
Skagit County. The Spanish explorer, Eliza, 1791, named it
Isla de Guemes in honor of the Viceroy of Mexico,
under whose orders he had sailed to the Northwest. The
Viceroy's full name was Senor Don Juan Vicente de Guemes
Pacheco y Padilla Orcasitees y Aguayo Condo de Revilla
Gidedo. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume III, Part I,
page 302.) Parts of the long name are in use for
geographical names. Vancouver did not attempt to name the
island in 1792, but in that year, the Spaniards, Galiano
and Vladez repeated Eliza's name as Isla de Guemes.
The Wilkes expedition, 1841, undertook to change the name
to Lawrence Island in honor of the famous American
naval hero, James Lawrence. To intensify the honor, Wilkes
gave the name Hornet Harbor to what is now known
as Guemes Channel after the vessel Lawrence commanded when
he captured the English Vessel Penguin in the War of 1812,
and to the north of the island he charted Penguin
Harbor which name has disappeared. In 1847, Captain
Kellett restored the name Guemes Island on the British
Admiralty Chart 1911. That name has been retained on the
US Government Charts, which have also added the names of Guemes
Channel and Bellingham Channel.
Hamilton,
a town in the central part of Skagit County. William
Hamilton settled there in 1877. The town was incorporated
in 1891 and named for its founder
Hat Island, east of Guemes Island, in the mouth of Padilla Bay. Wilkes Expedition of 1841 named it Peacock Island in honor of the Squadron's vessel which was wrecked at the mouth of the Columbia River. The subsequent British Admiralty charts show the island without a name. Hat Island was given on account of its shape by the US Coast Survey. Gedney Island, near Everett, is also sometimes locally called "Hat Island."
Jack
Island, given by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, to two
islands in the Puget Sound. One of these names has been
changed to the Indian name of Squaxin Island, in
the southeastern part of Mason County. The other name has
persisted. Jack Island is northeast of Guemes Island, in
the northwestern part of Skagit. The meaning of the name
as applied by Wilkes has not been ascertained.
Jackman
Creek, a tributary of the Skagit River at Van Horn,
in the northern part of Skagit. It was named for Jack
Jackman, who had a homestead and logged off the land near
the mouth of the creek in the early '80s. (N. Clark Ely,
Van Horn, In Names MSS., Letter 71.)
Kane,
an obsolete town (as of 1923) in the northwestern part of
Skagit County, named in honor of D. J. Cain, who once
operated a shingle mill there. (Noble G. Price, in Names
MSS., Letter 48)
Kellyville,
see Sedro-Woolley.
Kiket
Island, at the entrance to Similk Bay, on the
southern shore of Fidalgo Island. The name was given by
the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. On Kroll's map of Skagit
County it is shown as Kicket Point.
La
Conner, a town in the western part of Skagit County
and formerly the county seat. The site was first settled
in May 1867 by Alonzo Low and the postoffice there was
called Swinomish. In 1869, J. S. Conner bought the
trading post and the next year had the name changed to
honor his wife, Mrs. Louise Ann (Siegfried) Conner. The
French-looking "La" was obtained by joining her initials
(History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, pages 201-202.
La Conner's major industry was the cannery and the
fishing fleet. It now, successfully, blends three
different cultures. Fishing, Tourism, and the Arts. And
it thrives...even during the off-tourist winter season.
The Main street fronts on the slough, with many of the
businesses being built on pilings stretching out into
the water. The away side businesses back up against a
rock cliff. The old town was built hign on a 'big rock'
with 50 or so houses. The surrounding land is actually
floodplains on which grows the famous Skagit valley
tulips. A large new marina and townhouses have been
built and the community has shied away from the
supermalls and concentrated on antique stores,
galleries, trendy shops, elegrant dining, and a couple
of fishermen bars. It is unique.
Lake Erie, a small body of water west of Mount Erie. As the the origin of the name, see Fidalgo Island.
Lake McMurray, a small body of water in the southwestern part of Skagit County. It was named for a pioneer settler on its shores.
Lake Mountains, on Cypress Island in the northwestern part of Skagit County. They have an elevation of 1525 feet. They were named by the US Coast Survey in 1854, "among whose peeks we found two large sheets of fresh water.: (George Davidson, in the Pacific Coast Pilot, page 565.
Langley Point, at the entrance of a bay bearing the same name on the southwestern shore of Fidalgo Island. The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, charted it Point Sares. The present name is probably for a pioneer settler on the bay.
Levant Passage, the waterway between the southeast shore of Guemes Island and Saddlebag, Dot and Hat Islands, in the western part of Skagit County. The name was given by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, as an added honor for the American navy. He had called Guemes Island Lawrence and Fidalgo Perry naming the waterways after ships commended or captured. The British ship Levant was captured by the Constitution in the War of 1812. Present charts do not carry a name for Levant Passage. (as of 1923)
Lyman, town in the western part of Skagit County. It was named for B. L. Lyman, the first postmaster, in 1880. The townsite was platted in 1884 by Otto Klement. (Postmaster in Names MSS., Letter 34 and History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 246)
Mann's Landing, see Fir.
March Point, east cape of Fidalgo Bay in the western part of Skagit County. The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, shows it as Sacham Point (Vol 23 Hydrography, atlas, chart 92.) It is possible that the present name is an honor for Hiram A. Marsh, who had great success raising cauliflower seed near there in 1891. (Elwood Evans and Edmond S. Mean: The State of Washington page 170/
McMurray, town on the shore of Lake McMurray in the south western part of Skagit County. The town was platted by Dr. Marcus Kenyon when the railroad came in 1890. The name is in honor of a pioneer settler. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties. page 241-242.)
Minkler, a town in the western part of Skagit county. It was named in 1897 in honor of the pioneer B. D. Minkler by members of his family. (Matie F. Prenedue, in Names MSS., Letter 34)
Mount Erie, on Fidalgo Island, in the west central part of Skagit County. Elevation 1300 feet. Wilkes in 1841 honored Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry by giving the name Perry Island to what is now know as Fidalgo Island. To intensify the honor he named the peak after Perry's famous Battle of Lake Erie. (US Exploring Expedition, Hydrography, vol 23., Atlas. chart 77.: The name of Perry has been supplainted by the name of the mountain persists as in the case of Mount Constitution.
Mount Sauk, five miles north of Rockport, in the north central part of Skagit County. Like the name of a river in the same vicinity, this name came from that of a tribe of Indians. (Postmaster at Sauk, in Names MSS., Letter 49.)
Mount Vernon, the county seat of Skagit County, named in March, 1877, by Harrison Clothier and E. C. English in honor of the Virginia home of George Washington. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 189.) The Virginia estate was named in honor of Admiral Edward Vernon of the British Navy by Lewis Washington who willed it to his brother George Washington. (Henry Gannett. Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States., page 217.)
Northern State Hospital, located at Sedro-Woolley. This
description of the Cemetery and burial practices
provided by Dona Van Voorst "Re: stones at the NSH
Cemetery - there are comparatively few - and the numbers
on the stones no longer correspond with the numbers on
the cemetery map. People mowed the grass and didn't
understand the significance of the numbered blocks - so
they took them up and piled them against the fence - or
so the story goes. I have the names of the people who
are believed to be buried there - and there may have
been over 2,000 burials - there is also a 'mass burial'
of several dozen 'ash cans' which were unclaimed - at
Hawthorne Cemetery in Mt. Vernon. However, one has to
remember that those of the Catholic faith HAD to be
'ground burials'. I have heard that they may have been
'stacked' ie. more than one casket to a grave site. In
later years, but before the hospital closed, burials of
NSH Catholic pts. were conducted all over the Valley -
particularly in SW and Burlington.
My
interest in this was sparked by a man from Arizona who
flew here on at least three occasions - looking for his
mother's grave site. He was appalled to find that his
mother's final resting place as an unattended pasture
and that there were no traditional headstones."
O'Toole Creek, a small tributary of the Skagit River in the central part of Skagit County, named in honor of W. D. O'Toole who located iron mines there in 1885. (Postmaster at Birdsview, in Names MSS.,Letter 130.)
Padilla,
a town and bay in the west central part of Skagit county.
It was named
Perry's Island, see Fidalgo Island
Point William, at the southern entrance to Bellingham Bay, near Samish, in the northwestern part of Skagit County, named on June 23, 1792, in honor of Sir William Bellingham. (Meany's Vancouver's Discovery of Puget Sound, page 209.) See Bellingham. It had been named Punta de Solane by the Spanish exploere Eliza. (J. G. Kohl in Pacific Railroad Reports, Volume 12., Part I., Chapter 15., page 302.)
Porpoise Rocks, off the southeast shore of Guemes Island in the northwestern part of Skagit County. They were named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, probably after the brig of that name in the squadron. (Hydrography, Vol 23., Atlas, chart 92. ) The names have been changed to Dot, Huckleberry and Saddlebag Islands
Port Lawrence, see Oak Bay and also Guemes Island
Prairie, a town in the northwestern part of Skagit County, named for its location.
Pressentin Creek, a tributary of the Skagit River, in the central part of Skagit County. It was named for Charles Von Presentin, who located a home there in 1876 (Postmaster of Birdsview, in Names MSS., Letter 130.)
Saddle Island, in Padilla Bay, in the northwestern part of Skagit County. The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, included it as one of the Porpoise Rocks (Hydrography, Vol 23, Atlas chart 92.) the US Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 6577 shows the present name evidently derived from the shape of the island.
Samish, a bay, island, river and town in the northwestern part of Skagit County and a lake in the southwestern part of Whatcom County, all from the name of a tribe of Indians which formerly lived in that region. (Myron Eells, in american Anthropologist for January, 1892)
Sandford Cove, at the northwest extremity of Fidalgo Island, Skagit County, named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, in honor of Thomas Sandford, quartermaster, in one of the crews. (Hydrography, Vol 23., page 310 and Atlas, chart 92.) See also Point Sandford. The name of the cove has not persisted. See Boxer Cove and Flounder Bay. The US Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 6377 now shows the little Sandford Cove to be Flounder Bay.
Sauk, the name of a river, mountain and railway station in the central part of Skagit county. The name is from that of a tribe of Indians. (Postmaster at Sauk, in Names MSS., Letter 49.) The postoffice of that name was established in 1884. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 244.) George Gibbs writing on March 1, 1854, said the Indians had a portage from the north fork of the Stilaguamish to the Sah-Kee-mehu branch of the Skagit. (Pacific Railroad Reports, Vol 1., page 472.
Sedro-Woolley, a city in the west central part of Skagit County. The place was first settled in 1878 by David Batey and Joseph Hart. In 1884, Mortimer Cook bought forty acres and planned a town. Desiring a name that would be unique he called it Bug. The settlers did not like the lack of dignity and threatening to prefix the syllable "Hum" to the sign at the river landing. Mrs. Batey said she found Sedro in the Spanish dictionary as meaning cedar. As there were many fine trees there of that species "Cedro". In 1890, Norman R. Kelly platted some land and his part of the town was known as Kellyville. With the boom of 1890, Philip A. Woolley started a rival town nearby under the name of Woolley. The dual government was expensive and on December 19, 1898, the movement for consolidation was successful, resulting in the hyphenated name of Sedro-Woolley. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, pages 219-227. Sedro-Woolley was the home of Northern State Hospital (see it's own listing), a mental facility run by the state until closed in the 60's
Shannon Point, a northwestern cape of Fidalgo Island at the western edge of Skagit county. It was charted as Ship Point by Captain Richards, 1858-1859. (British Admiralty Chart 2689.) For a reason not ascertained, American geographers have given the present (as of 1923) name. (US Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 6300)
Ship Harbor, east of Shannon Point, at the northwestern extremity of Fidalgo Island (US Caost and Geodetic Survey Chart 6377.) "The superior excellence of Ship Harbor had been known perhaps even before the US vessel Massachusetts began making it her headquarters - a circumstance which is said to have given it its name". (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 89.)
Ship Point, see Shannon Point
Similk Bay, on the southern shore of Fidalgo Island, northeast of Description (sic) Pass, in the west central part of Skagit County. It was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, Vol. 23., Atlas, chart 90.) The name is retained on the US Coast and Geodetic Survey Chart 6380.)
Sinclair Island, north of Cypress Island, at the northwest corner of Skagit County. It was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841. (Hydrography, vol 23., Atlas, chart 77.) Since Wilkes was naming the islands of this archipelago for "distinguished officers late of the U.S. naval service", it is probable that this honor was for Arthur Sinclair, Sr., Commander of the Argus in the War of 1812. (E. S. Maclay: History of the Navy, Vol 1., pages 183, 383, 427, and 491.)
Siwash Slough, near Samish, in the northwestern part of Skagit county. "Daniel Dingwall seems to have been the pioneer merchant of the Samish country, having established a store in partnership with Thomas Hayes, in the fall of 1869 on Samish Island, adjoining the Siwash Slough. The Siwash Slough was so called from the location upon it of two thousand Siwashes engaged in fishing and hunting." (History of Skagit and Snohomish counties, page 111.) "Siwash is the Chinook Jargon word for 'Indian" and is a corruption of the French word 'sauvage'". (Rev. Myron Eells in the American Anthropologist, for January, 1892.)
Sterling, a town in the west central part of Skagit County, founded in 1878 by Jesse B. Ball, who crossed the plains in 1853 and became a well known pioneer farmer and logger. (History of the Pacific Northwest: Oregon and Washington, vol 11, page 200.)
Strawberry Bay, on the western shore of Cypress Island, in the northwestern part of Skagit County. The island the the bay were both named from plants found there. The great English explorer, Captain George Vancouver, anchored there on June 6, 1792, Discovery of Puget Sound, pages 174 and 176
Strawberry Island, a small island at the mouth of Strawberry Bay. It was left nameless by Vancouver, when he named the bay and the larger Cypress Island. The Wilkes Expedition, 1841, found berries on the little island and named it Hautboy. (Hydrography, Vol 23, Atlas, chart 77.) This name is pronounced "Hoboy" and is the common name of "Fragaria elatior", a species of strawberry. (New Standard Dictionary, page 1123. On most of the recent maps (as of 1923) the little island is charted as Strawberry Island.
Suiattle, one of the headwater streams of Skagit River. The name is evidently of Indian origin, but its meaning was unknown to Dr. Charles M. Buchanan, the best authority in that field, (In Names MSS. Letter 155.)
Sutter Mountain, in the central part of Skagit County, named in honor of John Sutter, an old time white settler, (postmaster at Sauk in Names MSS. Letter 49.)
Swinomish Slough, a waterway between Skagit Bay and Padilla Bay in the western part of Skagit County. On its east bank is the town of La Conner which was one time called Swinomish. Opposite the town is the Swinomish Indian Reservation. The name comes from that of a branch of the Skagit tribe of Indians.
Thorne, in Skagit County, was homesteaded by 1893, by Woodbury J. Thorne and a postoffice by that name was established there in 1900. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties page 247.)
Thornwood, a station on the Northern Pacific Railway, in the west central part of Skagit County. The name is in honor of W. J. Thorne, a settler in that vicinity. (Noble G. Rice, in Names MSS. Letter.)
Urban, a post office on Sinclair Island, in the northwestern part of Skagit County, was named by L. U. Stenger in honor of his son Urban Stenger. (Elizabeth A. Schultz, in Names. MSS. Letter. 113.)
Van Horn, a town in the central part of Skagit County, was named for the founder, James V. Van Horn. (Postmaster at Van Horn, in Names MSS. Letter 363.)
Vendovi Island, in the northwestern corner of Skagit County, was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, for a native of Fiji, (of Viti) Island, whom he had captured and carried northword to these waters. The Expedition reached home on June 10, 1842. Captain Wilkes, in Vol 5., page 453, makes this entry: "On our arrival home, the health of the prisoner Vendovi had so far declined that it was necessary to place him in the Naval Hospital at New York. Every attention was paid him there, but very soon afterward he expired." The spanish name for Vendovi and Sinclair Islands was Islas de Aguayo Galiano and Valdes map, in US Public Documents, Serial Number 1557, Chart L.) see also Viti Rocks.
Whitney, a town in the west central part of Skagit county, was named in honor of Rienzie E. Whitney, a pioneer who in 1882 founded the town of Padilla. When the railroad came in 1890 the town was moved and its name was changed to Whitney. (History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties, page 245.)
Williamson Rocks, off the west shore of Fidalgo Island, in the west central part of Skagit County, were named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, in honor of John G. Williamson, Gunner on one of the ships. (Hydrography, vol 23., Atlas chart 77.)
Young Island, at the eastern end of the passage between Allen and Burrows Islands, in the west central part of Skagit County, was named by the Wilkes Expedition, 1841, probably in honor of Ewing Young, the Oregon pioneer whose farm had been visited by Captain Wilkes, (Narrative, vol 4., pages 3588-360.)
