Remember April 14th in 1909. That was the day Bothell officially became a town. It happened after a close vote of 79 to 70.
Bothell is a city in both King and Snohomish counties. It is part of the Seattle metropolitan area. Bothell sits near Lake Washington’s northeast end. The 2020 census counted 48,161 Bothell residents.
Bothell sits along the Sammamish River. This was the Sammamish people’s historic home. Bothell is next to Kenmore and Woodinville. David Bothell and his family established Bothell in 1870. They platted it in 1888. Railroads arrived soon after. In 1909, Bothell was incorporated. Originally, Bothell depended on logging and farming. By the mid-20th century, it housed Seattle commuters. Later, it housed those working in other Eastside cities. Interstate 405 links Bothell to the Eastside. It also serves as a Seattle bypass.
Bothell has changed quite a bit. Over forty years, Bothell grew significantly. It went from a small suburb of fewer than 8000. Now, it has over 50,000 residents. Bothell’s population has become more diverse. This includes race, ethnicity, birthplace and income.
The Sammamish River valley was first home to the Sammamish people. Their population was about 80 to 200 around 1850. They had a major winter village at the Sammamish River’s mouth. It was between modern Bothell and Kenmore. The Sammamish resisted settler removal. They were moved to Fort Kitsap after the Puget Sound War. Some Sammamish stayed. They worked as laborers and farmers. Their village was later destroyed.
Columbus S. Greenleaf and George R. Wilson filed the first Homestead Act claims. It happened in 1870. They claimed adjoining land plots. The lower Sammamish River area was mainly marshland. It hadn’t been surveyed when Wilson arrived. Greenleaf filed his claim in June 1870. This was for land Wilson wanted. Eight families settled there in six years. Canadian George Brackett began logging in 1877. He logged 80 acres where the Wayne Golf Course is now. Brackett also created Brackett’s Landing. It had a sawmill and steamboat dock. Traffic came from Seattle and Issaquah.
In 1884, Brackett sold 80 timberland acres to David Bothell. Bothell was a settler and Civil War veteran. Bothell and his sons built a home and shingle mill in 1885. Later, he and his wife opened a boarding house. Fire destroyed it. The Bothell Hotel replaced it. The town site was platted on April 25th, 1888. Postmaster Gerhard Ericksen named the settlement for the Bothell family. He had bought the boarding house property. The area had two hotels, lumber mills and a school. Bothell initially shared schools with Woodinville. In 1885, they created a separate district. Bothell’s first schoolhouse classes occurred in March 1886. The school district merged with North Creek in 1897. Ten years later, they built a school building. It accommodated the growing population.
The Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway went along the Sammamish River. It linked Seattle to the Northern Pacific Railway. It also transported coal from Issaquah mines. The tracks reached Bothell in November 1888. A boxcar at Brackett’s Landing served as a station. It moved east to Bothell in 1890. A depot building later replaced it. A county road connected Bothell and Woodinville. Logging railroads were also built. They stretched north to modern Canyon Park. They transported logs to mills. One had a trestle bridge across the Sammamish River. By the 1880s, Bothell had telegraph service. It also had a general store, butcher and drugstore. Many new residents were Scandinavian or Eastern European. Some emigrated from the Midwest. These immigrants founded the first churches in the mid-1880s. Fires destroyed two mills in 1893 and 1894. A larger facility replaced them. It produced 80,000 shingles daily.
George Bothell, David Bothell’s son, became the first mayor. He was a former state legislator. At the time, the town had 599 residents. It had a bank, four general stores and three saloons. On April 11th, 1911, fire destroyed a dozen Main Street buildings. It damaged others. This included Ericksen’s general store with town records. A fire department formed in 1913. The town government created building regulations after the fire. The Pacific Highway went through town in August 1912. It linked Everett and Seattle.
Bothell is known for the Sammamish River Trail. This popular trail runs through Bothell. It connects to other trails. It is an excellent place to walk, run, bike and skate. The trail also provides access to parks, restaurants and shops.
Bothell is a great place to live. It offers parks, schools and many opportunities. Bothell’s motto says it best. Welcome to Bothell for a day or a lifetime.