Perhaps Lynnwood’s story is best understood not as one narrative but as a series of transformations. We are standing in North Lynnwood. It is a place defined by constant change and adaptation.
Originally part of Picnic Point-North Lynnwood, this area became its own census-designated place in 2010. This separation also created the Meadowdale CDP.
Imagine, if you will, the Snohomish people who once roamed these uplands during the summer. They hunted, fished, gathered berries, and dug roots. Their winters were spent in cedar longhouses along Puget Sound and the Snohomish River. The Treaty of Point Elliott in 1854 changed everything. The Snohomish ceded their land rights for a reservation and the right to fish and hunt in their accustomed places.
Now, picture Duncan Hunter. He was a Scottish stonemason. In 1889, he became Lynnwood’s first non-Indian permanent resident. He filed a homestead claim on 80 acres of forest. His family joined him from Wisconsin in 1891. They built a cabin along what is now 36th Avenue W. Another Scot, William Morrice, bought 100 acres nearby. This property later became Alderwood Mall.
Hunter and Morrice worked in masonry and logging. The thick forest did not offer much agricultural opportunity. Eventually, the loggers cleared the trees. Hunter then planted apple and cherry trees. Peter Schreiber claimed 160 acres around Scriber Lake and Scriber Lake Park. Other settlers joined him. The neighborhood became Cedar Valley. The first community activity was a school. Duncan Hunter built it in 1895.
Consider the dense forests of Doug-fir, cedar, hemlock, and spruce. They attracted loggers. Mechanization allowed them to reach inland from the Sound and the rivers. The sounds of steam donkeys and locomotives filled the air. Axes and crosscut saws echoed as forest giants fell. Lumber mills wanted only the straightest-grain logs. Loggers left behind as much as 40 percent of every tree. This created vast piles of slash and stumps.
Between 1900 and 1920, most of what would become Lynnwood transformed from forest to stump ranch. The area remained rural. Travel to Seattle involved a rough trail to Edmonds. Then, a Mosquito steamer to Elliott Bay. North-south travel was usually over a crude military road.
In 1910, the Seattle-Everett Traction Company completed the interurban rail line. It ran between Seattle and Everett. There were stops at Seattle Heights, Halls Lake, and Alderwood. Also Beverly Park, Intermanor, Manordale, and Martha Lake. Commercial and residential communities sprang up around the stations.
The Puget Mill Company marketed Alderwood Manor as a way to sell its logged-over land. In 1917, the company subdivided 6,000 acres into five- to 10-acre Ranchettes. They sold these small farms to city dwellers. W. A. Irwin, a California realtor, added “manor” to the interurban station’s name.
The company graded streets. Many were old logging roads. They named the roads after trees. Locust, Larch, and Poplar became familiar names. The road to Edmonds became Filbert. Locals called it The Alderwood Road.
Irwin promoted the land as a source of income. He convinced Puget Mill to invest in a demonstration farm. The farm taught newcomers how to raise crops and chickens. Buyers saw evidence of a bucolic country life. Irwin dubbed the settlers the Little Landers.
Between 1917 and 1922, Alderwood Manor’s population grew from 22 to 1,463. The residents had electricity, phone service, and many miles of roads. By the 1920s, Alderwood’s egg production was second only to Petaluma, California.
Seattle realtor Karl O’Beirn platted some land along Highway 99 in 1937. He named it Lynnwood after his wife. Businesses adopted the name. In 1946, they organized the Lynnwood Commercial Club.
After 1945, the region experienced economic growth. Suburbs exploded with subdivisions. Veterans and war workers moved to the good life. In April 1959, a new proposal for Lynnwood passed. It was three square miles with 6,000 residents.
In 1966, Alderwood Mall Corporation announced plans to build a shopping center. Alderwood Mall finally opened in September 1979. Much of Alderwood Manor came into Lynnwood’s city limits in 1984.
By 1990, the old Crossroads was the second busiest intersection in the state. On May 1, 2005, the city opened its new Convention Center.
Today, North Lynnwood, with its coordinates at 47°51′12″N 122°16′35″W, covers 3.12 square miles. North Lynnwood remains a vibrant part of a constantly evolving region.