History of Edison
By Curt Cunningham

The town of Edison is located on the Samish Flats about 11 miles northwest of Mount Vernon. The Samish Flats were formed by the Samish River and it encompasses the area around the town of Edison, extending from the Chuckanut range to with in a few miles of Bay View. The flat was reclaimed using dikes in the late 1880's and by 1890 many fine farms had been established.

On February 19, 1891 the Anacortes American said the following about the town; "Centrally located in the Samish valley is the flourishing town of Edison. This town has a population of about 500 and is well supplied with hotels, stores, shops and other business enterprises which are necessary to supply the surrounding country. Edison is also the headquarters of the logging interests of the Samish valley, and is destined in the near future to make a town of considerable importance. Edison, without any boom, has made a good substantial growth during the past year, and its people are contented and happy and well satisfied with their town and its future prospects. About three miles north of Edison is the post office at Blanchard."

The area was first settled in 1869 by Ben Samson. In the mid 1870's Edward McTaggert came to Skagit county and founded the town of Edison. The growth and prosperity of the community was due largely to his work. In 1882 McTaggert deeded the land for the first store and he was able to induce Captain A. J. Edwards to bring in a stock of goods. The following year he was instrumental in getting William Gilmore to come to Edison and buy the Edwards stock.

When McTaggert came to the Samish flats there were about 45 settlers and their families living in this section. Among these early settlers were; Joe Lawry, John Miller, Peter Cogley,  John Morris, Watson Hoge, B. B. Sampson,  Joseph Hall, John Monroe and family, Richard Fenton, Edward Emory, John Fravel, Joseph Legg, West Whiner, John Grey, Sam Brasson, James Huchins, Capt. White, Daniel Dingwall, store keeper at Samish island, William and George Dean, James N. Brown, William Brown and Mr. Streighoff.

Until 1876 the post office for the Samish district was on Samish island and as most of the patrons lived on the mainland it was necessary for them to  cross Samish bay to get their mail. In that year Mr. McTaggert held a meeting of Samish people and  the post office was moved to the mainland. McTaggert was accorded the honor of naming the new post office and being an admirer of the great inventor, named the town Edison.

In 1897, Edison became the headquarters of a national utopian socialist project known as Equality Colony, backed by an organization known as the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth. The socialist colony was established on 280 acres east of Edison and it engaged in farming and timber milling and included a school as well as blacksmith and copper-working shops. The Edison-based Brotherhood also published a newspaper called Industrial Freedom for national circulation to its approximately 3,000 supporters. The socialist community folded shortly after 1903, by which time only about 100 colony remembers remained.

On September 24, 1898 an article in the Edison Industrial Freedom concerning the removal of the headquarters of the socialist colony to Equality which was about 3 miles east of Edison. The newspaper said; "The town of Edison is composed of about 40 buildings including the barns. Edison is connected with the sound by a  tide slough about two miles long, 75 to 100 feet wide and from 6 to 10 feet deep at high tide; at which time it is navigable for light draught steamboats."

Wealthy Edison and Vicinity

The following article was published in the Anacortes American on January 5, 1901;. "One of the most beautiful communities in the state is found at and surrounding the thriving town of Edison which has resources that will last as long as time, and possibilities second to none in Skagit county. Edison is located on Samish bay, at the mouth of the Samish river, and in the very midst of the most picturesque and fertile farming country in the state of Washington."

"The Samish flats and the Samish river valley, which are one and the same thing, form the polished shirt front of Washington’s agricultural lands and Edison is the glittering jewel in the beautiful setting. The state does not afford a more prosperous country than the Edison country. Beautiful farms improved with palatial homes. commodious barns, fine fences, excellent drainage, good roads and a general prosperity. The town overlooks Samish bay, and small boats ply to and from the place bringing in supplies and taking away cargoes of oats and other farm products."

"Within three miles of Edison is located four fine lumber and shingle mills, and within just three miles of the city is found the mammoth logging camp of Pat McCoy, where a crew of sixty men are constantly employed, and at the mouth of the Samish river is located the big log boom which employs a number of men the year round. Edison is adjacent to some of the finest timber in the world and is among the most prosperous towns in the state; having the advantage of both lumbering and farming. Edison is tributary to both the Samish flats and the Sauk river valley."

"She is the perfect home for a beet sugar factory, for it has been demonstrated that beets grown in those flats and along the valleys are far superior in quality to those grown east of the mountains in the Prosser, Sunnyside and Yakima districts where the beet sugar business is receiving so much attention at the present time."

"Edison and community is one of the greatest cattle raising portions of the state, producing the finest grasses and hay of any part of the county and has a yield of oats unexcelled in the world. In the dairying business there is not a better country, as has been proved by a number of farmers who have made a success of that line of business, as in even the logged-off land of that rich country a cow, with but little feed during the winter months has been known to produce milk to the amount of $6 per month for twelve months."

"But dairying, logging, farming, beet sugar making, milling, paper and pulp manufacturing and seed growing are still not all the business belonging to Edison. Samish bay and adjacent waters are proving to be the finest oyster beds in the state, and the Japanese, Eastern and Olympia oysters are growing there in splendid shape and it will be but a few years until the oyster industry will be in full blast at the very doors of Edison."

"The oyster business on Puget Sound has proven one of the most successful enterprises in the state, the Olympia oyster has astonished the world with its excellent flavor, but it has been clearly demonstrated that Edison oysters are in every way equal to those from near Olympia, Shelton and other places, and within another two years thousands of sacks of oysters will be picked at, and shipped from the thriving town of Edison, a place without a peer for natural resources. The business houses of the town are the equal of those in any part of the county, both in quality and quantity of stock carried, and have a large personal patronage among the farmers and ranchers throughout the entire section."

"Edison as a moral community is one of the best in the state, having splendid schools, both in country and town, neat churches of various denominations and a law abiding class of citizens who are broad minded and possessed of a hospitality not excelled in the west. As a desirable place which to live and raise a family Edison is one of the most perfect spots in the state of Washington. It is a pleasant home for the farmer, the logger, the dairyman, the manufacturer and the fisherman and has near the city a number of traps where herring, smelt and other small fish are caught in abundance."

"Crab fishing is made profitable in Samish bay and at certain seasons other valuable fish are caught. It is a splendid place in which to live from an economic as well as a moral and healthful standpoint. Every kind of known vegetable grows in abundance and poultry flourishes in that section. Cattle. sheep and hogs are easily raised on the grasses and the produce raised on a very small patch of ground will support the family. The climate is ideal. with beautiful spring, summer and autumn weather and a mild winter, the thermometer seldom reaching the freezing point."

"Green grass carpets the hills the whole year round. In summer severe heat is prevented by the fine ocean breeze from off the Sound and the country is a most delightful place in which to live. Taking all in all, Edison is one of the richest, most-resourceful and pleasant communities to be found in the Puget Sound country and many splendid opportunities are offered the home seeker and investor in that locality. Edison is only in its infancy and will be in five years one of the most wealthy and eagerly sought after sections of country in the western part of the Evergreen state."

Edison Station

In 1911 when the Interurban trolley line was completed between Everett and Bellingham, Edison Station was built on the line to accommodate the residents of the area.

On May 30, 1912 the Anacortes American said that the town of Edison may be moved to Edison Station and the new town of Ladysmith. They said; "It is reported that the thriving little town of Edison, of this county, faces a dilemma that may result in the town being moved to the townsite of Ladysmith, one mile away. Ladysmith has been platted on the line of the, interurban, and being midway between the towns of Blanchard and Edison makes the change probable."

"This would mean the changing of the name of Ladysmith to East Edison. The movement is not regarded with favor by Edison residents for many reasons. The trade of the farmers of the rich La Conner flats would be diverted to Ladysmith. among other reasons for opposing the change. The population is about 300 and opinion is divided between annexing Ladysmith and platting the intervening mile, or moving the town of Edison to the new location."

The Village of Bow

The following article was published in the Anacortes American on January 5, 1901; "Bow is in Skagit county, 7B miles north of Seattle and in the very midst of a rich lumbering and farming community and is on the line of the Great Northern railway. Bow has a lumber mill, a shingle mill and a lath mill. The stage for Belfast and Edison leave Bow every day and the place has the Western Union Telegraph and a daily mail service. There are great opportunities in the Bow country for laborers and investors as in any part of the state, and many lines of business are needed in that community."

"To prove the profit of stock raising, dairying and ranching it is only necessary to call the attention of the reader to the fact that eight years ago one ranchman, with a few cows started a small stock ranch with no money at all and today he has 200 head of fine cattle and 395 acres of land in the Samish river valley. This is no exception. any man with a willingness to work can do the same thing, and the land is plentiful and can be purchased cheaply on terms to suit the purchaser."

"The logged-off land, if the purchaser desires to raise cattle, needs no further clearing, as grass seed will set and grow abundantly and will furnish sufficient food for three cows to every acre. Bow offers a splendid location for a creamery and a good blacksmith. Bow has timber, talc mines, agriculture. dairying, stock raising and fruit farming and a wealth of natural resources which will keep that part of Skagit county employed as long as time."

Bay View by the Sea

Not a more picturesque village is found along Puget Sound than the village of Bay View which is located on Padilla bay, opposite Anacortes, and is one of the most clean, healthful and desirable residence places in the county. Bay View is located on a hill slope and from it can be seen many of the beautiful islands and just back of the town Mt. Baker‘s snowy head peeps over the hill, forming a handsome picture. On either side of Bay View is a fine farming country.

On one side the Whitney flats and on the other the great Samish flats, while near at hand are some of the leading logging camps of the county. Bay View is the home of one of the largest logging concerns of the state, the Stimson Lumber Company, whose mills are located at Ballard, Washington, and are among the largest of the state. At Bay View this this company has a fine railroad which runs from the boom at Bay View back to the logging camps several miles distant. The Stimson Company have a large crew at work the year round and place in Padilla bay many fine logs, among which is much cedar which is marketed at the mills of Anacortes.