History of Silvana
By Curt Cunningham

Silvana is located about 16 miles north of Everett on the Stillaguamish river about 5 miles above its mouth. The surrounding country was once a beautiful sylvan forest, but today it is a rich agricultural district with many farms. By 1888 the Stillaguamish post office had been established in a store which was located in the future town of Silvana along the road to Stanwood. The building of the Great Northern railroad was responsible for the rapid development of the town. After the railroad was completed in 1891 a town was laid out which they called Silvana.

On June 21 1888 an article in the Snohomish Sun written by Eldridge Morse said the following about the Stillaguamish valley; "Between Florence and the forks of the Stillaguamish is located the Island settlement. Stillaguamish Island is several miles long, all bottom land, much of it highly improved. Here is Stillaguamish post office and store, a good starting point for a town, On the river bank, on either side of the Island, but on the main land, are several good farms. Around Kent's prairie, on the south side of the Stillaguamish, and on its south fork are many settlers all from what may be called the Kent's Prairie settlement, a prosperous and growing region."

In 1889 C. S. Gilman spent three months touring Western Washington. Part of his journey took him from Stanwood to Arlington on the old wagon road. He said the following about the trip; "The valley here is about three miles wide, and the dense growth of cottonwood with which it was formerly covered is rapidly disappearing under the hands of the farmers. Half a mile from Norman the road crosses the Stillaguamish river on Olsen's ferry. We are now eight miles from Stanwood. From here, for a distance of nine miles the road is on the "island," for it has no other name than that."

"At several points the swift current of the river has made several inroads in the bank, and little by little the land is being carried off. A mile beyond Olsen's, the Stillaguamish post office and store is reached. At this point considerable clearing has been done, and a large settlement is scattered about in the immediate vicinity. At Cook's place an attempt has been made to grow hops, and a fine looking field is to be seen of ten or fifteen acres. Cook has erected a large dry-house on his place, and also has a bearing orchard."

The following was taken from an article written by Silvana merchant Iver Botten in 1908. 

By 1908 Dairy and farming was the chief occupation of the people living in Silvana. The town was named Silvana because of the beautiful sylvan surroundings. Silvana is on the line of the old Great Northern railroad (now BNSF) 52 miles north of Seattle, and had a trade principally derived from the surrounding farms and ranches. In 1908 the town of Silvana had 3 general stores, 2 hotels, 3 saloons, a meat market, 2 confectionery stores, 2 liveries, a blacksmith shop, and a shingle mill. The town also had a fine new up-to-date schoolhouse, where a high graded course was taught by efficient teachers. The 2 churches; the Lutheran and Free Lutheran were supported by the people. 

The logging business was on the decrease in 1908 and the camps were getting fewer every year after as the timber was reduced. However, the fertility of the soil and the conditions were such that the logged-off lands were quickly taken up and cultivated as soon as the loggers move out, which gave a better revenue than the timber and increased the trade of the town. The shingle mill was operated by G. H. Russell and had plenty of business which had secured enough timber to supply their needs for many years and gave employment to many men in its mill and in the woods.

Silvana General Stores of 1912

In 1912 Iver Botten was still operating his general merchandise store in Silvana and the building today continues to be a merchandise store. Another of the shops in Silvana was Fred M. Kendrick's store, which was said to be one of the nicest general stores in business on the coast. Kendrick was an honest man and he was admired by his customers and was a friend to most of them. He had one of the best lines of merchandise and paid the farmers well for their produce. Kendrick handled several kinds of flour among them were; "Best Everett," "Royal," "Snowdrift" and "Fishers Blend."

The Silvana Trading Union Inc. was another business which was operating in 1912. Julius Langsjeon was the manager of the corporation which was the largest of its kind in the vicinity. Langsjeon had been in business for 6 years and in that time had built up a substantial trade. They could get almost anything a customer wanted or needed. They sold McCormick mowers, rakes, tedders, Bain wagons and various other farm implements. They also were agents for the De Laval dairy separators, which were very popular with the dairy farmers there.

The company also had a meat market called the Silvana Larding Union. You could buy beef, pork, and mutton, plus properly cured hams and bacons, fresh and salt meats. The employees gave prompt attention to all orders and they never had any criticism of any kind as they knew how to take care to their customers.

The Floods of 1921 & 1924

On December 15, 1921 the Stillaguamish river overflowed it banks and flooded the valley. Anacortes was without train service for 4 days and all communication was cut during that time. Stanwood was flooded when a section of dike failed and allowed water to rush into the town. Damage to the Pacific Highway south of Stanwood was reported large. Silvana reported five feet over the roadway on either side.

On February 13, 1924 a winter storm had been battering the region with heavy rains and strong winds. The storm was so bad that 3 gold fish were reported drowned at Silvana and that the farmers were thinking of doing their spring planting with submarines. Then the next day on February 14, 1924 the Chinook winds and heavy rains of the past two days brought down a wall of water from the melting snow in the Cascades and flooded many roads in Skagit, Snohomish, Chehalis, Grays Harbor and King counties.

The flooding had partly inundated two towns, shut off automobile travel and washed out several bridges, including a bridge on the main line of the Great Northern railway, near Index. Silvana was a floating city and the river which overflowed its banks, was 4 feet deep over the Pacific Highway, the town's principal street.

Silvana Today

Silvana today is a quiet country town with a population of 14. The old grain elevator which has been a landmark of the town for many years still stands on the south side of the highway next to the railroad tracks. North of the grain elevator is the fire department. Across the street is Willow & Jim's Country cafe. Next to the cafe is the old 1920 bank building which is now the Violet Ray Spa & Salon. Next to the salon is the Silvana Five & Dime store which has an assortment of new and used merchandise and was originally the Iver Botten General merchandise store.

Next to the thrift store is the Northwest Tack Consignment shop. East of the consignment shop is the Viking Hall which is the hub of the social life in Silvana. The next business is the Vault Cannabis shop which is in a bright lime green building that in 2011 was a convenience store. East of them is the old 1920's Stave Bros. Gas Station & Garage. The station sits unused but the garage behind it continues to be a repair shop. The last business on the highway traveling east is Silvana Meats which has been in business for over 25 years.