ROOTED HERE
The history of Everett
Everett occupies a peninsula between the Snohomish River and Port Gardner Bay. Its downtown shops and arts spaces sit within a city shaped by lumber, railways and aerospace, with waterfront stops offering another perspective on Puget Sound.
People who shaped Everett
These milestones are an introduction, not a complete local history. Follow the linked historical sources to explore the people and places behind them. Read the local historical account.
Watch the city’s history
FROM THE ARCHIVES
The Everett Massacre, by David Blakeslee
Everett Public Library shares filmmaker David Blakeslee’s historical reflection on the fatal 1916 waterfront confrontation. Includes archival imagery and discussion of deaths.
Watch on YouTube ↗- Before the industrial city
Snohomish homelands
Hibulb, a principal village of the Snohomish people, stood near the mouth of the Snohomish River. The peninsula’s history long predates the nineteenth-century industrial town.
HistoryLink: Everett — Thumbnail History ↗ - 1890
The Everett Land Company
Investors incorporated the Everett Land Company in November 1890. Their plans joined waterfront industry with a new townsite on the Port Gardner Peninsula.
HistoryLink: Everett — Thumbnail History ↗ - 1891
A townsite takes shape
Land was cleared and streets were laid out as mills and other industries developed. The town took its name from Everett, the son of investor Charles Colby.
HistoryLink: Everett — Thumbnail History ↗ - 1893
A city is incorporated
Voters approved incorporation on April 27, and Everett officially incorporated on May 4, 1893. The Panic of 1893 soon slowed the young city’s ambitious development.
HistoryLink: Everett incorporates on May 4, 1893 ↗ - 1897
The county seat moves
Everett became the Snohomish County seat in 1897 after a contest with the town of Snohomish. Industrial growth resumed around the turn of the twentieth century.
HistoryLink: Everett — Thumbnail History ↗ - 1916
The Everett Massacre
A confrontation at the city dock during a labor and free-speech dispute killed five workers aboard the steamer Verona and two deputies on the dock. The event became known as the Everett Massacre.
HistoryLink: Everett — Thumbnail History ↗
See the history for yourself.
For local exhibitions and classes, visit Schack Art Center.
For a library-produced account, watch The Everett Massacre, by David Blakeslee. The film is one historical perspective. Consult the library and local historical organizations for wider archival research.
Selected milestones researched October 18, 2026. This is an introduction, not a complete account of local history.