Whatcom County Established in 1854
Whatcom County was established on March 9, 1854, by the Washington territorial government from a portion of Island County..
Home Rule Charter
There are thirty-nine counties in Washington.  By virtue of its "Home Rule Charter" adopted
in 1978, Whatcom County is one of only four counties in the state
that have a "county constitution." This constitution or "Charter"
gives control of county affairs to the people of the county rather
than the state legislature.
As a charter county, there are two primary factors that make Whatcom
County different from other counties. The first is a separation
between legislative and administrative functions. This is accomplished
through an elected nonpartisan seven-member, part-time county
council (legislative) and a full-time elected county executive
(administrative). The second difference is the right of initiative
and referendum provided to county citizens by the Charter. The
county charter defines duties and responsibilities of the branches,
elected officials and departments. The Whatcom County Home Rule Charter
is available on our website, or a print copy may be obtained at
the Whatcom County Executive's Office or the Whatcom County Council
Office.
Whatcom County's History
Long before it was "discovered" by Europeans, Whatcom County was
home to Northwest Coast Indians, the Lummi, Nooksack, Samish
and Semiahmoo. The area was claimed by the Spanish in 1775
and later by Russia, England and the United States. Bellingham
Bay was named by Captain George Vancouver of the British Navy
during his expedition into the waters of Puget Sound in 1792.
Fur trappers and traders were the first non-Indian residents
to settle in and Hudson's Bay Company set up shop from 1825
to 1846.
In the early 1850's, a tremendous amount of building took
place in California (after the San Francisco fire) and lumber
became scarce. Word of dense stands of Douglas fir brought
California miners Roeder and Peabody north, to Bellingham
Bay. An impressive and strategically located waterfall, referred
to by the Lummi Indians as "What-Coom," meaning "noisy, rumbling
water" provided Roeder and Peabody an ideal lumber mill site,
and a name for the area's first permanent town. In 1854,
its rapid settlement prompted territorial legislature to create
the County of Whatcom, an area that, at the time, took in
all of present-day Skagit, Island and San Juan counties.
In its early years, Whatcom County experienced many economic
ups and downs. When coal was discovered in 1853, another bay
town, called Sehome, sprang up by the mine shafts and the Bellingham
Bay Coal Company became the area's largest employer. Gold fever
made a brief, though dramatic imprint on the county. In the summer
of 1858, the Fraser River gold rush brought over 75,000 people
through Whatcom County. Roeder and Peabody's lumber mill burned
in 1873. Five years later, after many cave-ins, fires and floods,
the mine closed. Speculators vying to host the Northern Pacific
Railroad's west coast terminal brought communities on Bellingham
Bay into rapid prosperity. Educational opportunities grew as
well. Northwest Normal School, the predecessor to present day's
Western Washington University was established in Lynden in 1886.
The northwest's first high school was built in Whatcom County
in 1890.
In 1893, after dramatic growth, the county's boom stopped. A national
depression and unyielding mountains pushed local economy into
hard times. The railroad went elsewhere and population on
the bay dropped to under fifty. By the turn of the century
though, Whatcom County was growing again. New lumber and shingle
mills, salmon canneries, shipyards and agriculture brought
stability to the area. In 1903, the county's four bayside
towns, Whatcom, Sehome, Bellingham and Fairhaven consolidated
into the present day county seat, Bellingham. Today, valuable
natural resources continue to play an important role in Whatcom
County's economy.
The cities and towns in Whatcom County today are Bellingham,
Blaine, Everson, Ferndale, Lynden, Nooksack, and Sumas, plus
numerous unincorporated communities.
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