Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

Mary Low Sinclair

Early Snohomish Heritage Trail

— Short Stories of Those Who Came Before Us —

Mary Low Sinclair Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 30, 2021

1. Mary Low Sinclair Marker

Inscription.

Mary Low Sinclair. Early Snohomish Heritage Trail. , "There was no time to be lonesome.". , Mary Low, age 11, and her family were members of the Denny Party that arrived at Alki Point in 1851. Many of the Denny Party became the first settlers of Seattle. The Lows, however, settled in Port Madison, Kitsap County, where Mary worked as a teacher, and ended up marrying her boss Woodbury Sinclair, the school district clerk and a lumberman, on March 4, 1862. Two years later, Woodbury was in Cadyville (the first name for Snohomish) where he purchased Edson Cady's claim on the north bank of the Snohomish River. The purchase included a small shack that Woodbury and a business partner later opened as a store catering to the local loggers., Mary, their infant son and the household goods arrived on May 1, 1865, which she described in a 1911 remembrance: "As the steamer landed on the gravel bank near the foot of Maple Street, a small clearing appeared in the otherwise unbroken timber. The town consisted of a rough log house on the bank in which supplies were stored. The store further back was a twelve-by-sixteen-foot shack. The old building still standing [in 1911] at the corner of Maple and Commercial Streets, without windows, doors, or floor, in time was used for the store, with living rooms in the back.", The infant Alvin died 20 days after Mary's arrival. "There was no time to be lonesome. The women, young and hopeful, fearing neither danger or privation, soon began to make things look homelike, growing Sweet Williams, Marigolds and Hollyhocks. Frogs sang cheerily in the nearby marshes; mosquitoes kept the people busy building smudges. Wild game was plentiful. The Indians brought venison, wild ducks, fish and clams. Also, the ranchers from Snoqualmie Prairie brought delicious hams and bacon of their own curing.", [Photo captions, top to bottom, read] . Portrait of Mary Low Sinclair (1842-1922) by Seattle's LaRoche Studio, 1905, . Labeled as the "County Seat 1865" by historian William Whitfield in the 1920s, this image is believed to be the first photograph of Snohomish, credited to the New York photographer Sammis. The Fergusion's Blue Eagle Saloon is on the left, while the Sinclair store and home is on the right., The man posing in the foreground, on the south bank of the river, may be Woodbury Sinclair. At the time of his sudden death in 1872, the Sinclairs were in the process of donating three acres on the eastern edge of their plat, alongside the Pilchuck River, to establish the county's first graveyard., Mary ordered a headstone of white marble, three feet tall, to create a memorial for Woodbury in the new cemetery, where she also moved the remains of her infant son Alvin and added those of her second son Clarence in 1905, who died from a sudden illness., . Background photograph of First Street from Avenue D by Gilbert Horton, circa 1885,

"There was no time to be lonesome."

Mary Low, age 11, and her family were members of the Denny Party that arrived at Alki Point in 1851. Many of the Denny Party became the first settlers of Seattle. The Lows, however, settled in Port Madison, Kitsap County, where Mary worked as a teacher, and ended up marrying her boss Woodbury Sinclair, the school district clerk and a lumberman, on March 4, 1862. Two years later, Woodbury was in Cadyville (the first name for Snohomish) where he purchased Edson Cady's claim on the north bank of the Snohomish River. The purchase included a small shack that Woodbury and a business partner later opened as a store catering to the local loggers.

Mary, their infant son and the household goods arrived on May 1, 1865, which she described in a 1911 remembrance: "As the steamer landed on the gravel bank near the foot of Maple Street, a small clearing appeared in the otherwise unbroken timber. The town consisted of a rough log house on the bank in which supplies were stored. The store further back was a twelve-by-sixteen-foot shack. The old building still standing [in 1911] at the corner of Maple and Commercial Streets, without windows, doors, or floor, in time was used for the store, with living rooms in the back."

The infant Alvin died
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20 days after Mary's arrival. "There was no time to be lonesome. The women, young and hopeful, fearing neither danger or privation, soon began to make things look homelike, growing Sweet Williams, Marigolds and Hollyhocks. Frogs sang cheerily in the nearby marshes; mosquitoes kept the people busy building smudges. Wild game was plentiful. The Indians brought venison, wild ducks, fish and clams. Also, the ranchers from Snoqualmie Prairie brought delicious hams and bacon of their own curing."

[Photo captions, top to bottom, read]
• Portrait of Mary Low Sinclair (1842-1922) by Seattle's LaRoche Studio, 1905

• Labeled as the "County Seat 1865" by historian William Whitfield in the 1920s, this image is believed to be the first photograph of Snohomish, credited to the New York photographer Sammis. The Fergusion's Blue Eagle Saloon is on the left, while the Sinclair store and home is on the right.

The man posing in the foreground, on the south bank of the river, may be Woodbury Sinclair. At the time of his sudden death in 1872, the Sinclairs were in the process of donating three acres on the eastern edge of their plat, alongside the Pilchuck River, to establish the county's first graveyard.

Mary ordered a headstone of white marble, three feet tall, to create a memorial for Woodbury in the new cemetery, where she

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 30, 2021

2. Mary Low Sinclair Marker

Looking west along 1st Street

also moved the remains of her infant son Alvin and added those of her second son Clarence in 1905, who died from a sudden illness.

• Background photograph of First Street from Avenue D by Gilbert Horton, circa 1885

Erected by City of Snohomish. (Marker Number 4.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Settlements & Settlers • Women. A significant historical date for this entry is March 4, 1862.

Location. 47° 54.674′ N, 122° 5.594′ W. Marker is in Snohomish, Washington, in Snohomish County. Marker is at the intersection of 1st Street and Union Avenue, on the right when traveling east on 1st Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 901 1st Street, Snohomish WA 98290, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Ferguson Family (here, next to this marker); 901 First Street Building, 1900 (here, next to this marker); Site of Commercial Bank & Wilbur Pharmacy (a few steps from this marker); Snohomish Public Library (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Ferguson Cottage (about 300 feet away); Douglas Fir Log (about 400 feet away); Snohomish Post Office (about 400 feet away); Otten Dry Goods Store (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Snohomish.

Also see . . .
1. Snohomish Stories

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. (Submitted on August 6, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Mary Low Sinclair (Snohomish County Womens Legacy Project). (Submitted on August 6, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)

Credits. This page was last revised on August 6, 2021. It was originally submitted on August 6, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 198 times since then and 29 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 6, 2021, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.