We inaugurate this series with the oldest image of our collection, dated 1866. When I removed it from its modest frame in order to scan the image it was discovered that this rare albumen print had been taped to the glass and its edges were slowly turning silver.

The inscription in graceful period handwriting on the reverse reads, “The County Seat in 1866. The Eagle Saloon conducted by E. C. Ferguson on the left of the picture, Sinclair and Clendenning Store on the right.” And in a different hand on Wm. Whitfield stationary glued to the back, “Snohomish in 1866. Taken from south bank of Snohomish River.”

Wm. Whitfield was a pioneer businessman and historian who wrote a comprehensive history of Snohomish County published in 1926, and I would like to believe that this photograph hung in his office at 138 Maple Street offering inspiration, as it does for me.

David Dilgard, history specialist with the Everett Public Library’s Northwest Room, has done some digging into who might have been the photographer of this unaccredited image; and in collaboration with the University of Washington Special Collections, he is reasonably certain that it was taken by E. M. Sammis on his way to photograph “The Falls of the Snoqualmie,” as they were referred to at the time. Sammis, from New York, had a studio in Seattle from 1861 to 1866, during which time he captured the only studio photograph of Chief Seattle.

The Now image is a self-portrait where I am standing in the same spot as the unidentified man in the historic image. Of course, this is the boat launch at our Cady Park; and in fact, this clearing on the north bank of the river was first called Cadyville. Of particular interest is the dramatic change in vegetation and the complete absence of the giant firs that greeted our first residents.