| Shoreline: A New City with an Old History - by Jeremy Nickolas Allen Having been incorporated into King County in only 1995, the city of Shoreline is relatively new. However, the region itself can hardly be described as young. The history of this 11.74 square mile plot of land just north of Seattle stretches back considerably farther than the 1990's. The area's earliest residents were the Native American groups that traveled along the edges of the Puget Sound to gather sword fern and ingredients for kinnikinic, a preparation of leaves and bark used by the Northwest natives. These groups also developed areas in the highlands by setting controlled fires, which created open meadows conducive to plant cultivation as well as being inviting to small game for hunting. The texture of the land was to change even further when, in 1890, the Great Northern Railroad first passed through. A station was founded in Richmond Beach, and settlements quickly grew around it. In 1906 the outcrop was spurred onward by the creation of the Interurban Rail Line. The Interurban stretched north to south, linking Seattle and Everett, and stopped in Shoreline along what is now Aurora Ave at 175th and 185th streets. The areas surrounding these stops were soon booming with commerce, and with the bricking of the North Trunk Road in 1913, the path to development was plowed even wider. The early 1900's witnessed an explosion of growth in Shoreline. With roads, trains, and busses (1914) linking them to the amenities of the city, people flocked to the region for the same reasons that people do now: more space and less stress. Along with its commercial businesses, Shoreline also boasted two elementary schools and the Seattle & Highlands Golf Club. The area surged with vitality, and growth could only be curbed by the Great Depression and World War II, which weighed down the entire nation. In the late 1930's, the only new businesses in Shoreline were, by in large, car based ventures that sprouted up along Aurora Ave. These businesses were spurred by the closing of the Interurban line, with the change making this section of US Highway 99 the main route for north south travel in the region. The second World War's only real growth was in the form a massive Naval hospital that, at its peak, hosted some 2000 patients and 600 staff members. However, once the war was over life once again renewed the region; young men and their family's, now armed with GI Bills and high ambitions, swarmed the area to build their new lives. This period of growth witnessed massive new housing developments and the unification of the region as a vital community. Development was no longer limited to the areas immediately surrounding highways and rail lines-it was everywhere. The post WWII period not only saw the creation of massive housing developments such as Ridgecrest, but it also marked the actual christening of the region as Shoreline. The name, thought up by a student, was appointed to describe a school district which spanned from the shores of the Puget Sound in the west to the shores of Lake Washington in the east. The name stuck, and the community prospered. In the 1960's Shoreline was gifted its community college. The college not only serves as a gateway to all of Washington State's prestigious universities, but also features well renowned dental and automotive programs, among its many other excellent technical curriculums. Bordering the school is the picturesque Boeing Creek Park, nurturing towering patches of old growth forest and jaw-dropping views of the sound. The park was named after its previous owner William Boeing, who had used the land as a hunting retreat. Finally, in 1995 the region voted to incorporate Shoreline as a city unto its own. Citizens felt this action was the best way to protect their schools from being annexed into the neighboring Seattle school district as well as boosting their civic services. The city's plan succeeded. Today Shoreline is a thriving community of 53,000 residents. Shoreline's 2002 budget was $48.3 million, and it has been ranked as the 12th largest city in Washington State. Although it has only technically been a city for barely a decade, this proud and distinct community can look on a history that stretches back to the Native Americans that originally settled all of this wonderful state of Washington.
~Information for this article was provided in part by the Shoreline Municipal website.
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