Until the 1880's, the area around Lookout Mountain was a wilderness with virgin timber and few settlers. With rail service it became a logging camp, which later became Alger.

During World War I, the camp produced wood for airplanes being built for fighting in France. After the timber industry declined, only farms and homes remained.

Old Highway 99, which connects Burlington, Alger, and Bellingham, is a nice country alternative which parallels Interstate 5.
Between Blanchard and Bow there used to be a commune called Equality Colony. At one time, it had more than 200 residents who operated a mill and fishing boat, farmed, and had a newspaper and a school. The only remaining evidence of this commune are the names on signs like Colony Road and Colony Creek.

Hunters, trappers, prospectors, soldiers, and surveyors were the early white settlers. They became farmers of fruit, cabbage, cauliflower, and hops and raised cattle. The native people were the Samish and the Swinomish Indians. The Samish lived on Samish Island, Guemes Island, and on the northern part of Fidalgo Island. The Swinomish lived on the southern part of Fidalgo Island, northern Whidbey, and on part of the Skagit (meaning "hide from the enemy" pronounced Ska-jit) River delta.

The Cap Sante area was called The Portage in 1870 and the area along the Guemes Channel came to be called Ship Harbor. At that time, Anacortes was also known as City of Necessity, Magic City, and Squaw Harbor. In 1876, when Amos Bowman and his wife moved to the eastern area of Ship Harbor, he established a post office and named the city Anacortes, derived from his wife's maiden name Anna Curtis. It was his dream that Anacortes would become the terminus for a trancontinental railroad.

Not to be kept down for long, Anacortes incorporated as a city in 1891 and began the road to economic recovery in its fresh identity as a fish and lumber town. Dozens of fish processing plants were built for salmon canning and codfish curing. Chinese immigrants who worked in the canneries experienced a great deal of prejudice. By 1903, there were four shingle mills and three sawmills, forming the second major industry of Anacortes. Sloans Shipyard on Guemes Island, built ships during World War I, and employed 600 people in the spring of 1917.

Shell and Texaco both built refineries on March's Point in the late 1950's and in 1960 expensive housing developments were built, most notably in the Skyline area. Marinas, motels, and other tourist based industries emerged.

Bow was born in l902 when the Great Northern Railroad rerouted its main north-south line to follow around the foot of the Chuckanut Mountains. It became the rail stop for the Samish flats.

Travel to Edison was along the dikes and on the waterways leading to Samish Island for many years. It soon became an agriculture and logging center. Oyster cultivation in the Samish flats prospered nearby.

Both Bow and Edison intersect scenic Chuckanut Drive and have several wonderful shops and restaurants to attract visitors.

Burlington is located at the crossroads of Interstate 5 and Highway 20 and has become known as the retail hub of Northwest Washington.

Agriculture is the major industry and consists of dairy farms, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, potatoes, green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, wheat, corn, and carrots as mainstays. Every year, in the middle of June, it recognizes its agricultural history with a community celebration called Berry Dairy Days.

The city also boasts a regional shopping mall called Cascade Mall and a large factory Outlet Center along with a number of national retailers on Burlington Boulevard located adjacent to Interstate 5.

Conway started out as just a ferry landing across the South Fork of the Skagit River. It served the nearby Norwegian-populated town of Cedardale and other areas.

Today Conway has a small business district, its own school district for grades K-8, and a small riverside county park which is used primarily by fishermen. Many of the old, elevated houses can still be seen in the residential community.

Charles Mann's Landing, with its store, was an important river stop on the South Fork of the Skagit River, and became the twon of Fir. It was connected to Conway by ferry. All that is left of Fir today, is the historic Fir-Conway Lutheran Church.

Skagit City, which was located just below the fork of the Skagit River, was a welcome refuge when log jams kept steamers from traveling further up the Skagit. Today there isn't much left but a road.

The Town of La Conner which has a population of approximately 770 is located along the eastern shores of the Swinomish Slough just a few miles south of Highway 20.

Its rich history can be traced back to the first trading post on the Swinomish flats right where the town now stands when the Swinomish post office was established by Alonzo Low in the spring of 1867.

At this time, there were no roads or other settlements in Skagit County and all travel was accomplished by water, making the Swinomish Slough the "highway" of the time.

Canoes were used to hunt, fish, fight, and ship goods. They gave freedom to travel in mountainous and isolated areas. Each fall, whole villages would paddle to social gatherings, dances, and potlatch feasts. At death, a warrior's body was wrapped in blankets or rush mats and placed in the largest canoe he owned. A smaller canoe was placed on top and then it was all set upon a light scaffolding, or hauled high in the tree tops.

The Swinomish Indians currently have 123 fishing boats registered on their reservation. This includes river skiffs, bow pickers, gill netters and purse seiners. They fish for salmon, crab, clams, and sea urchins. The Swinomish practice their native religion in a traditional 200-foot long smokehouse that can seat up to 1,200 people. However, most of these ceremonies are closed to the public.

The Skagit County Historical Museum in La Conner has one of the slower, smaller voyaging canoes on display. The Legends Art Gallery, located on La Conner's waterfront, carries Northwest Coastal art, including masks and jewelry.