All About Bellingham, WA
- by Jodie Vinson
Situated between the larger cities of Vancouver and Seattle, Bellingham is a more manageable city to explore for its historical museums and art galleries. The citys cultural past can also be viewed on a walking tour of downtown, Old Town, and Railroad Avenue.
The Lummi tribe once inhabited the coast of Bellingham Bay and the San Juan Islands, thriving on the salmon and shellfish resources in the area. This same natural richness began to draw settlers to the area around the mid 1800s. Abundant lumber on a harbor with waterfalls to power a mill was prize land according to early explorers of the Northwest. They built mills in order to process the lumber and ship it down the coast to places like San Francisco and to build the town of Victoria, B.C. Opportunities for abundant coal and gold mining also drew settlers. The towns of Whatcom, Sehome, Fairhaven and Bellingham soon developed and consolidated in 1904 into one city. Around this time the fishing industry began to boom, and canneries began to bring in many immigrant workers to Bellingham.
Although the foundation of the city, by the 1950s depleted resources caused its initial industries to fade, and Bellingham began to form a new identity. Still the citys soul can still be found in the preserved old districts of Fairhaven and Old Town, and in the landscape that originally brought its peoples to the shores of Bellingham Bay. The Port of Bellingham is currently working to redevelop a waterfront that once served as an industrial center into a marina that would better serve the communitys recreational and commercial needs. The landscape that once drew loggers and miners for industry and exploration now offers visitors and locals a variety of water oriented activities.
Community Links:
Bellingham-Whatcom Chamber of Commerce
Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism
Bellingham Washington's Community Portal
Downtown Bellingham
Port of Bellingham
Bellingham Harold Community Newspaper
Bellingham City of Subdued Excitement
