Issaquah and Snoqualmie Falls

Monday, June 24, 2017

White settlers began arriving in Issaquah in the 1860’s drawn by the fertile farmland.   Issaquah was officially incorporated on April 29, 1892 under the name Gilman after Daniel H. Gilman who brought the railroad to town, but in 1899 residents petitioned to change the name to a closer approximation to the Native American name of “isoquoh.”   Issaquah was a small mining town developed to service the mining industry on nearby Squak and Cougar mountains.  Today it is a bustling suburb area of Seattle with a population of over 37,000. 

We drove around downtown taking in some of the old historic buildings among which are the Issaquah Depot, Shell Station and the Darigold Plant.   

Issaquah Depot was completed in 1889 with rail service through the town until 1958 when freight service ended. 

The Shell station and Hailstone Feed Store was operated in the 1940’s.  

The Darigold Plant has been in continuous use since 1909.  These murals appear on the walls of the Plant. 

Leaving downtown we headed to Lake Sammamish State Park just to the north of town.  It is a lovely large lake with a nice sandy beach and picnic areas which are being well used today. 

Driving further north along the Lake Sammamish Parkway we wind our way above Lake Sammamish with beautiful homes sitting right next to the sparking blue water as we head to the communities of Redmond,  Fall City and Snoqualmie where there is a gorgeous falls. 

The Snoqualmie Falls is located in a lovely wooded area just north of the town of Snoqualmie with a covered pedestrian bridge to walk across the highway to the Falls.    Over a million people come to see this Falls every year. 

The view from  the pedestrian bridge

In the town of Snoqualmie we find yet another restored old railway station with a number of train cars and engines parked nearby and a museum in the depot. 

We also found this totem pole displayed. They are very common to the Northwest.

 One of the things we have been finding interesting on this trip are all the murals on the sides of buildings in the towns we visit.  They are all different and interesting. Here is but another.

Further on we arrive in North Bend where we end our day taking I-90 back to Issaquah.  Tomorrow we will head into Seattle to see more attractions.