Dentist Near Mountainlake Terrace, WA

About Mountainlake Terrace, WA

History

Mountlake Terrace, Washington is a city in the southwestern corner of the state of Washington in Snohomish County. A suburb of Seattle, the city is situated just to the north of the city. In the early to mid-nineteenth century, the area was dense forest and was hunting territory to the Snohomish people. In 1862, the Puget Mill Company acquired the land and began logging of the area. 50 years later, most of the county, including where the city is now located had been logged. Cleared of forest the land was divided into 10-acre plots and sold off as ranches to be used for chicken farms. Tavel to the area increased as a rail line was built between Tacoma and Everett in 1910. During World War II, the area of land was developed into a landing field by the United States government. At the end of the war, the airfield was no longer needed and was abandoned. In 1949, two local developers, Jack Peterson and Alert LaPierre, purchased the abandoned airfield and began to build small homes. The small development was named Mountlake Terrace for its views of Mount Rainier and Lake Washington. Peterson and LaPierre had small concrete homes built on an assembly line, without interior painting complete. With growth in the area and the need for homes, demands for the houses outpaced the rate at which they were being built. This lead to Peterson and LaPierre purchasing more land and building larger houses to be sold. As these houses sold quickly and the population grew it was too much for infrastructure development. Families were waiting up to a year for phone lines and streets to be paved. A local resident, Patrick McMahan, was frustrated by the living conditions and took action, forming a campaign to incorporate the community. In 1954, an election was help and incorporation was passed. The local hardware store man, Gilbert Gieser, was the first mayor. By November 29, 1954 the town was officially a city.

Today

After its incorporation in 1954, Mountlake Terrace saw rapid development, with the population doubling in size from 1950 to 1960 and then again in 1970. Originally, the city of Mountlake Terrace was intended to be a small commuter town for Seattle, Washington. Overtime the leaders of the community envisioned the city as an independent development with economic potential. At the time, the John Fluke Corporation, an electronics center, moved to the area and strip-malls of small businesses were developed. However, by 1980 development came to a halt. The population of Mountlake Terrace began to drop and the Fluke company moved locations to Everett, Washington. Today, the town’s largest employer is Premera Blue Cross, which employs over 40% of the town’s residents, some 3,000 people. As it stands, the city is 4.17 square miles and the current population density is about 4,903 inhabitants per square mile. A small portion of the Mountlake Terrace territory includes Lake Ballinger in the southwest corner. The lake serves as a popular site for boating and fishing for community residents. Lake Ballinger is partially included in the city of Edmonds, Washington as well.