Index, Washington - Snohomish County Washington, Past Achievements, Present Status, Future

Snohomish County Washington, Past Achievements, Present Status, Future

The number of tourists who wend their way to Index, Washington, has steadily increased for many years, and will naturally continue to do so as the charm of its climate and the wonders of its environment become more widely known.

Nestling in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, the town is often compared to one or other of the Alpine resorts of Switzerland and this comparison is fully justified by the many points of striking analogy.

Index is literally encompassed by jagged mountain peaks, rising abruptly from wooded hillsides and glowing white and gold against an azure sky.

Plant Of The

Nowhere in Western Washington are the woods more beautiful than here - a dense forest of gigantic firs, cedar, spruce and hemlock, intermingled with berries, ferns and mosses of interminable variety.

Numerous lakes and beautiful waterfalls are easily reached by mountain trail, while trout of many species (particularly the famous rainbow) abound in the adjacent streams and in the riotous Skykomish River, upon the banks of which the town is built. The hunter, too, finds ample opportunity for the gratification of his inclinations - bear, cougar and mountain goat not infrequently rewarding the intrepid marksman who ventures far into the hills.

So remarkable, indeed, are the wonders of Nature's handiwork in the vicinity and so diversified are the opportunities for recreative enjoyment, that the popularity of Index rowth - it is already 2 center of industrial activity and obviously destined to develop in this direction. In other words, the value of its natural resources lies not alone in their esthetic attractions but even more in the commercial operations which they combine in making possible. "4 ;

The forest resources have given birth to three important lumber manufacturing institutions which employ a large number of men and pay out approximately $16,000 per month in wages alone. The presence and accessibility of granite rock, of a quality that is unexcellable and to an extent that is incalculable, justifies the prediction that this industry (already an important factor) will soon equal and ultimately surpass the lumber industry in permanence and value; while the work already accomplished in the development of mineral resources has clearly proven the presence of gold, silver, lead and copper ores in the adjacent mountains of the Cascade range. Here again the prospects for community development are most pronounced - for on the one hand the mining possibilities of Snohomish County are just beginning to receive the attention they deserve, and on the other hand the location of Index in proximity to the ores and on the main line of the Great Northern Railroad is one of dual and obvious advantage.