Florence Island (Washington)

Florence Island is the main island formed by the diked[1] river delta of the Stillaguamish River as it flows into Port Susan on Puget Sound.[2][3][4]

The historic Snohomish County settlement of Florence is located on the delta and gives the island its name. Florence Island is connected to the mainland by three bridges heading in the directions of Stanwood to the north,[5] Silvana and Arlington to the east, and Warm Beach to the south.

Bridges

Old Thomle Bridge

A truss bridge carried the main vehicular traffic over the Stilliguamish river between Stanwood and Florence. It was replaced by the current bridge in 1959 but remained open for local access for two decades.[6] The bridge was closed to traffic in 1979 after the county determined rebuilding the bridge would be too costly.[7] The bridge itself was removed and salvaged in November of 1979.[7]

Estuary restoration
Main article: Puget Sound salmon recovery

In 2022, the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians was awarded a $4.9 million grant to restore chinook salmon habitat in the Stillaguamish delta. The project involves creating a 230 acre estuary from previously diked farmland south of Boe Road on Florence Island.[8]

References
  1. "New Holland on the Sound". The Seattle Sunday Times Magazine. December 3, 1950. pp. 1, 4.
  2. "Snohomish County – Florence". An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties. Interstate Publishing Company. 1906. p. 368.
  3. Riley, Rachel (April 9, 2021). "A tall task: Finding common ground in region's floodplains – Tribes, farmers, cities and other groups make some headway in the Stillaguamish River Basin". The Everett Herald. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  4. Land claims near Steilaguamish River : Washington Territory, (1887) (Map). Florence Island (Washington). c. 1873. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  5. "Two Million in Road Work Bids Opened". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Olympia. Associated Press. July 2, 1958. p. 21.
  6. "County mulling over fate of old Thomle Bridge". Stanwood News. Stanwood, Washington. January 3, 1979. Some residents and farmers in the area concerned hope it will be possible to retain the old crossing, since without it they will be forced to drive further to the new bridge.
  7. "Old Span Removed". Stanwood News. Stanwood, Washington. November 21, 1979.
  8. "Stanwood-area salmon habitat projects get $4.9 million in state grants". Stanwood Camano News. October 4, 2022. Retrieved August 24, 2023. The site — south of the Boe Road and north of Hatt's Slough, west of the Marine Drive bridge over the Stillaguamish — is part of a larger effort to help restore salmon habitat, particularly the struggling chinook salmon.

48°13′15″N 122°21′0″W

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