Mount Vernon, WA

A massive old log jam in the Skagit River initially kept large ships from reaching the settlement that became Mount Vernon. Jasper Gates and Joseph Dwelley settled on the riverbank in 1870, and logging brought early growth. In 1912, Mount Vernon became the southern terminus of an interurban line that carried daytime passengers and nighttime freight to Bellingham, Burlington, and Sedro-Woolley. The 2020 census recorded 35,219 people in the Skagit County seat, which lies about 51 miles south of the Canadian border. Each year, the surrounding valley grows millions of tulips for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, accompanied by a downtown street fair.