The Bicycle Tree

If you were to ask people today what comes to mind when they think of the City of Snohomish they might say antiques, historic homes, hot air balloons, or maybe corn mazes. However, if you had asked this question a hundred years ago they very likely would have mentioned The Bicycle Tree.

Longtime residents of Snohomish might have memories of a bicycle tree but they might not realize there have been two of them.

According to a February 27, 2002 Snohomish County Tribune article, the first Bicycle Tree was a 600 year old western cedar located on Airport Way.

It resided on land purchased by Mr. Abel Johnson in 1877. This property had a road built on it that went right by the tree.

In late 1800s bicycling became a very popular activity throughout the United States, so much so that it has been called a "bicycle craze". The City of Snohomish was not immune to this craze and a bike path was constructed alongside the road on Mr. Johnson's property and around one particular tree.

A January 2nd, 1914 Snohomish Tribune article reviewing the history of the tree explains that Lew Paramore, a Snohomish druggist and an officer in the local bicycle club got the idea that a tunnel could be carved through the tree.

In 1898 Jonathan Milligan, a giant of a man, was hired to carve out the tunnel for the sum of $15.00 (other accounts say $25.00). Some accounts state that Milligan noticed the center of the tree was rotten and therefore knew it would be an easier job than it appeared. ( Milligan is pictured below with Herman Siewert. )

In our archives we have a 1960 letter from the Snohomish Librarian Geraldine Earls describing the history of the Bicycle Tree. In that letter she states the inside of the tunnel was finished off by a local carpenter named William Tetzlof.

As with most local history stories some of the facts are difficult to nail down. Ironically, the exact date of when the first Bicycle Tree came down appears to be one of those tricky details. Different sources have the date anywhere from 1924 to 1928. The picture below is from River Reflections volume 1 and the caption states 1928. The letter from Geraldine Earls states 1926.

It is not clear where this confusion stems from, we have been able to find articles in the Everett Herald and Snohomish Tribune that mark the date of the fall as December 2nd, 1927. A December 3rd, 1927 Everett Herald article states: "A combination of decayed roots, earth softened by rain and flood water and an unusually strong gust of wind at 2:45 p.m. Friday caused the tree to fall."

However, this is not the end of the Bicycle Tree story. The February 27, 2002 Snohomish County Tribune article states that soon after the fall of the first Bicycle Tree, another tree across the street was soon given the name, even though for decades it lacked the tunnel. Finally, in 1971, the tunnel of the second Bicycle Tree was carved out.

Unfortunately, the fate of the second Bicycle Tree is not so glorious. Over the next years it was vandalized and on a number of occasions set on fire. Later, for safety, the weakened tree was cut off just above the tunnel. It was finally removed in February 2002.

A testament to the popularity of the original Bicycle Tree is the existance of a large number of photographs. You can find an article on the HistoryLink website which includes a slideshow of postcards here: http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=8526

A large photograph is also on display in the Snohomish Library's Local History area.

Nate - Snohomish Library Reference