Historic Asset Inventory

County-wide project:

HistoricAL MAPPING SYSTEM

LOSCHO maintains a mapping system that allows users to overlay a variety of vintage maps, all of which have been accurately scaled and aligned (i.e. “geo-referenced) to match modern survey references. This allows for easy comparison between the historical maps (including homestead lines) as well as between those maps and modern parcel surveys and aerial photographs.

Included in the system are early railroad maps, mining maps, township maps from 1910 through 1975, detailed downtown maps of most communities, fire insurance maps of many communities, a variety of heritage-related items such as the Centennial Trail and various “County Corners”, and an assortment of survey references such as township/section boundaries, city boundaries, topographic lines, and parcel lines. All can be directly compared on-screen at 13 LOSCHO sites.

Also included is a preliminary inventory of historical assets across unincorporated Snohomish County. In 2015, the county enlisted the aid of a consulting firm to gather and verify a list of historic assets, stipulating that the list would be obtained by first examining county records to identify properties with potentially historic structures (i.e. over 50 years old), and then conducting extensive drive-by examinations to verify the integrity and character of those identified. This Historic Resource Scan yielded 13,855 properties, and included drive-by examination of almost 8000 of those. LOSCHO refined that list by selecting only those homes over 100 years old judged to have both high integrity and high character, all civic buildings identified, only those commercial building built prior to WWII, and all industrial sites. To those were added items generally not present in the county data such as cemeteries, railroads, bridges, tunnels, mining/industrial sites, lookouts, etc. The total set came to about 465 items that were located accurately and for which LOSCHO completed most of the preliminary historic inventory forms. The county plans to hire another consultant in 2018 to complete the refinement of the list of assets comprising the inventory, and once that is complete, LOSCHO plans to include those items in the historic mapping system.

Users requiring can access the LOSCHO system with all detail at 13 different LOSCHO member sites.

While the mapping system is comprised of over 330GB of data (too much for us to conveniently share online), much of the capability has also been streamlined for online access:

​1) An interactive online map allowing the user to explore Snohomish County ca. 1910 can be accessed on a PC, tablet, or smartphone at: https://loscho.maps.arcgis.com/apps/StorytellingSwipe/index.html?appid=408cad1ea69943bb8aa15dc87d6cd50a#

2) An interactive online map allowing the user to overlay maps from 1910 through 1975, original homesteads, early railroads, and “County Corners”, and to explore them on a PC, tablet, or smartphone at: https://loscho.maps.arcgis.com/apps/PublicInformation/index.html?appid=d88679dd9d04410f806546b0d7f776f2

3) A map of 465 significant items, comprised of a subset of the 2015 Historic Resource Scan contracted by Snohomish County augmented with LOSCHO additions, can be found at:https://loscho.maps.arcgis.com/apps/StorytellingSwipe/index.html?appid=93618e0d7d94433ca2740bebbd684f55

This set will be refined through an actual Historic Asset Inventory which will start in 2019, and is intended to allow us to keep track of various districts, sites, and buildings important to our history.