Welcome to Bellingham's Centennial: Exploring the Foundations of Our Community

You will find other resources on Bellingham's history here.

Click here to return to the homepage.

Here are lessons on Bellingham's history.

Learn about early schools in Bellingham.

Learn about the early people of Bellingham.

Learn about the early industries of Bellingham.

Learn about the early towns of Bellingham.

Find activities relating to Bellingham's history here.

The Towns That Became Bellingham

Galen Biery Collection: Center for Pacific NW Studies Western Washington University

Originally, Bellingham was comprised of four smaller towns. From the earliest days of settlement, civic leaders urged the small Bellingham Bay communities to consolidate into one city. In 1853, William Bausman, editor of the first local newspaper, Northern Light, advocated that the budding towns drop their rivalries and unite. In September 1903, representatives from Whatcom and Fairhaven came jointly before the city councils with signed petitions for consolidation "to commence a movement which would make one of the greatest cities on Puget Sound on the shores of Bellingham Bay." The consolidation proposition was offered to the citizens on October 27, 1903, who voted 2759 to 596 to create the city of Bellingham. A new charter for the city was passed in July of 1904.