Park History
The Centennial Trail is constructed on the original railway right-of-way built north of Snohomish by the Seattle, Lake Shore, and Eastern Railroad (S.L.&E.) in 1889.
The S.L.&E. eventually connected Seattle north with Canada and linked Everett east with Stevens Pass. In 1892 the Sumas Branch line between Snohomish and Arlington was purchased from S.L.&E. by Northern Pacific and later sold to Burlington Northern, in 1970.
Operation ceased on the Hartford- Edgecomb section in 1972 and on the Snohomish- Hartford section in 1987. To the south in King County, a section of this same abandoned S.L.&E. line has become Seattle's heavily-used Burke-Gilman Trail, and King County's Sammamish River Trail.
The railroad provided local and international mail, freight, and passenger service. It carried timber from the forests, lumber from the saw mills, and iron, copper, lead, silver, and gold from Mount Pilchuck and Monte Cristo mines. Tourists could ride in open rail cars to Monte Cristo and back for the day, winding through the steep canyons of the South Fork Stillaguamish River, or go to the Big Four Inn at the ice caves on the "Mountain Loop" to the east.