Fall City

History

The first settlements in the area were two forts built in 1856 during the Puget Sound War to protect future settlers against possible uprisings by the native population. Fort Patterson, a few miles downstream, and Fort Tilton, a few miles upstream, were built with the help of Indians led by Chief Patkanim, and both were abandoned within two years after interactions with the local tribes remained peaceful. A historical marker can be found north of Fall City on Fish Hatchery Road where Fort Tilton once stood. A trading post was established near the present-day location of the Last Frontier Saloon in 1869 and became a hub of the local economy. Fall City was known at the time as "The Landing", as shallow water and rapids upstream on the Snoqualmie were impassable to the large dugout canoes used to transport goods. In the early 1870s, the first local mill in the Snoqualmie Valley was opened at the mouth of Tokul Creek, just downstream from Snoqualmie Falls and just upstream from where Fall City would be. The Fall City post office opened June 10, 1872. Small steamboats started ferrying supplies up the river in 1875. In the late 1880s, a group of Puget Sound businessmen founded and started building the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, including a line up into the upper Snoqualmie Valley, in an attempt to build a line over the Cascade Range. The land claim holder at the time, Jeremiah "Jerry" Borst, had Fall City surveyed and platted in anticipation of the people the railroad would bring, but was disappointed in 1889 when the railroad line was built a mile (1.6 km) away from the community. But even a mile away, the railroad, combined with the first bridge over the Snoqualmie River, greatly improved the local lumber mills' and farmers' business, and made the…

Geography

Fall City is in central King County at the confluence of the Snoqualmie River and the Raging River. The rivers are sometimes flooded during the autumn and winter. More typical is a strong east wind as pressure gradients carry higher pressure air across Snoqualmie Pass and down the Snoqualmie Valley. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and or 1.52%, are water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  28,663
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  28,392
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  28,036
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  27,371
• Spotted Towhee

  Pipilo maculatus Swainson, 1827 · Aves
  24,714
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  24,707
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,422
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  19,001

Most recent

• M 2.86 — 2026-06-08
  2 km ESE of Oak Harbor, Washington
• M 2.84 — 2026-05-27
  4 km W of Wauna, Washington
• M 2.75 — 2026-04-11
  13 km NW of Cliffdell, Washington
• M 2.86 — 2026-03-11
  2 km W of Home, Washington
• M 3.02 — 2026-02-24
  4 km ESE of Cathcart, Washington
• M 2.6 — 2026-01-25
  1 km ENE of Enetai, Washington