On December 28, 1903, the cities of Whatcom and Fairhaven merge to form the city of Bellingham. The new city originally consisted of four separate communities: Bellingham, Fairhaven, Sehome, and Whatcom, but consolidation in 1890 and 1891 left two municipalities remaining – Fairhaven and New Whatcom (later renamed Whatcom). By the dawn of the twentieth century, the cities were so closely linked that civic leaders decided unification made sense. Voters in Fairhaven and Whatcom approved a proposal to unite in October 1903, leading to the birth of Bellingham two months later.
Four In One
Whatcom was the oldest of the four communities and also was the county seat. Located in today's Old Town in Bellingham, Whatcom was first settled in December 1852 by Henry Roeder (1824-1902) and Russell Peabody (1827-1868) when they established a lumber mill near Bellingham Bay on Whatcom Creek. In 1853, two other communities formed nearby: Fairhaven, now the Fairhaven neighborhood of South Bellingham, and Bellingham, a smaller village immediately north of Fairhaven, near present-day Boulevard Park. Sehome, now Bellingham's downtown, followed in 1854.
Whatcom grew more quickly than Sehome and Fairhaven, while Bellingham, the smallest of the four, hardly grew at all. It was platted in 1871 but was never incorporated, whereas the other three communities were: Whatcom in 1883, Sehome in 1888, and Fairhaven in 1890. Sehome was incorporated by order of a territorial judge pursuant to statute, but in February 1890 the Washington Supreme Court held that the statute was unconstitutional because it delegated a legislative function to the judiciary. This invalidated Sehome's incorporation, and two months later the city incorporated as New Whatcom. Fairhaven incorporated that same spring and absorbed the Bellingham community in the process.
In August 1890 Whatcom and New Whatcom held a vote on whether to consolidate, but while it passed by a landslide in Whatcom, it failed in New Whatcom. At this point community leaders held talks to discuss uniting all three cities of Whatcom, New Whatcom, and Fairhaven. An informal vote in September even adopted the name Bellingham for the proposed new city. But Fairhaven, which had not been particularly interested in the idea, withdrew from the discussions, while the two Whatcoms continued efforts to consolidate. A new measure to merge passed by a wide margin in late December, and the city of New Whatcom was born in early 1891. This iteration lasted for 10 years, until the 1901 Washington Legislature, in a quest to eliminate "new" from city names, passed an act that changed name of the city to Whatcom.
There had been episodic talk of uniting the four communities as far back as the 1850s, with serious discussions in 1890, but rivalries between them had prevented it. But as the twentieth century got underway, this competition was dissipating. Fairhaven and Whatcom had grown to the point where the two cities abutted each other, and they shared a commonality of interest that helped them recognize the combined benefits of a single municipal government. Once again, there was debate over what to name the new city. Whatcom was the traditional favorite – it also was considerably larger than Fairhaven – but Fairhaven stoutly argued for the title, while Sehome backers argued its moniker was the most evocative of what the city really was, a home by the sea. In the end Bellingham was chosen, primarily as a compromise since the original town had been far too small to become involved in the rivalries which had existed between the other communities.
Bellingham is Born
In September 1903, petitions to start the consolidation process were circulated in Whatcom and Fairhaven. The necessary signatures were gathered, and the proposition went to the voters on October 27. It passed in Whatcom by a resounding 1,583 to 252 vote; in Fairhaven, it passed by a closer but no less convincing total of 580 to 344. Both communities welcomed the news by setting red (the traditional color of luck) bonfires, and a crowd of excited Fairhaven citizens, accompanied by a band, marched to Commercial Point, where they were met by an equally enthusiastic crowd of Whatcom residents. The Hackett cold-storage warehouse was located at Commercial Point, and the crowd came together on the roof of the building for an impromptu celebration. There were plenty of pontificating speeches, and a group of old soldiers, including both Union and Confederate veterans from the U.S. Civil War 40 years earlier, raised a large American flag with a streamer bearing the name of the new city.
There were a few hiccups on the way to making it official. There was a technical question whether the new city had to wait six months before electing city officers, and a few diehard residents of the two former cities threatened litigation to contest the consolidation. These issues were soon resolved. An election for Bellingham's first officers was held December 12, and Alfred Black, the last mayor of Fairhaven, was elected the first mayor of Bellingham. A new, 12-man city council was also elected, with seven members from Fairhaven and five from Whatcom.
The big day was set for Monday, December 28, 1903. At 8 p.m. that evening the Whatcom City Council met in the council chamber to conclude the business of the city, Fairhaven having already done so. A big crowd assembled in the armory of City Hall, and shortly after 10 p.m. they were joined by the two outgoing executives, Mayor J. B. Bennett of Whatcom and Alfred Black of Fairhaven. Bennett announced, "Fellow citizens: The auspicious hour has arrived. The official existence of Whatcom and Fairhaven is at an end ... Farewell, Whatcom and Fairhaven. Hail, Bellingham, all hail!" ("City of Bellingham…"). As he spoke, the bell atop City Hall slowly tolled. It was 10:11 p.m.
Bennett turned to Black and presented him with a ceremonial token of authority as the new mayor. The crowd erupted in a joyous cheer, and church and fire bells rang throughout the city as the chief executive was sworn in by Judge Jeremiah Neterer (1862-1943). The city council was sworn in, and Black followed with his inaugural address, proclaiming, "The election is over, there are no sore spots to heal, no enemies to punish, so far as I am concerned, and I will use every effort to treat (the office) with equal and impartial justice to build up Bellingham and her citizens" ("City of Bellingham"). The city council held its first meeting, and by 12:30 a.m. it had made the necessary appointments, passed the appropriate ordinances, ordered a census of the city, and adopted a city seal. The census, taken four weeks later, showed Bellingham's population to be 22,632.
