Avon, Washington facts for kids

Avon, Washington is a small community in Skagit County, Washington. It's located right along the Skagit River, near the towns of Mount Vernon and Burlington. Some local historians think Avon might be named after Stratford-upon-Avon in England.

Avon's Early Days

Avon started as a busy waterfront town, important for logging and shipping goods on the Skagit River. The first part of the town was located east of Bennett Road and south of Avon Street. Before 1879, huge piles of logs, called "log jams," blocked the Skagit River further west.

Early settlers cut down many Western Red cedar trees in the area. These trees were used to make "shingle bolts," which are pieces of wood used for roof shingles. After the logging was done, the land was cleared, and Avon grew into a proper town.

First Settlers and Businesses

Some of the first people to settle in Avon were Thomas McCain in 1876 and Charles Conrad in 1881. Arthur Henry Skaling opened a store on October 27, 1883. He bought the land from W.H. Miller, who had settled there the year before. An early resident, Ada Hall, said that W.H. Miller built the very first house in Avon in 1874.

Soon, Avon was a busy place! It had a mill that made shingles, a post office, and even a boat builder. There were also several stores, a company that sold farm tools, a newspaper called The Avon Record, a restaurant, a hotel, and a barber shop. People could also find two "milliners" (people who made and sold hats) and a stage line for travel.

Community Buildings

The Methodists started a church in Avon in 1884. The church building you see today was built in 1887. It was originally closer to the river but was moved around 1920 to its current spot. By 1889, about 500 people lived in Avon.

The Avon school was built in 1892. It was located at the southwest corner of Avon Allen Road and Bennett Road. The gymnasium part of the school building is still there today. There was also an IOOF Hall, built in 1891, which stood at the southeast corner of town. This building is no longer there.

Changes Over Time

In 1906, the Avon Post Office closed, and its services moved to Mount Vernon. After a big flood in 1909, many buildings near the river were moved further away. This was to protect them with a new wall built to hold back floodwaters, called a dike.

As boats became less important for transportation and trains and cars became more popular, Avon slowly changed. It went from being a busy waterfront town to a quiet place where people live. Most of the original buildings are gone now, except for a few homes built before 1900, the old school gymnasium, and the Methodist church.