Index is a town in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 178 at the 2010 census. Take a look below for 15 awesome and fun facts about Index, Washington, United States.
1. Prior to settlement by White Americans, the Skykomish lived in the area between Sultan and Index.
2. The Skykomish had a village along the north bank of the river named xɬ’xausalt, located at the present site of Index.
3. Logging and lumber booms in the latter half of the 19th century led to the growth of minor settlements in the eastern part of what became Snohomish County in 1861.
4. A gold strike in 1889 at nearby Monte Cristo fueled another influx of prospectors and settlers.
5. Index was founded in 1889 on the homestead of Amos Gunn in 1889, whose home was also a hotel for prospectors and surveyors.
6. The town was named for nearby Mount Index (later renamed Baring Mountain), itself named for its resemblance to an index finger.
7. The settlement gained a post office in 1891 and saw major growth after the arrival of the Great Northern Railway.
8. Gunn filed his town plat for Index on April 25, 1893, three months before a major fire on July 22 destroyed most of its buildings.
9. Index was officially incorporated on October 11, 1907. Its population peaked during the decade at 1,000 and has since declined to 200.
10. The Index area had few jobs and services, with only a single restaurant and general store by the 1980s to serve a population of around 150.
11. The Snohomish County Public Utility District had planned to build a hydroelectric power plant at Sunset Falls near Index in the early 2010s, but abandoned the project after it was opposed by environmentalists and local residents.
12. The local economy has switched from extraction industries to tourism. Paradise Sound maintains a recording studio called Studio X where Jerry Cantrell and The Walkabouts have recorded albums.
13. For many years, the Red Men Hall fraternal lodge, the largest building in town, served as the center for social life.
14. It collapsed in 2009 after a severe snowstorm and was subsequently demolished. Another historic building in Index, the Bush House, was named an endangered landmark by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation.
15. Index is located 1 mile (1.6 km) northeast of U.S. Route 2 (US 2), which connects Everett to the Skykomish Valley and Stevens Pass.
