THE TINY TOWN: Grace, Washington
THE TINY TOWN: Grace, Washington
If you were to google search Grace, Washington, two things are gonna happen. You’re gonna find 30 stories about someone by the name of Grace Washington or Nancy Grace is reporting on something bad that happened in Washington, before you find something about this tiny town. Grace sits just off state route 522, where if you slow down enough to where the car behind you honks their horn, you’ll see a sign that reads, "Town of Grace. Established in 1906. Population 12".
That’s right only 12 people live in Grace. As in the ’12’ Seahawks players. Ironically, the tiny town is only .06 miles long. You can fit the Town of Grace in and around Lumen Field.
Back in the 1900’s a lumber mill was built on Bear Creek, just north of the Snohomish County line. And the Town of Grace was born. Soon Grace grew to about 300 people as other mills moved in. And like other small settlements, Grace had a two room schoolhouse with one teach teaching Kindergarten through 12th grade, a general store, post office, a train station (of course) and…a slaughterhouse.
But over the years, the mills and farms went away. And never officially became a ‘city’, like their rivalry neighboring town of Woodinville in 1993. But that’s just fine with the 12 residents of Grace. Left behind were a few businesses and a sense of humor. In fact, the Town of Grace has become famously known for its quirky signs throughout the town that put a smile on passerby’s. And behind it all is life long mayor Terry Jarvis. And if you don’t believe he’s the mayor, just look at the city sign. Much like Twitter, if it’s on the sign, it has to be true.
Some of the more notable signs, “When you live in Town of Grace, you need 3 bones. Wishbone, Backbone. And a funny bone”. “Please remove your shoes and politics before entering the Town of Grace”. “Most expensive vehicle in Grace is a Costco shopping cart.” And perhaps one of the best known sign is th one just above the ‘toll booth’, which is a blue port-a-potty that says, “Town of Grace Toll Authority. Honor system strictly enforced”. Drivers throw coins as they pass by. As for the Costco sign? Yep. There’s a Costco in town. Which the mayor brags about. “We have a Costco, and Woodinville doesn’t.” Which means quite a few people from neighboring cities actually come into Grace to shop. Unlike some of the other tiny towns of Washington where they’re out in the middle of nowhere, the Town of Grace isn’t one of those. In fact, as the population of Western Washington expands east from Seattle, the Town of Grace is blending in with the new landscape. Grace is only a 15 minute drive from Bellevue.
So you think you want to move to the Grace, Washington? Not gonna happen, unless someone moves out. You see, the, “population 12” on the town sign is permanently engraved.