Editing Monroe, Washington (section)

===Incorporation and new industries===
[[File:Carnation Condensery Stack - Monroe, WA.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|The freestanding Carnation Condensery Stack, constructed for a [[condensed milk]] plant that closed in 1928 and burned in a fire in 1944]]

On the morning of September 16, 1901, a fire started at the [[Independent Order of Odd Fellows|Odd Fellows]] community hall and spread to nearby buildings, destroying the only complete [[city block|block]] of businesses in Monroe.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 19, 1901 |title=The Old, Old Story: The Fire Fiend Comes and Finds Easy Work–The Principal Block of Business Houses Destroyed–The Insurance Light |page=1 |work=The Monroe Monitor |url=http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS09191901p01.php |via=Monroe Historical Society |access-date=October 6, 2019 |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007054550/http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS09191901p01.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> The fire caused an estimated $8,100 in damage ({{Inflation|US-GDP|8100|1901|fmt=eq|r=-3}} dollars),{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} but the businesses and buildings were rebuilt and within two years a permanent [[fire department]] was established.<ref name="HistoryLink"/>{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|pages=42–44}} Monroe was [[municipal incorporation|incorporated]] as a [[City government in Washington (state)|fourth-class town]] on December 20, 1902, following an 88–37 vote in favor.{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|page=49}}<ref>{{cite news |date=December 25, 1902 |title=Incorporated: Monroe Gives Large Majority for Home Government—Entire Citizens Ticket Elected |page=1 |work=The Monroe Monitor |url=http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS12251902p01.php |via=Monroe Historical Society |access-date=October 6, 2019 |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007055747/http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS12251902p01.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the time of incorporation, the area around Monroe had over 900 residents, five general stores, eight saloons, six restaurants, four sawmills, and five shingle mills.{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|pages=51, 63}} A new [[town hall]] building was completed in November 1908, costing $7,000 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|7000|1908|fmt=eq|r=-3}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} and paid for using a saloon license tax; the building now serves as the home of a local history [[museum]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Debra |date=November 30, 2008 |title=Monroe's old City Hall turns 100 |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/monroes-old-city-hall-turns-100/ |work=[[The Everett Herald]] |access-date=October 6, 2019}}</ref>

The new town government granted a [[tap water|municipal water]] franchise to a private company in 1903, sparking a conflict with local [[water company|water companies]]. A competing water company unsuccessfully sued the town for franchise rights, but later acquired the original franchised company to operate Monroe's water. The town government proposed to acquire the system through a buyout, but their offers were rejected. A separate gravity water system was constructed by the town in 1923 that bankrupted the private system.{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|pages=55–59}} The town government also granted franchises to private companies for [[electricity]] and a [[hospital]] in 1903.{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|page=67}} Monroe gained a new road to Snohomish in 1904, which was followed a year later by a new bridge over the Skykomish River on Lewis Street (now [[Washington State Route 203|State Route 203]]).{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|pages=71, 77}}

The state government chose Monroe as the site of the state's second [[reformatory]] in 1907, ahead of competing bids from [[Arlington, Washington|Arlington]] and Sultan.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 10, 1907 |title=Monroe Gets Reformatory |page=1 |work=The Monroe Monitor |url=http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS05101907p01.php |via=Monroe Historical Society |access-date=October 6, 2019 |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007064148/http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS05101907p01.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> The first inmate at the facility's temporary buildings in August 1908; construction of a permanent building, now part of the [[Monroe Correctional Complex]], began in May 1910 and was completed later that year at a cost of $1.5&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US-GDP|1.5|1910}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars).{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|pages=99–100}} The [[Pacific Coast Condensed Milk Company]] opened a [[Condensed milk|milk condensery]] in Monroe on August 29, 1908, serving 2,000 visitors on "Condenser Day".<ref>{{cite news |date=September 4, 1908 |title=Condenser Day is a Splendid Affair |page=1 |work=The Monroe Monitor |url=http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS09041908p01.php |via=Monroe Historical Society |access-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008043331/http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS09041908p01.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> The plant was the largest producer of Carnation brand condensed milk and brought the city's population to 2,500 within two years of opening.<ref name="Times-Milk">{{cite news |last=Schuster |first=Chad |date=October 23, 2005 |title=Milk fueled growth spurt in Cascade foothills city |page=G5 |url=http://old.seattletimes.com/html/realestate/2002582973_neighborhood23.html |work=The Seattle Times |access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Herald-Missing">{{cite news |last=Muhlstein |first=Julie |date=March 22, 2019 |title=A mansion and a 'poor farm' are among Monroe's missing places |url=https://www.heraldnet.com/news/a-mansion-and-a-poor-farm-are-among-monroes-missing-places/ |work=The Everett Herald |access-date=September 29, 2019}}</ref> Within a year, the plant was producing {{convert|250,000|lbs|kg}} of condensed milk per day;<ref>{{cite news |last=Tallman |first=S. E. |date=April 23, 1909 |title=Monroe in a Nutshell |page=1 |work=Monroe Monitor-Transcript |url=http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS04231909p01.php |via=Monroe Historical Society |access-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008043332/http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS04231909p01.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> the Carnation condensery was later closed in 1928 and destroyed in a fire on March 23, 1944.<ref name="Herald-Missing"/>

By the early 1910s, Monroe and the Cherry Valley were home to seven school districts serving rural communities in the surrounding area. A union [[high school]] was proposed to serve the students graduating from the seven districts and was opened on September 1, 1911.{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|pages=117–118}} A new train depot was constructed by the Great Northern Railway in 1909 to serve the mainline as well as a branch line traversing the Snoqualmie Valley that was opened two years later by the [[Milwaukee Road]].<ref>{{cite news |date=April 23, 1909 |title=Valley Trolley Now Assured |page=1 |work=Monroe Monitor-Transcript |url=http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS04231909p01.php |via=Monroe Historical Society |access-date=October 7, 2019 |archive-date=October 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191008043332/http://mhs.stparchive.com/Archive/MHS/MHS04231909p01.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfnp|Robertson|2004|page=121}} The local timber industry declined and was replaced by a larger reliance on agriculture, namely dairy, vegetable, and [[berry]] farms on the logged-off lands around Monroe.{{sfnp|Taylor|Monroe Historical Society|2013|pages=40–41}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Darwin |first=L. H. |date=May 24, 1912 |title=City of Monroe in Very Fertile Region |page=19 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> One of the largest farms in the area was a {{convert|2,000|acre|ha|adj=mid}} [[lettuce]] farm and [[meat-packing]] plant owned by [[Charles Frye (meatpacker)|Charles Frye]], later the benefactor of the [[Frye Art Museum]] in Seattle.<ref>{{cite web |last=Tate |first=Cassandra |date=March 3, 2002 |title=Frye Art Museum (Seattle) |url=https://www.historylink.org/File/3711 |work=HistoryLink |access-date=October 7, 2019}}</ref>