The Land of a Thousand Fires: A Short History of the Hibulb Village and Lookout

The Hibulb Lookout is located on a bluff at the very Northwest tip of the Everett Peninsula. Today the spot is known as Legion Memorial Park. 

The view from the cliff is the stuff of civic propaganda: a sweeping, panoramic view of Gedney, Camano, and Whidbey Islands floating in the Salish Sea. To the north, viewers can glimpse the Snohomish River and Priest Point on the Tulalip Reservation. 

It’s no wonder that the Coast Salish people held this area to be sacred. Only about 100 years ago there was an entire village here with several longhouses used for rituals, diplomacy, business, and local gatherings. 

The lookout was once used by the Tulalip Tribes as a literal lookout. It was a spot from which watchmen kept their eyes peeled for the approach of invading tribes from as far away as Canada. The bluff could then be used as a high place to signal to nearby villages, warning them of coming invaders. At night the view from the bluff showed bonfires blazing throughout the land. This fostered for the Hibulb Lookout the nickname “The Land of a Thousand Fires.”

The lookout also offered an unobstructed view of “The Land of the Little Ones.” This referred to Gedney Island, where tribes kept a flock of wooly dogs. These dogs were shorn and their thick wool was used by tribal members for blankets and clothing. 

The village at the northwest corner of the peninsula also occupied the areas at the base of the cliff, at the mouth of the Snohomish River. The whole settlement was abandoned after the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott in 1855. Under this treaty, signed on the beaches of Mukilteo, the Tulalip tribes were moved to the reservation that exists today, north of the mouth of the Snohomish River. And so, much of the indigenous history of the place was lost as the waterfront became industrialized with train tracks and mills.

“Hibulb” translates to something like “where the white dove sleeps.” The cliffs here are still favored by a variety of birds, including bald eagles which can be seen on the regular, circling the updrafts that blow up the edge of the bluff. The spot is also home to osprey (allegedly, the largest osprey nest ever discovered was found on the Hibulb Lookout). 

For most of Everett’s history, the cliff with the amazing lookout didn’t have any official name, but was known mostly to the public as the “Legion Lookout.” In 2013 the place was officially christened as the “Hibulb Lookout” by the Everett City Council, based on a recommendation by the Everett Historical Commission. The name change was commemorated with a sign on the spot which says “Hibulb Lookout” in the indigenous Central Salish language of Lushootseed. The name change was given a blessing by the Tulalip Tribes. 

Around this time, civic nomenclature in this area began to catch up with history. The adjoining coast was christened as part of the 6.8-mile Mill Town Trail — the name of which is a reference to the industrial waterfront of Everett in days of yore.

Yes, to stand on the Hibulb Lookout and to cast your gaze to the sea and the Snohomish River Delta is to look back through time. It takes little imagination to see mills steaming and boxcars rolling past, to see longhouses sending up clouds of smoke from their cedar structures, and to see canoes cleft the Salish Sea and the Snohomish River. 

Visit the Hibulb Lookout and see for yourself. 

FOR MORE INFO

If you’re interested in exploring the role that indigenous tribes played in the area, here are a few recommendations. 

The Hibulb village area was excavated by an archaeologist in 1974. The unearthed artifacts are on display today at the Hibulb Cultural Center on the Tulalip Reservation. 

Also, modern Tulalip master carver James Madison has a large sculpture on display in the Everett Arboretum at Legion Memorial Park. 

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