The Migration

Darrington Washington

An influx of Western North Carolina migrants (called “Tarheels”) to Darrington between 1900 and 1950 has had a profound impact on the community.  In a 1947 census, 500 out of Darrington’s 850 person population were from WNC.  With them came their customs, culture, and traditions.  They brought their food, such as chicken, biscuits, and green beans cooked with bacon.  They brought their accents.  They brought quilting.  They brought their music, too.  Bluegrass is now an integral part of Darrington’s culture.[1]

The Tarheels emigrated to Darrington and other areas in Washington (Snohomish and Skagit Counties primarily) due to the logging industry.  As large-scale logging operations were leaving Southern Appalachia, many people followed them out to the Pacific Northwest.  As resources became depleted in WNC and the Great Depression limited the workforce, many people sought better employment opportunity elsewhere.  World War Two also spurred inward migration.  The Great Migration after WWII saw people leaving the South and heading to the North and the West for industrial work as machines were replacing the South’s agricultural jobs.  Most emigrants would switch profession when they moved.  The Tarheels in Washington were an exception.  They followed the logging industry.[2] 

The largest logging boom in the Pacific Northwest came in the early 1950s with the Korean Conflict.  This was the last spurt of Tarheel migration to Darrington, too.[3]

The two largest logging companies in the Darrington area were the Sound Timber Company, which moved into the region in 1916, and the Danneher Company, which also arrived around the same time.  Both suffered some during the Great Depression, so tourism, such as skiing and music, replaced some of the logging industry’s economic value to Snohomish County.[4]

Today, the logging industry has left Skagit and Snohomish Counties.[5]  The Tarheels remain, though.  Their culture is still present, as can be seen in the Darrington Bluegrass Festival, which first began in 1977.[6]  Today, 85% of Darrington’s population has ties to WNC, and mostly Jackson County, NC.  That figure is stable, as not many people are coming or leaving.[7]  The people and their culture remain.  Unfortunately some stereotypes about the Tarheels are prevalent.  They have been labeled, as musicians, moonshiners, and loggers.  These stereotypes persist as the Tarheels all settled together, isolating themselves from other people.[8]