"An Illustrated History of Skagit and Snohomish Counties." Interstate Publishing Company, 1906. p. 786. ALFRED POLSON Among the young farmers of Skagit county who have won for themselves an enviable position in the community is Alfred Polson, the well-known manager of the Polson ranch, situated eight and one-half miles southwest of Mount Vernon, on the Skagit delta. His father, Olof Polson, a native of Hasslof, Halland's Lane, Sweden, born March 23, 1833, came to the United States October 26, 1868, locating near Ottumwa, Iowa. Removing in 1871 to what was then Whatcom county, he took up a homestead on Brown's slough and transformed it into one of the finest farms in the Northwest. Later he retired from active work on the farm, taking up his residence in La Conner, of which city he was mayor for three terms. Always an active Republican, he attended the conventions, lending his influence to every measure that would advance his party's interests. He was an earnest worker in the Swedish Lutheran church to the time of his death, which occurred May 30, 1903. He was married in Munkagardden, Sweden, June 7, 1853, to Gunhilda Nelson, a native of Sweden, born September 25, 1832, and now living at La Conner. The family having removed to Skagit county when he was but a year old, Alfred Polson spent his early years on the farm acquiring a practical knowledge of the work and at the same time a good common school education. Early giving evidence of unusual business talent, he was placed by his father in charge of the entire farm when the older Mr. Polson moved to La Conner. One year later, on October 1, 1896, he entered the hardware business with his brother, John, in La Conner. The firm name chosen was "The Polson-Wilton Hardware Company." Another brother, Perry, who was in the wholesale hardware business in Seattle, also had an interest in the enterprise. At the end of a year and a half our subject returned to the farm at his father's request, assuming the management of it, that the elder Polson might be free to retire again to his town residence in La Conner, which he had left to oversee the ranch during his son's absence. This estate, comprising three hundred and twenty-five acres, splendidly equipped with houses, barns and warehouses, which in the distance give it the appearance of being a village in itself, has never been divided. Upon the death of its owner it was not probated, the heirs forming a stock company, each holding an equal number of shares, and the mother retaining her interests in her own possession while she lives. Mr. Polson's brothers and sisters are as follows: Perry, president of the wholesale hardware and implement company, of Seattle; Nels, a farmer in Skagit county; Mrs. Pauline Nelson of La Conner; Mrs. Christine Bell and Mrs. Josephine Calkins, residents of Skagit county; William L., assayer and chemist, at Ketchikan, Alaska. Mr. Polson was married December 6, 1899, to Cora Hayton, who was born in 1880, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah E. (Sanders) Hayton. Her father, a distinguished pioneer of Skagit county, and a veteran of the Civil War, is still living, but her mother died November 21, 1896. Mrs. Polson has one sister, Mrs. Laura Hemingway, and six brothers, Jacob, Thomas, Henry, George, James and William. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Polson are Edna May, born May 6, 1901; Florence E., born June 9, 1903, and Genevieve C., born July 1, 1905. Mr. Polson is affiliated with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and Woodmen of the World and is an influential member of the Swedish Lutheran church, while his wife is a Baptist, active in the work of her denomination. He is a member of the school board and being an earnest advocate always of the policy of supplying the best educational advantages is now advocating an enlargement of the school building and the employment of an additional teacher in his district. A loyal supporter of the principles of the Republican party, he is active in its councils and a frequent attendant of its county conventions. Mr. Polson is the owner of a fine tract of one hundred and sixty acres of valuable land, which he farms in connection with the family estate. In addition to his own farming operations he is breeding Holsteins for dairy and beef purposes. He is the owner at present of eighty head of cattle. He has his own separator and sells the cream product of the herd to the Pleasant Ridge Creamery Company, in which he is a stockholder. He is also interested in the rearing of fine English Shire horses. The conditions under which Mr. Polson operates illustrate how farm life may be made easy and delightful in Skagit county. He has every facility for shipping his grain and other products to the markets of the sound, as steamers of a hundred tons burden or even larger come up Brown's slough to his very doorstep. He has a gasoline launch anchored at his landing, making it possible for him to make convenient trips by water as often as he pleases to Mount Vernon, La Conner and other points on the river, sloughs and sound. With rural free delivery, telephone connections with neighboring towns and cities and every modern convenience for lightening the work indoors and out, he and his family live an almost ideal rural life. They have the splendid satisfaction also of realizing that most of the advantages they enjoy came as a reward of their own labor and planning, and that the public institutions which add to their comforts have always received from them a generous encouragement and support. ******************* Submitted to the Washington Biographies Project in January, 2006 by Diana Smith. Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned above.