Since the beginning of this town, citizens of Bothell have been proclaiming their assured place in the American Frontier.  The first Bothellite really made roots around 1885, and as the settlers rapidly joined him, they began their own businesses and shaped the wilderness into a way of life all of their own.

Technically, they were not yet ‘citizens’ as they had not petitioned the United States government to incorporate their land into a federal city. Many supported this move as it put them on the map further and also because they could become part of the liquor trade, serving and profiting from liquor. Well, some were not as supportive: prohibitionists.

The Bothell Sentinel and its owner dedicated much paper and ink to challenging all those who opposed incorporating. He even coined a mysterious phrase whose meaning was lost to the ages. WE ARE ALIVE ALIVE ALIVE! he proclaimed. We are alive and we are Americans! And Americans serve liquor! Well, this was not an advertised perk of incorporating, but those businesses sure were aware. Well, Bothell was incorporated in 1909, 110 years ago. Prohibition was enacted in 1920. We Bothellites made it through without the liquor trade, after all.