Marysville’s Shortest Street and Biggest Controversy
For the first sixty years of Marysville’s history, the small town stayed within its original 1891 borders. These borders were Ebey Slough to Grove Street running north to south, and Ash Street to Liberty Street (47th Ave) running east to west. In the 1950s, along with the rest of the nation, Marysville’s growth took off. People were moving into town, and the city began providing services of a modern municipality. These changes and upgrades were commenced under the leadership of Mayor G.A. Dudley (Mayor from 1952–1960), and one of the most lasting impacts he had was expanding Marysville’s borders for the first time ever. The first annexation in 1954 was a residential area between Grove and Westover (80th Street) running north to south, and Ash to State running east to west. With this, many new homes were added to Marysville, and the demand for services increased exponentially. While all this was going on, however, something was forgotten, naming a new street that was now in the city limits. The road that would eventually be named Short Street would be forgotten for the next five years until action was finally taken in late 1959.
Looking at a map from this period both Beach and Cedar connected to Westover. Today, as Marysville residents know, only Cedar connects to Westover, and the portion of Beach that use to connect is now built up with homes. When Beach and Cedar extended to Westover, and the number of homes being built along those streets increased, many called for a road to be constructed that connected the two. This request was not irrational, as Marysville had a grid road system, and a connector between Beach and Cedar would have been logical considering there was no connection between Grove and Westover, over half a mile. At this time, however, this area was not in the city limits, thus it was up to the County to install the road, which they did in the late 1940s. But they county forgot something, naming the new street. Since this street was so short relative to other roads, and it served primarily as a connector, it is understandable why this was overlooked, but it would be almost a decade before the new street would receive a name, and when that time came, it would cause controversy.
On September 21st, 1959, the Marysville City Council finally brought up the issue of naming the street connecting Beach to Cedar. Surprisingly, this issue would turn out to be one that divided an otherwise agreeable group of leaders. The option that Mayor Dudley and a majority of city councilmembers favored was Short Street. The reason being it was one of, if not the, shortest street in town. Councilmember Art Duborko disagreed, arguing that it was logical to include this new street in Marysville’s grid naming system proposing the street be named 13th Street. The problem with this was that Marysville did not have an 11th or 12th street, this naming system ended with 10th. Duborko’s argument was that Grove Street is considered 11th and DeuPree considered 12th. Councilmember Frank Mardon also disliked Short Street but also disliked the idea of 13th. He proposed naming the street after a Marysville pioneer. After much debate, in a rare split vote, the council voted 3–2 in favor of Short Street. This issue was not over.
The naming of the previously unnamed street led to much talk around town, and that talk got back to city leaders. At the City Council meeting two weeks later the Mayor made the statement that “if anyone has a better name they would be pleased to receive suggestions” and in addition to this if there were any suggestions regarding a pioneer to name the street after, he would be willing to hear it as well. It's hard to hear someone's tone while reading, but it is quite clear that the Mayor was fed with the debate, and wanted people to get behind the chosen name. This statement ended the controversy and ended the decade long quest to name Short Street.
For citizens today, the diagonal road between Beach and Cedar is called Short Street, it always has and always will. Stories like this, even though they may seem trivial to some, underscore that everything has a history, and sometimes a colorful one. The things that we take for granted every day, like the name of a street, could have turned out very differently if different people were in charge. Knowledge of the past, and how a place got to where it is today can not only enlighten citizens, but it can also make them appreciate their surroundings even more.
