It's not heaven or even the haven it once was

DARRINGTON — In countless government offices are people who apparently think street names should be uniform, standard and orderly. Why else would there be so many A, B, C and D avenues, and First, Second, Third and Fourth streets?

Those people apparently have not found many parts of rural Snohomish County.

That would help to explain Swede Heaven Road or English Grade Hill, or even Friday Avenue.

The rural parts of the sprawling county are chock-full of names whose origins have long since been lost to time and posterity.

Take Swede Heaven Road near Darrington. Also known as Swede Haven, depending on the source — it's Swede Heaven on mailboxes and road signs, Swede Haven on at least one published map — the source of the name has been lost.

The Washington Place Names Database, maintained by the Tacoma Public Library, says the road originated along Segalson Creek, which rises at Covey Pass, three miles northeast of Fortson, in Skagit County. The creek flows south to the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River in Snohomish County.

Settlers called the area Swede Heaven, the database notes, because "a goodly number of persons of Swedish ancestry lived nearby."

Regardless of the details, that general concept is well-known.

"Well, it was those Swedes — they'd just come from hell," said Kenny Anderson, recalling how Swedish settlers used to get off a train that ran from Arlington to Darrington, a long and arduous journey before the 20th century, and thought they had arrived in heaven.

Anderson has lived along Swede Heaven Road since 1941.

On a nice day, Swede Heaven may indeed seem heavenly, although long, gray winters may lack the same appeal.

Situated just north of the river and Highway 530, about 30 miles northeast of Arlington, the road is bordered by snowcapped mountains and bucolic fields.

Heaven or not, Swede Heaven is a dead-end road. And despite its origin, it's not just for Swedes. Some even concede it's no longer heaven.

Just ask Alberto Holguin. He isn't bashful about the fact that he's not Swedish; he's from Colombia.

Holguin moved to Swede Heaven Road in 1972 after tiring of Southern California. His house is now for sale, and he says he's downsizing, moving to the end of the road, going from 18 acres to 12.

He also laments the changes he's seen, recalling how there were 19 houses on the road when he arrived, and now there are about 250.

"Everybody knew everybody. Now you don't know anybody," Holguin said.

Anderson and his companion, Jeanne Sargent, also ruefully talk about those changes. Their garage has a sign that testifies to their heritage: "Parking for Swedes only. All others will be towed."

"A few years back, I knew everybody that went by on that road," Anderson said. "There goes Art. There goes Bill. If I know four vehicles today, I'm lucky."

But Swede Heaven is only one place in Snohomish County where uniformity hasn't arrived.

There's English Grade Hill — did people swear in English? — and Friday Avenue — named on a Friday? — and even Sleepy Hollow Road near Granite Falls, where any connection to Washington Irving could be coincidental.

Perhaps best of all, there's Happy Valley Road, which runs toward Warm Beach. Who could resist driving there?

Peyton Whitely: 206-464-2259 or pwhitely@seattletimes.com