Utsalady (also, historically, Utsaladdy[1]
The name "Utsalady" comes from the Lushootseed placename /ʔəcəládiʔ/, of unknown meaning.[2]
The Kikiallus Indians inhabited this area. They had a long-house here and along the Skagit River on Fir Island. They were a part of the Coast Salish.
The natives of the region called the place Doksk Ad. The first settlers of European origin arrived in 1853; two years later Utsalady was exporting timber as far as the shipyards at Brest in France and, by 1860, to Shanghai.[3]
In 1870, the community had 54 houses, 147 people, a blacksmith shop, telegraph, a saloon, a shipyard and a school. In 1872 a Masonic hall was added to this and in 1874 a granary. As of 1883, sailing ships were carrying away 74,000 board feet of timber daily.
Utsalady was a base from which settlers headed to the Stillaguamish and Skagit Valleys on the mainland.
The Masonic lodge originally established at Utsalady, F&AM Camanio Lodge No. 19, moved in 1890 to the mainland in Stanwood, where it still remains as of 2009.[4]