Located in the northwestern part of the state of Washington and the seat of Whatcom County, Bellingham is located at the south of the Canadian border and sits along Bellingham Bay. The area was settled in 1852 when a sawmill was built at the lower part of the Whatcom Falls. The operations for coal-mining started in 1854 that the bay became a “staging area” temporarily for the ill-fated Fraser River gold rush. Four communities merged that were known as the Bellingham Bay Settlements, Whatcom, New Whatcom, Sehome, and Fairhaven, to form the present city of Bellingham. With the establishment of the railroad connections and improved harbor facilities, Bellingham’s fish canneries, timber-pulp operations, and pleasure-boat building industries were developed.