Carnation is a city in King County, Washington. The 2020 population was 2,158. The town was historically known as Tolt.
History[]
Following the resettlement of Snoqualmie Tribe, settlers began to settle the area in the 1850s and 1860s. The community of Tolt, an anglicized name for the Tolthue River (túlq or tultxʷ), was founded in 1865 and platted in 1902. Tolt was incorporated as a town on December 30, 1912, shortly after the arrival of the Milwaukee Road, which provided train connections to Monroe in the north.
Several dairy farms established themselves in the 1900s, including a research farm for the Carnation Evaporated Milk Company. Following lobbying from the company and the approval of the state legislature, Tolt was renamed to "Carnation" in 1917. The renaming of the town was opposed by local residents and members of the Snoqualmie tribe, and later changed back to Tolt on May 3, 1928. The "Carnation" name remained on the post office and train depot, and continued to be used by outsiders. Tolt was then renamed back to "Carnation" on October 29, 1951.
Geography[]
Carnation lies within the Snoqualmie Valley between Duvall and Fall City. The town is at the confluence of the Snoqualmie and Tolt rivers. It is on the east bank of the Snoqualmie River just north of it's junction with the Tolt River.
The city has a total area of 1.18 square miles, of which, 1.16 square miles is land and 0.02 square miles is water.