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Edmonds is the oldest incorporated city in Snohomish County founded in 1890 by Logger George Brackett, who named the city after Vermont Sen. George Franklin Edmunds or Point Edmund, named by Charles Wilkes in 1841 and later changed to Point Edwards. Brackett came to the future site of Edmonds while paddling a canoe north of Seattle, searching for timber. When a gust of wind hit his canoe, Brackett beached in a location later called "Brackett's Landing".

The town was named Edmonds in 1884, but was not incorporated until 1890 as an official “village fourth class” of Snohomish County. In that same year, Brackett sold 455 acres (1.84 km2) to the Minneapolis Realty and Investment Company. The town was plotted and a wharf was added along the waterfront. Modest houses and commercial structures sprouted up with a row of shingle mills dominating the cityscape.

In 1891, the Great Northern Railroad came through and early settlers and investors grew hopeful that Edmonds would prosper. Unfortunately, the Panic of 1893 created business setbacks and the town owners foreclosed. Brackett reclaimed his town and along with other early settlers continued to develop its infrastructure. By 1900 there was regular passenger ferry service available by the steam-powered “mosquito fleet” of private ferryboats from Edmonds to Seattle.

Edmonds suffered major fires in 1909 and 1928, and many buildings were lost. The first car arrived in Edmonds in 1911. As more roads were established, Edmonds experienced steady growth along with commercial and residential development.

Native Americans from the Cowlitz tribe were original inhabitants of Kelso were separated into the "Taidnapam" and Mountain" tribes, who were members of the Sahaptin and Salish language families. In 1855 Kelso was founded by Peter W. Crawford, a surveyor who took a donation land claim and on it platted dated and filed in October 1884, a townsite named after town of Kelso, Scotland. Known as "little Chicago" because of the large number of taverns and brothels that catered to local loggers. The economy continues to be based largely on wood products.

On May 18, 1980, Kelso saw the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Many areas of the city, such as Three Rivers Mall, are built on volcanic ash that was dredged from the Cowlitz River from the volcanic mudflow.

In March 1998, Aldercrest Community began to shift; eventually 129 houses were destroyed by this landslide. Investigation report provide information that community was built on top of an active landslide area, and heavy rains had set the earth into motion.