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Oxford Saloon
913 First Street
Arthur M. Blackman (1865-1929) was born into the grocery business side of the Blackman clan from Maine, who originally settled in Oakland, California. Arthur arrived in Snohomish on Christmas Day 1885. It took him only two years to open his first grocery store on the northwest corner of Avenue C and First.
Four summers later he built this large store boasting of 20,000 items in stock. The handsome structure designed and built by J. S. White in the fashionable false-front architectural style cost Arthur $5,000, according to newspaper accounts. White also built Arthur’s family home, still standing on the southeast corner of Avenue D and Fourth Street. Arthur served as the city’s Postmaster for several years and was elected to the county council in 1914.
This building was the Oxford Pool Room during Prohibition, and not used as a drinking establishment until World War II. In 2022, it’s a popular venue for food and live music.
Continue toward the intersection of Avenue B.
