The treaty's signing opened most of Snohomish County to American settlement and commercial activities, including logging, fishing and trapping.

[11] Among the first residents to arrive in the area in the 1880s were James Johnson and Thomas Lloyd, who allegedly suggested that the town be named for their previous home of Marysville, California.

[6][12] Comeford sold his store and wharf to settlers Mark Swinnerton and Henry B. Myers in 1884, and moved north to the Kellogg Marsh (now part of Marysville) to farm 540 acres (220 ha) of land he purchased.

[6] The Great Northern Railway also completed construction of its tracks through Marysville in 1891, building a drawbridge over Ebey Slough and serving the city's sawmills.

[5] The timber industry in Marysville peaked in 1910, at which point the city's population reached 1,239, with 10 sawmills producing lumber on the shores of Ebey Slough.

[16][17] The city remained relatively unchanged through the Great Depression, with the diversity of industries credited for Marysville avoiding the worst of economic hardship experienced by other nearby communities.

[5] During World War II, an ammunition depot was built on the Tulalip Reservation near present-day Quil Ceda, later being re-used as a Boeing test site after the aerospace company expanded in Everett.

[19][20] The new freeway bypassed the town, causing a minor decline in tourist revenue at businesses that later rebounded to previous levels, also eliminating a major traffic bottleneck that paralyzed the city's downtown.

The crash, blamed on the engineer failing to adhere to the track's speed limit, caused $1 million in damage to railroad property and resulted in the demolition of the depot, which had served the city since 1891 and was not rebuilt.

[25][26] After the initial wave of suburbanization, which built homes in former strawberry fields to the north and east of Marysville, the city's population totaled 5,544 in 1980.

[28][29] Mayor Daryl Brennick vetoed the plan in June 1983, citing public outcry and the high cost of the proposal, and the city council failed to overturn the decision.

[40][41] In September 2004, Marysville won a bid to build a 850-acre (340 ha) NASCAR racetrack (to be operated by the International Speedway Corporation) near Smokey Point.

[53] The 20-year plan, released and adopted by the City Council in 2009, proposed the redevelopment of the Marysville Towne Center Mall into a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented area with a restored street grid.

[56] In 2015, the city of Marysville was also the recipient of grants and consultation from the Environmental Protection Agency's smart growth program, identifying strategies for infill development in downtown.

[67] The city is located in the northwestern part of Snohomish County in Western Washington,[68] approximately 35 miles (56 km) north of Seattle.

[72]: 3  During the early 20th century, repeated controlled flooding and other engineering works in the Snohomish River delta contributed to the replenishment of the area's fertile silty soil for use in farming.

[59] The United States Census Bureau designates Marysville and the surrounding cities of Arlington, Lake Stevens, and Snohomish as a continuous urbanized area, with a population of 145,140 as of 2010[update].

[38] The Tulalip Tribes built a new casino and new shopping center in the early 2000s to the west of Marysville, contributing to a fall in sales tax revenue.

[37][48][91] In the latter half of the decade, Marysville opened two large retail centers of its own in the annexed Lakewood neighborhood and at 116th Street NE, bringing additional jobs and sales tax revenue to the city.

The cities of Arlington and Marysville lobbied for the creation of the Cascade Industrial Center from the Puget Sound Regional Council, which was approved in 2019.

[95] The industrial area is planned to encompass 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) of land between the two cities and support 25,000 jobs by 2040;[96] its first buildings for Amazon, Blue Origin, and other companies were opened in 2022.

[111] According to the Washington State Auditor, Marysville's municipal government employs 266 people and its general fund expenditures totaled $38.7 million in 2015.

The 53-acre (21 ha) park includes play areas, experimental gardens and composting sites, sports fields, a nature walking trail, a preserved barn, and historical exhibits.

[77]: 9–39 Marysville holds an annual strawberry festival in the third week of June, which is highlighted by a grand parade on State Avenue and a nighttime fireworks show.

[146] In addition to the Marysville Strawberry Festival, the city holds other annual events, including the Merrysville for the Holidays celebration and grand parade in early December.

[161][162] Recent population growth in northern Marysville near Smokey Point and Lakewood have led to the establishment of a pilot library in the area in 2018, and a recommendation to Sno-Isle to build a permanent branch by 2025.

[168] Another historic landmark in the area, not listed on the register, is the Gehl House at Jennings Park, a pioneer-era wooden cabin built in 1889 and restored with original furnishings.

[194][195] Marysville is located along the east side of Interstate 5 (I-5), which connects the city to Vancouver, British Columbia to the north and Seattle to the south.

The agency operates all-day local bus service in Marysville on four routes, connecting to Smokey Point, the Tulalip Indian Reservation, Lake Stevens, Everett and Lynnwood.

[211] The railroad, which includes a spur line to serve Arlington, has 23 total level crossings in Marysville that cause traffic congestion on intersecting streets.