 Stanwood and Camano Island were originally connected by a horse-pulled cable ferry on the Stillaguamish River, which was replaced by a steel swing bridge that opened on August 7, 1909.A lift bridge across the Davis Slough was completed in 1912.The eastern approach through Stanwood and neighboring East Stanwood was paved with bricks in 1913, replacing a wagon road built in 1887 to Bryant.