Born in Blanchard, Washington, Frederick E. Smith (1914-1979) held a keen interest in the history of his hometown and the surrounding region. Much of his research focused on the history of the Equality Colony, a socialist utopian community near present-day Bow-Edison between 1897 and 1907.

In the course of his research, Smith conducted numerous interviews with former colony members and nearby residents, and gathered photographs documenting the colony and its inhabitants. Smith’s research formed the basis for his manuscript Equality Colony, published posthumously by his sister, Florence Lowe, in 1988. His other research interests included socialism, the International Workers of the World (Wobblies), and the history and culture of Native Americans in the Northwest. At the time of his Equality research, Smith worked as a sign-painter and lived in Everett, Washington.

The Equality Colony was founded and financed by members of the Brotherhood of the Cooperative Commonwealth (B.C.C.). Organized in 1895 in Maine, the B.C.C. hoped to encourage the spread of socialism by establishing socialist colonies in the American West. In October 1897, B.C.C. member G.E. “Ed” Pelton purchased 280 acres near Blanchard, Washington for the site of “Equality”. At its height, the colony had an estimated population of 200-300 people. Colonists operated their own sawmill, creamery and school, and published a newspaper entitled Industrial Freedom. In 1905, under the influence of anarchist Alexander Horr, the colony re-organized as “Freeland Colony,” By 1907, however, suffering from financial difficulties and an increasingly factionalized membership, the colony disbanded and sold its property.