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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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183 results for: European American Settlement

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Image of China teapot belonging to Captain Isaiah Folger, ca. 1805

China teapot belonging to Captain Isaiah Folger, ca. 1805

Captai Isaiah Folger helmed the schooner Exact which delivered the Denny party, early Seattle settlers, to Alki Point on November 13, 1851. The Exact was docked in Portland before embarking on the nine days' voyage up the coast to Puget Sound.
ID Number:1941.169.b
Date:Circa 1805
Image of Chest of drawers made by Henry Van Asselt, ca. 1872

Chest of drawers made by Henry Van Asselt, ca. 1872

Henry Van Asselt settled in the Seattle area in 1851 intending to make his living through agriculture. He later opened up a cabinet shop and his furniture was under demand by Seattle pioneers. Van Asselt made this chest of drawers out of fiddleback curly maple, a local wood that, when seasoned, becomes almost as hard as iron and at all…
ID Number:1945.1683.1
Date:Circa 1872
Image of Handmade storage box, ca. 1880

Handmade storage box, ca. 1880

This handmade maple wood box was used to keep secret papers by early Seattle resident John Hollister in the 1880s.
ID Number:1946.5
Date:Circa 1880
Image of Side chair, 1830-1840

Side chair, 1830-1840

This chair belonged to the Mercer family. It traveled with them from Cadiz, Ohio, to Princeton, Illinois, in 1834, then across the plains to Seattle in 1852.
ID Number:1946.407.a
Date:1830-1840
Image of Portrait of Thomas Mercer by Edwin Isaac Ames, ca. 1870-1900

Portrait of Thomas Mercer by Edwin Isaac Ames, ca. 1870-1900

Thomas Mercer (1813-1898) was born in Ohio and came to Seattle in 1852 with Aaron Mercer, his father, Dexter Horton, David Bagley, and William H. Showdy. His first wife died in 1853 and he remarried in 1859. He owned a dairy farm, was a probate judge for ten years, and was one of the first county commissioners. Artist Edwin Isaac…
ID Number:1946.407.b
Date:Circa 1870-1900
Image of Carved walking stick that belonged to Arthur Denny, ca. 1880

Carved walking stick that belonged to Arthur Denny, ca. 1880

In 1851, Arthur Denny, at the age of 29, led a contingent of his family west from Illinois to the Pacific Northwest, where he helped found the city of Seattle. He served as Seattle's first postmaster, was a delegate to the Washington Territorial Legislature, was one of King County's first commissioners, and he was instrumental in founding the University of…
ID Number:1946.508.1
Date:Circa 1880
Image of Slant front desk section, 1850-1900

Slant front desk section, 1850-1900

This section of a desk originally belonged to early Seattle settler Henry Yesler and it was received second hand by Mr. Henry Perry (H.P.) Grant sometime around 1900. Just prior to 1900, Grant opened a bicycle shop, Gifford and Grant, which, in 1904, morphed into the first gasoline powered automobile dealership in Seattle, "The Seattle Auto Co.," once located at…
ID Number:1946.556.1B
Date:1850-1900
Image of Wooden chest, 1853

Wooden chest, 1853

This chest was brought across the country by pack train in 1853 by Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens. Stevens traveled to Puget Sound from the Midwest to conduct surveys of the newly established territory.
ID Number:1948.22.3
Date:Circa 1850
Image of Wood leveling plane made by Arthur Denny, 1800s

Wood leveling plane made by Arthur Denny, 1800s

Arthur Denny, early white Seattle settler, made this wood plane from applewood in his orchard.
ID Number:1948.93
Date:Circa 1840-1880
Image of Oil portrait of Arthur Armstrong Denny by Baron Holmfeld, 1896

Oil portrait of Arthur Armstrong Denny by Baron Holmfeld, 1896

In 1851, Arthur Denny, at the age of 29, led a contingent of his family west from Illinois to the Pacific Northwest, where he helped found the city of Seattle. He served as Seattle's first postmaster, was a delegate to the Washington Territorial Legislature, was one of King County's first commissioners, and he was instrumental in founding the University of…
ID Number:1948.421
Date:1896
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Land Acknowledgement

MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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