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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 Chalk slate, ca. 1850

Chalk slate, ca. 1850

This slate was used by Joseph Foster in his bachelor cabin in the 1850s. Foster, founder of the former town that bore his name (now Tukwila), was an early Washington Territory legislator and the first superintendent of schools in the area.
ID Number:1955.931.C
Date:Circa 1850
Image of Watercolor drawing,

Watercolor drawing, "Alki, November 13, 1851," of the schooner Exact by Hewitt R. Jackson, ca. 1963

Hewitt Jackson (1914-2007) was a seaman, marine draftsman, and artist. He is best known for his maritime drawings of ships that sailed the Puget Sound and Pacific Northwest. The MOHAI collection contains seven of Hewitt's works. This particular work depicts the schooner EXACT as it arrived at the future named "Alki" on Puget Sound carrying the Denny party and captained…
ID Number:1955.970.364
Date:Circa 1963
Image of Spyglass telescope, ca. 1847

Spyglass telescope, ca. 1847

An early white settler family brought this spyglass over the Oregon Trail to the Pacific Northwest in 1847.
ID Number:1956.1052
Date:Circa 1847
Image of Handmade wooden kitchen mallet, ca. 1860

Handmade wooden kitchen mallet, ca. 1860

This mallet was made from the limb of an apple tree that was on the Foster family farm, an early white settlement.
ID Number:1956.1058.4
Date:Circa 1860
Image of End table with inlay and mother-of-pearl accents, 1915-1930

End table with inlay and mother-of-pearl accents, 1915-1930

This Colonial Revival end table came from the Foster family. Joseph Foster, who came to the Pacifc Northwest from Ohio and settled on the Duwamish River in 1852. Foster, founder of the former town that bore his name (now Tukwila), was an early Washington Territory legislator and the first superintendent of schools in the area.
ID Number:1956.1058.7
Date:1915-1930
Image of Oil portrait of Henry G. Struve by Albert Jenks, 1883

Oil portrait of Henry G. Struve by Albert Jenks, 1883

On July 10, 1882, voters elected Judge Henry G. Struve (1836-1905) as mayor of the City of Seattle. Struve, a German immigrant, was a lawyer, journalist, and businessman who played a key role in Seattle’s political, social, and economic life in the 1880s and 1890s. He served two terms as mayor, overseeing more than $500,000 in public improvements, including the…
ID Number:1956.1061.g
Date:1883
Image of Child's brown shoes with black toe caps, ca. 1858

Child's brown shoes with black toe caps, ca. 1858

These shoes, worn by James Urquhart as a child, when his family moved from Toledo, Washington, to Tumwater in 1858 (the shoes came as far as Napavine). They were passed down to his son, Mr. Henry Urquhart, a former Sheriff of Lewis County, Washington.
ID Number:1956.1094
Date:Circa 1858
Image of Portrait of Ezra Meeker at age 96 by Louise Crow, 1926

Portrait of Ezra Meeker at age 96 by Louise Crow, 1926

Ezra Manning Meeker (1830-1928) was born in Iowa and traveled the Oregon Trail eventually settling in what would become Puyallup, Washington, in 1862. He grew hops for brewing beer and he was known as the "Hop King of the World," as his agricultural business made him a wealthy man. Unfortunately, an infestation of hop aphids in 1891 destroyed his crops…
ID Number:1956.1145.1
Date:1926
Image of Oil portrait of Jacob Furth by unknown artist, ca. 1900

Oil portrait of Jacob Furth by unknown artist, ca. 1900

Jacob Furth (1840-1914) was an early Seattle businessman and public figure who played a large role in developing Seattle's city infrastructure. As the president of Seattle National Bank, Furth also helped Seattle recover from the Great Fire of 1889 and financial panic of 1893.
ID Number:1956.1145.2
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Portrait of Clarence Bagley by Louise Crow, ca. 1910-1930

Portrait of Clarence Bagley by Louise Crow, ca. 1910-1930

Clarence Bagley (1843-1932), the son of early settler Daniel Bagley, arrived in Seattle as a teenager and later became a prolific writer who compiled the first histories of Seattle and King County. The artist, Louise Crow Boyac (1891–1968) was born and raised in Seattle and a member of the Moran family. Crow achieved recognition for her Impressionistic landscape and figure…
ID Number:1956.1145.3
Date:Circa 1910-1930
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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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