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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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200 results for: European American Settlement

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Image of Portrait of David Denny, Seattle, circa 1890
Photograph

Portrait of David Denny, Seattle, circa 1890

David Thomas Denny (1832-1903) was the first member of the Denny Party (led by his older brother Arthur) to arrive in the future city of Seattle in 1851. He staked a claim to the future site of Seattle Center and in 1853 married fellow pioneer Louisa Boren (1827-1916). Denny pursued a diverse career as a community leader, capitalist, streetcar operator,…
ID Number:1952.986.47
Date:Circa 1890
Image of Map of Puget-Sound, Washington Territory, 1875
Cartographic material

Map of Puget-Sound, Washington Territory, 1875

In 1800, the United States Congress created local Land Offices to facilitate the selling of land to settlers. Each office had a Register to handle sales and documentation, a Receiver to oversee the money, and a Surveyor General who provided plat maps, one of which was logged in the Land Office. In 1852, over one year after the Washington Territory…
ID Number:1952.986.57.1
Date:1875
Image of Map of the City of Seattle, King County, Washington Territory, 1887
Cartographic material

Map of the City of Seattle, King County, Washington Territory, 1887

R. H. (Reginald Heber) Thomson (1856-1949) was Seattle City Engineer from 1892 until 1911 and instrumental in reshaping the landscape of Seattle. Thomson was born in Hanover, Indiana, and worked as a surveyor there before heading west with his father to Oakland, California. In 1881, Thomson arrived in Seattle and soon after partnered with F. H. (Frederick Harrison) Whitworth (1846-1933),…
ID Number:1952.986.57.3
Date:1887
Image of Account book, 1875
Ephemera

Account book, 1875

This account book lists debits and credits for February 1875 through October 1877. The first page of the notebook lists two names -- John Mathison and G. A. Meigs. The ledger is probably connected with George Anson Meigs (1816-1896), a lumber merchant from San Francisco who built a saw mill at Port Madison on Bainbridge Island in 1854. Mr. Meigs…
ID Number:1953.641.1a
Date:1875
Image of Moses R. Maddocks posing in studio, Seattle, circa 1875
Photograph

Moses R. Maddocks posing in studio, Seattle, circa 1875

Early Seattle settler Moses R. Maddocks (1833-1919) was born in Maine and worked in logging camps across the country before moving to Port Gamble in 1858. He was elected to the Territorial Legislature in 1863, after which he came to Seattle, was a partner in building the Occidental Hotel, then partnered with Gordon Kellogg in one of Seattle's first drug…
ID Number:1957.1279.6
Date:Circa 1875
Image of Susan Maddocks posing in a studio, Seattle, circa 1875
Photograph

Susan Maddocks posing in a studio, Seattle, circa 1875

Early Seattle settler Susan Williamson (1835-1917) was born in New York and had moved west with her brother, a sawmiller. In 1956 she married Moses Rideout Maddocks (1833-1919), a fellow settler from the east coast who was involved in business and politics. For many years the Maddocks' lived above their drug store but after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889…
ID Number:1957.1279.7
Date:Circa 1875
Image of Bird's-eye view of Seattle, 1879
Cartographic material

Bird's-eye view of Seattle, 1879

Eli Sheldon Glover (1845-1909) was an inventor and artist who was active in San Francisco, Chicago and Tacoma. Many of his works are perspective maps, and he traveled throughout the west drawing "birds-eye" views of newly developed cities. This image of Seattle was drawn by Mr. Glover in 1879, and is the second-earliest overview map of the city known to…
ID Number:1957.1281.10
Date:1879
Document

King County Census, 1877

"An Act to Establish the Territorial Government of Washington," passed in 1853 by the Thirty-Second Congress of the United States, required that a census be performed prior to elections for non-appointed members of the territorial legislature. "An Act to Authorize the Assessors of Each County to Take the Census in the Statutes of the Territory of Washington," enacted in 1854,…
ID Number:1959.1671.4
Date:1877
Document

King County Census, 1878

"An Act to Establish the Territorial Government of Washington," passed in 1853 by the Thirty-Second Congress of the United States, required that a census be performed prior to elections for non-appointed members of the territorial legislature. "An Act to Authorize the Assessors of Each County to Take the Census in the Statutes of the Territory of Washington," enacted in 1854,…
ID Number:1959.1671.5
Date:1878
Image of Warranty Deed from Arthur A. Denny to Martin Cavanaugh, February 26, 1869
Document

Warranty Deed from Arthur A. Denny to Martin Cavanaugh, February 26, 1869

Ohioan Martin Luther Cavanaugh arrived in Seattle in 1852, where he rented 10 acres in Georgetown, in the Duwamish Valley, approximately where Boeing Field stands today. Eventually Martin (1836-1926) bought the property, then expanded his holdings to 300 acres. On February 26, 1869, he and his wife Mary Ann (Maple) Cavanaugh (1835-1912) bought a parcel of land from Arthur Denny…
ID Number:1964.3312.5
Date:1869
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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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