142 results for: Great Seattle Fire (1889)
Photograph
SS Pacific, SS San Salvador, and bark Harriet Hunt docked at Yesler's Wharf, Seattle, 1875
Seattle Pioneer Henry Leiter Yesler (1810-1892) built a wharf in 1854 at the foot of Mill Street (now Yesler Way). A makeshift affair at first that would eventually extend nearly 1,000 feet into Elliott Bay, it was built next to the steam sawmill he built two years prior. This pier was the center of local maritime commerce until it was…
ID Number:SHS11765
Date:1875
Photograph
Officers of last Volunteer Fire Department, circa 1889
The creation of the Seattle Fire Department (SFD) can be traced back to July 6th, 1876, when the all-volunteer Seattle Engine Company No.1 was organized. In 1883, the City Charter was amended to create and fund equipment, but not staff, for a centralized municipal fire department. The volunteer-based system persisted until pressure from the insurance industry and citizens after the…
ID Number:SHS17710
Date:Circa 1889