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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 Arrival of the first log shipment via the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad, Seattle, 1880
Photograph

Arrival of the first log shipment via the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad, Seattle, 1880

As Seattle grew, the trees on the hills above the city were gradually cut down, and logs needed to be hauled a longer distance to the sawmills along the waterfront. In this 1880 image, dignitaries pose by part of the first shipment of logs carried into the city by the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad. Original photo copied by Webster…
ID Number:SHS330
Date:1880
Image of Seattle's downtown before the Great Fire, Seattle, 1883
Photograph

Seattle's downtown before the Great Fire, Seattle, 1883

n the 1880s, Seattle's business district was near Pioneer Square. Loggers, miners, and others came to this part of the city to find work, supplies, and entertainment. Others came to Seattle to attend the Territorial University, which stood on a hill above the city.This photo, taken around 1884, shows the intersection of Commercial Street (now First Avenue South) and Main…
ID Number:SHS470
Date:1880
Image of Commercial Street in snow, Seattle, January 10, 1880
Photograph

Commercial Street in snow, Seattle, January 10, 1880

In the 1880s, Seattle's business district was near Pioneer Square. Loggers, miners, and others came to this part of the city to find work, supplies, and entertainment. Others came to Seattle to attend the Territorial University, which stood on a hill above the city .This photo, taken in 1880, shows the intersection of Commercial Street (now First Avenue South) and…
ID Number:SHS613
Date:1880
Image of Seattle Street Railway car on first day of service, Seattle, September 1884
Photograph

Seattle Street Railway car on first day of service, Seattle, September 1884

In September 1884, Washington Territory's first streetcar line opened in Seattle. By the end of the year, the line had three miles of track and four streetcars which were operated by a total of ten men and twenty horses. One branch ran out to Lake Union, and the other ran to Front Street (First Avenue) and on to Queen Anne…
ID Number:SHS898
Date:1884
Image of Van Asselt family, circa 1885
Photograph

Van Asselt family, circa 1885

Henry Van Asselt was born in Holland in 1817. In 1851, he and several others settled in the Duwamish River valley, where Boeing now stands. Van Asselt's land claim is slightly older than that of the Denny Party, making him one of the Seattle area's earliest white settlers. Van Asselt was a successful farmer and furniture maker. In 1862, he…
ID Number:SHS971
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Corner of Terry and Columbia streets on First Hill, Seattle, circa 1895
Photograph

Corner of Terry and Columbia streets on First Hill, Seattle, circa 1895

One of Seattle’s seven hills, First Hill was city’s first “neighborhood” to be settled in the 1870s. Rising 366 feet above Elliott Bay, the once-forested slope was an easy walk to the city’s commercial district. By 1883, the hill entered a new era as the retreat of its “first families,” including mayors, judges, industrialists, timber barons, and art collectors. Over…
ID Number:SHS1006
Date:Circa 1895
Image of Workman posing at Fremont townsite, Seattle, May 1888
Photograph

Workman posing at Fremont townsite, Seattle, May 1888

Seattle's Fremont neighborhood is located at the northwest corner of Lake Union, and was originally part of the William A. Strickler homestead. On March 1, 1888 David Thomas Denny (1832-1903) and John Philo Hoyt (1841-1926) bought 240 acres from Strickler's estate, then sold the parcel to Carrie and Edward Blewett on March 20, 1888. With the help of their agents,…
ID Number:SHS1047B
Date:1888
Image of Yesler Way and Yesler's Mill, Seattle, 1873
Photograph

Yesler Way and Yesler's Mill, Seattle, 1873

Henry Yesler arrived in Seattle in 1852 and soon built the first steam-powered sawmill on Puget Sound. It was located on the waterfront at the foot of Mill Street, now called Yesler Way.This 1873 image also shows the Pioneer Drug Store and the Seattle Bakery. Yesler's Wharf, where lumber schooners docked, would be beyond the mill's tall smokestack. Title from…
ID Number:SHS1108
Date:1873
Image of Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad locomotive
Photograph

Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad locomotive "D.H. Gilman," circa 1887

The Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern RailwayCompany was formed in 1885 by Daniel Gilman, Judge Thomas Burke, and other Seattle businessmen. By 1887, it ran from the Seattle waterfront to Smith Cove, across Salmon Bay, and along the northwest side of Lake Washington. By 1888, the line reached Fall City to the east and Snohomish to the north, eventually connecting…
ID Number:SHS1143
Date:Circa 1887
Image of Waterfront and downtown, Seattle, circa 1887
Photograph

Waterfront and downtown, Seattle, circa 1887

Label on verso: Warner & Davis, Landscape Photographers, Front & Cherry Sts., Seattle, Wash. Ter.Typed on verso: Seattle looking south showing waterfront and railroad tracks before the fire 1889.SHS category: Views
ID Number:SHS1376
Date:Circa 1887
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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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