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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 Waterfront from near Yesler's wharf, Seattle, circa 1882
Photograph

Waterfront from near Yesler's wharf, Seattle, circa 1882

Caption on mount: Peterson & Bro., Seattle, Wash. Ter.Caption on verso: Seattle Art Gallery, Peterson & Bro., Photograph Artists, Front Street, Seattle, King Co. Washington Territory.Typed on verso: View looking north from near Yesler, early 1880's.SHS category: Waterfront
ID Number:SHS3506
Date:Circa 1882
Image of Joseph William Steele and family, circa 1888
Photograph

Joseph William Steele and family, circa 1888

Joseph William Steele came to Washington Territory by wagon train in 1865 and homesteaded south of Seattle, in the Duwamish River Valley. Mertie Annette Miller traveled to Seattle later on the railroad, and she and Steele were married in 1886. In 1888 or 1889, the Steeles traveled to Seattle where photographer George N. Moore took their family portrait.In this photo,…
ID Number:SHS4960
Date:circa 1888
Image of Western Mill, Seattle, circa 1894
Photograph

Western Mill, Seattle, circa 1894

Pioneer David Denny owned the land south of Lake Union. In 1882, he opened the Western Mill on the lake's southern shore. A small community soon grew up around the lumber mill. By the end of the 1880s, streetcars and roads had been built, and the area lost its rural look. Typed on sleeve: Western Mill on Lake Union, David…
ID Number:SHS5167
Date:Circa 1894
Image of Ezra Meeker, Seattle, circa 1915
Photograph

Ezra Meeker, Seattle, circa 1915

Born in Ohio in 1830, Ezra Meeker married and headed west with his wife and newborn son to seek a prosperous life. They settled in the Puyallup Valley in 1862 and developed a successful business raising hops, eventually selling hops on the world market. Later in life, Meeker developed an avid interest in commemorating the Oregon Trail route of the…
ID Number:SHS5182
Date:Circa 1915
Image of Second and Union, looking southeast, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

Second and Union, looking southeast, Seattle, circa 1885

Between about 1888 and 1893, Seattle grocer Charles Louch sold groceries, seeds, cigars and other goods from his store on Front Street (now First Avenue). At some point, he advertised his store, and his 1888 brand of hams and bacon, using give-away photographs of downtown Seattle with his roof sign prominently displayed in the foreground.This photo, taken by Walter Davis…
ID Number:SHS5336
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Dr. David S. Maynard, Seattle, circa 1868
Photograph

Dr. David S. Maynard, Seattle, circa 1868

Dr. David S. "Doc" Maynard arrived in Seattle in 1852. His original plans to salt salmon for the San Francisco market failed, but he set up Seattle's first store, selling medicine and general merchandise in his salting works on First Avenue and Main Street. It was Doc Maynard who proposed naming the new city Seattle after Chief Si'ahl (Chief Seattle)…
ID Number:SHS5595
Date:Circa 1868
Image of Railroad construction workers and locomotive at the Green River crossing, 1885
Photograph

Railroad construction workers and locomotive at the Green River crossing, 1885

In the 1880s, Chinese laborers were recruited by railroad companies because they worked for lower pay than whites. Chinese men were often assigned to such dangerous tasks as blasting through rock and laying tracks in tunnels or on river bluffs. Of the 20,000 men that built the Northern Pacific branch line between Pasco and Tacoma, 15,000 were Chinese.This 1885 photo…
ID Number:SHS5907
Date:1885
Image of Portrait of Henry Yesler and Chief Ouray, circa 1870
Photograph

Portrait of Henry Yesler and Chief Ouray, circa 1870

Ouray (circa 1833–1880), chief of the Uncompahgre band of the Ute tribe, garnered the respect of the Ute Indian Nation, the U.S. Government, and other Indigenous Peoples throughout North America because of his intelligence and diplomacy.This image of Ouray posing with Seattle entrepreneur Henry L. Yesler (1810-1892) may have been taken during Yesler's tenure as acting Indian Agent, shortly after…
ID Number:SHS6271
Date:Circa 1870
Image of Mrs. Minerva Hose, governess in Skagway, circa 1900
Photograph

Mrs. Minerva Hose, governess in Skagway, circa 1900

In 1896, Tagish Indian Skookum Jim Mason and two other men made the first big gold strike on Rabbit (Bonanza) Creek, setting off the Klondike gold rush. Mason later employed Mrs. Minerva Hose to teach and take care of his daughter Daisy. Mrs. Hose was an early shopkeeper in Dyea, Alaska.This photo of Mrs. Minerva Hose was taken at the…
ID Number:SHS6370
Date:Circa 1900
Image of Sarah Yesler, circa 1865
Photograph

Sarah Yesler, circa 1865

Sarah Burgert married Henry Yelser in Ohio. Once he was settled in Seattle, she traveled out to join him. Sarah Yesler was active in many civic groups including the Ladies' Relief Society, which helped the needy, and the Ladies' Library Board, which founded Seattle's public library in the home of one of the members. Mrs. Yesler was Seattle's first librarian.…
ID Number:SHS6663B
Date:Circa 1865
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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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