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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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257 results for: Washington Territory

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Image of Inauguration of Governor Elisha Peyre Ferry, Olympia, November 11, 1889
Photograph

Inauguration of Governor Elisha Peyre Ferry, Olympia, November 11, 1889

Elisha Peyre Ferry (1825-1895) was the first governor of Washington State. Ferry was a Republican lawyer who had twice been Governor of Washington Territory, the only one to serve two terms. On Washington's admission as a state on November 11, 1889, he became its inaugural governor. In his first summer, he had to supervise the rebuilding of three major cities…
ID Number:SHS174
Date:1889
Image of East-facing view of Seattle and the Alaskan, 1888
Photograph

East-facing view of Seattle and the Alaskan, 1888

Seattle in the 1880s was a rapidly growing city, aided in no small part by the 1883 connection with the Northern Pacific Railway Company. Lumber and coal were the primary industries, but the growth of fishing, wholesale trade, shipbuilding, and shipping also contributed to the town's economic expansion and population growth. The Seattle City Census of 1888 records population at…
ID Number:SHS201
Date:1888
Image of Commercial Street looking north, Seattle, 1865
Photograph

Commercial Street looking north, Seattle, 1865

Seattle was first incorporated by the Washington Territorial Legislature in 1865 with a population of 350 and an economy based on timber. This image, taken from about Main Street, looking North along Commercial Street (now First Avenue South), shows the Territorial University of Washington in the center distance, built in 1862 at a location now occupied by the Fairmont Olympic…
ID Number:SHS239
Date:1865
Image of North Pacific Brewery, Columbia and 1st Ave., Seattle, 1874
Photograph

North Pacific Brewery, Columbia and 1st Ave., Seattle, 1874

Commercial beer brewing began in Seattle around 1854 when Antonio B. Rabbeson founded Washington Brewery; by the spring of 1864 he was advertising his porter, beer, and cream ales. On February 1, 1865, Martin Schmieg and Joseph Butterfield announced their new North Pacific Brewery, on the southwest corner of Columbia Street and Front Street (now First Avenue). Butterfield later sold…
ID Number:SHS240
Date:1874
Image of Dexter Horton home, 3rd and Seneca, Seattle, circa 1875
Photograph

Dexter Horton home, 3rd and Seneca, Seattle, circa 1875

In 1853 Dexter Horton (1825-1904) came to Seattle with his first wife, Hannah Eliza (Shoudy) Horton (1828-1871), and their daughter, Rebecca. Developing a reputation as an honest businessman, he established the city's first real bank. Horton was also a founding volunteer in various social organizations, including the Seattle Library Association in 1873 and the Seattle Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA)…
ID Number:SHS243
Date:Circa 1875
Image of Intelligencer building at 1st and Cherry, circa 1876
Photograph

Intelligencer building at 1st and Cherry, circa 1876

Seattle's oldest newspaper, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, was founded in 1863 as the weekly Seattle Gazette, when Seattle was little more than a sawmill, a few dozen wooden buildings, and a couple of hundred people. This image shows the paper's new building, constructed in 1874 by Henry Yesler at Front Street (now First Avenue) and Cherry Street. The name on the…
ID Number:SHS252
Date:Circa 1876
Image of Elizabeth and Martin Stacy home, 3rd and Marion, Seattle, 1885
Photograph

Elizabeth and Martin Stacy home, 3rd and Marion, Seattle, 1885

In 1885 real estate investor Martin Van Buren Stacy (1837-1901) and his wife, Elizabeth A. Briggs Stacy (1824-1904), spent approximately $50,000 to erect their second home in Seattle, located at Third Avenue and Marion Street, in the grand French Second Empire style. After the Stacy's moved out in 1889 (their third home at 1004 Boren Street is now the University…
ID Number:SHS263
Date:1885
Image of Members of Seattle Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, 2nd and Columbia, Seattle, 1883
Photograph

Members of Seattle Volunteer Fire Company No. 1, 2nd and Columbia, Seattle, 1883

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:SHS323
Date:1883
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
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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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