• Visit
    • Museum Accessibility
    • Community Access
    • Group Visits and Tours
    • Programs
      • History Café
      • MOHAI Mercantile Literary Series
      • First Thursday
      • Denny Lecture
      • Al Young Educator of the Year
      • Everyday Heroes
    • MOHAI Mercantile
    • Gourmondo at MOHAI
  • Exhibits
  • Events
  • Collections and Research
    • Collections Search
    • Themed Collections
    • Research Library
    • Image Ordering
    • Donate an Artifact
    • Curator’s Fellowship
  • Support
    • Donate
    • Membership at MOHAI
    • Gift Memberships
    • Corporate Support
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • Self-Guided School Year Explorations
      • Creating Our Community
      • Cracking the History Code: Salish Stories
      • Cracking the History Code: Settling Around the Sound
      • Hands on History
      • Self-Guided Summer Field Trips
      • Homeschool Group
    • Portable Museum Program
    • Scholarships
    • Education FAQ
    • Primary Source Analysis
    • Online Curricula
    • Teen Programs
    • Idea Lab
    • Discovery Packs
    • Summer Camps
  • About
    • Annual Reports
    • The MOHAI Blog
    • Contact MOHAI
    • Opportunities
    • Leadership
    • Private Events
  • Donate
  • Tickets
  • Membership
HomeCollections and ResearchCollections Search

Collections Search

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.

Download lower resolution images directly from an item page. MOHAI offers high-resolution digital reproductions of photographs and other materials from our collections for personal and professional use.

We have many more items in our collections and not everything you see online is on view at the museum. We have additional materials online at the University of Washington’s Digital Collections.

MOHAI Statement on Harmful Content

Search by Collection

Not finding what you are looking for?
Ask the MOHAI Collections Staff

257 results for: Washington Territory

Share:
Image of Waterfront and downtown, Seattle, 1888
Photograph

Waterfront and downtown, Seattle, 1888

Signs in image: Our House. Clothiers. Safe Deposit Co. Gordon Hardware Co. Seattle Hardware Co. The Arcade - W.P. Boyd & Co. Drugs - [Asten?] & Co. Columbia House [...]. San Francisco Store - Dry Goods. St. Elmo Hotel. New England Hotel. Live Stable.Caption on mount: Peiser - 817 and 819 Second Street, Seattle, W.T.Caption on verso: First-class Work Guaranteed,…
ID Number:SHS7637
Date:1888
Image of Post Building before the fire, circa 1885
Photograph

Post Building before the fire, circa 1885

For Seattle's early citizens, the elegant Post Building, at the foot of Mill Street (now Yesler Way) was the best evidence that their town was no longer a pioneer village. The building had good reasons for its name. It housed the Post-Intelligencer newspaper; it was built at the corner of Mill Street and Post Alley; and, for a short time,…
ID Number:SHS9295
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Ned Darling posing with dog sled team before departure for Seattle, Nome, Alaska, February 2, 1906
Photograph

Ned Darling posing with dog sled team before departure for Seattle, Nome, Alaska, February 2, 1906

The world's record for the fastest time of a midwinter "mush" from Nome to Seattle via Valdez was set by Charles Edward "Ned" Darling (1871-1923) at 42 days, beating the previous record by four days. Born in Ireland, at the time of this image Ned was a hardware merchant in Nome, Alaska. He moved to Berkeley, California, before 1920 with…
ID Number:SHS9888
Date:1906
Image of Port Blakely planing mill in snow, January 1880
Photograph

Port Blakely planing mill in snow, January 1880

In January 1880, five feet of snow fell in the Seattle area. At Port Blakely, on Bainbridge Island, the lumber mill opened late each day so that workmen could clear the snow off the roofs in town. The weather was so cold that the snow stayed on the ground for several weeks.This photo shows the planing mill and waterfront at…
ID Number:SHS11500
Date:1880
Image of Waterfront of Port Blakely, Washington, circa 1885
Photograph

Waterfront of Port Blakely, Washington, circa 1885

Captain William Renton recognized that Blakely Harbor, on Bainbridge Island, was an ideal site for a sawmill. In 1863, he founded the town of Port Blakely. By 1882, the Port Blakely Mill Company was one of the three largest lumber producers in Puget Sound. This photo, probably taken in the 1880s, shows lumber ships and floating logs at the Port…
ID Number:SHS12507
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Officers of last Volunteer Fire Department, circa 1889
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
Image of Steilacoom John and Annie, circa 1905
Photograph

Steilacoom John and Annie, circa 1905

The Steilacoom are a Coast Salish people whose historic lands are near the current town of Steilacoom, southwest of Tacoma. The Steilacoom consisted of five bands: Steilacoom, Sastuck, Spanaway, Tilhlow, and Segwallitchew. Unlike many of their neighbors the Steilacoom did not live near a glacier-fed river, but on land featuring a group of lakes and creeks. The Steilacoom were affected…
ID Number:SHS19058
Date:Circa 1905
Previous 1 … 24 25 26

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
  • Plan a Visit
  • Directions and Parking
  • Accessibility
  • Group Tours
  • About

Sign up to Receive our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright 2026, Museum of History & Industry. All Rights Reserved