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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 Whitman statue, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, 1909
Photograph

Whitman statue, Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Seattle, 1909

This statute, commemorating Oregon Country missionary Marcus Whitman, in inscribed on its base: "Marcus Whitman, Missionary, Patriot, Pioneer" and "Killed by Indians near site of Walla Walla, Wash, November 29, 1847." The Education Building is visible to the left. Embossed on mount: Harwood
ID Number:1974.5868.14
Date:1909
Image of Township No 24 North Range No 4 East, 1864
Cartographic material

Township No 24 North Range No 4 East, 1864

This hand drawn map shows early land ownership for King County Township No 24 North Range No. 4 East, providing names and property boundaries of original purchasers and claimants. These boundaries encompass what is now known as Rainier Beach neighborhood at the Southernmost point, up to the Yesler Terrace neighborhood at the North. It also includes the original of the…
ID Number:1976.6389A.1
Date:1864
Image of Township No 25 North Range No 3 East and Township No 25 North Range No 4 East, 1864
Cartographic material

Township No 25 North Range No 3 East and Township No 25 North Range No 4 East, 1864

This hand drawn map shows early land ownership for King County Township No 25 North Range No. 4 East and Range No. 3 East, providing names and property boundaries of original purchasers and claimants. These boundaries encompass what is now known as the First Hill neighborhood at the Southernmost point, up to North 85th, just above the present-day Green Lake…
ID Number:1976.6389A.2
Date:1864
Image of Portrait of John and Carrie Denny, Portland, circa 1887
Photograph

Portrait of John and Carrie Denny, Portland, circa 1887

John Bunyan Denny (1862-1913) was the eldest son of early Seattle settlers David Thomas Denny (1832-1903) and Louisa (Boren) Denny (1827-1916). John attended Willamette University law school in Portland, and in 1887 married Carrie V. Palmer (1853-1891), daughter of Rocelia A. Palmer and Alfred Lee Palmer (1835-1914), a prominent Seattle lawyer and real estate investor. Carrie was born in Iowa…
ID Number:1980.6891.14
Date:Circa 1887
Image of Pettit's Historical Map of Seattle, 1913
Cartographic material

Pettit's Historical Map of Seattle, 1913

This historical map was compiled by Benjamin W. Pettit (1867-1944), a banker who arrived in Seattle from Illinois in 1889 and continued in banking until his retirement from First National Bank in 1941. An amateur photographer and historian, Pettit collected slides and gave presentations on the changes he saw in Seattle since his arrival.This map documents sites and land claims…
ID Number:1980.6923.8
Date:1913
Image of Columbia St. from Yesler's wharf, Seattle, circa 1875
Photograph

Columbia St. from Yesler's wharf, Seattle, circa 1875

Predating the settlement that became the city of Seattle, the Duwamish had a winter village of approximately 8 longhouses situated along the central waterfront, roughly at the intersection of present-day First Avenue South and Yesler Way. Henry Yesler established his steam-powered sawmill at the foot of Mill Road (now Yesler Way) in October 1852, and by around the 1860s, the…
ID Number:1980.6923.106
Date:Circa 1875
Image of Gatzert and Schwabacher families, Seattle, circa 1882
Photograph

Gatzert and Schwabacher families, Seattle, circa 1882

This photograph shows the Gatzert and Schwabacher families circa 1890. Brothers Louis (1837-1900), Abraham (1838-1909), and Sigmund (1841-1917) Schwabacher were Bavarian-born Jewish merchants who owned several businesses bearing their family name, first in San Francisco, then in Walla Walla, Washington, and later in Seattle and other cities across the west. Their sister Babette married German immigrant Bailey Gatzert (1829-1893) in…
ID Number:1980.7166.1.1
Date:Circa 1882
Image of Bailey Gatzert's summer home, Seattle, circa 1892
Photograph

Bailey Gatzert's summer home, Seattle, circa 1892

This image shows Bailey and Barbette Gatzert's summer home on the east side of Lake Washington. The Gatzert's named it Lucerne after the Swiss lake they admired. Barbetta Gatzert moved there after Bailey's death in 1893. Stamped on verso: John P. Soule, 328 Broadway, Seattle, Wash.
ID Number:1980.7166.1.5
Date:Circa 1892
Image of Four members of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, Seattle, April 21, 1920
Photograph

Four members of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, Seattle, April 21, 1920

On November 27, 1911, the "Native Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, Prior to 1870" was organized in Seattle by sixty white, non-Indigenous, women from all over the Pacific Northwest to honor their settler heritage. The organization still exists as of 2018, now called Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington, and promotes historic preservation and education.In this image four women…
ID Number:1983.10.2102.1
Date:1920
Image of Seattle's first church, circa 1885
Photograph

Seattle's first church, circa 1885

In 1855, a group of Methodists dedicated Seattle's first church. It was a plain white building, commonly known as the "White Church." The Methodist Episcopal congregation grew quickly over the next few years. They sold the church in 1887 and built a larger one several blocks away.In this photo, the White Church stands behind its picket fence at Second Avenue…
ID Number:1983.10.6031
Date:Circa 1885
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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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