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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 Dedication of pioneer monument at Alki, Seattle, November 18, 1905
Photograph

Dedication of pioneer monument at Alki, Seattle, November 18, 1905

On November 18, 1905, the surviving members of the Denny Party gathered at their old landing place on Alki Beach to dedicate a monument to the founding of Seattle. According to the inscription, the monument was erected by the Washington University State Historical Society and presented by Leonora Denny. Handwritten on sleeve: Unveiling Monument, Pioneer Day, Alki, 1905?Webster & Stevens…
ID Number:1983.10.7430.1
Date:1905
Image of Pioneer group at Alki monument, November 18, 1905
Photograph

Pioneer group at Alki monument, November 18, 1905

On November 18, 1905, the surviving members of the Denny Party gathered at their old landing place on Alki Beach to dedicate a monument to the founding of Seattle. According to the inscription, the monument was erected by the Washington University State Historical Society and presented by Leonora Denny.This photo shows the remaining pioneers standing by the monument. The bearded…
ID Number:1983.10.7432
Date:1905
Image of Kirkland from Lake Washington, 1906
Photograph

Kirkland from Lake Washington, 1906

In 1888, Seattle investors convinced British industrialist Peter Kirk to open a steel mill in Kirkland, named in his honor. They hoped that the Moss Bay Iron and Steel Works, reorganized in 1890 as the Great Western Iron and Steel Company, would turn Kirkland into the Pittsburgh of the West. The city boomed as speculators subdivided land and built substantial…
ID Number:1983.10.7887
Date:1906
Image of Cowboy doing rope tricks, 1909
Photograph

Cowboy doing rope tricks, 1909

Cheyenne Bill's Wild West Show and Congress of Rough Riders opened in Seattle's Madison Park on July 17, 1909. The show featured Indigenous performers dancing, trick ropers, cowpunchers, bucking horses, and recreations of frontier battles.This photo shows one of the trick ropers in the 1909 Wild West Show. The Seattle Times reported that the audience was awed by the whirling…
ID Number:1983.10.8298
Date:1909
Image of Cowboy trick rider, 1909
Photograph

Cowboy trick rider, 1909

Crowds flocked to Cheyenne Bill's Wild West Show and Congress of Rough Riders in July 1909. This photo shows a cowboy trick rider in the 1909 Wild West Show. The Seattle Times reported that rider Jim Kennedy did somersaults on the galloping horse's back, hung by his heels, and ended his performance with a headstand in the saddle as his…
ID Number:1983.10.8328.1
Date:1909
Image of Quinault canoe and sightseers, Moclips, Washington, 1914
Photograph

Quinault canoe and sightseers, Moclips, Washington, 1914

The Quinault are a Coast Salish people whose historic territory was the southwestern Olympic Peninsula. The current Quinault Indian Nation (QIN) has a reservation covering part of their historic lands. In addition to Quinault people, the QIN includes people from several neighboring tribes: Queets, Quileutes, Hohs, Chehalis, Chinook, and Cowlitz. Fishing, especially for salmon, is an important part of Quinault…
ID Number:1983.10.8687
Date:1914
Image of Ezra Meeker and his oxcart, 1912
Photograph

Ezra Meeker and his oxcart, 1912

In 1852, Ezra Meeker and his family came west by wagon over the Oregon Trail, eventually settling in the Puyallup Valley. As the years passed and cross-country travel became easier, Meeker worried that people wouldn't understand the hardships of the early settlers. Beginning at the age of 75, he made several trips across the Oregon Trail and urged its preservation.…
ID Number:1983.10.9471.1
Date:1912
Image of Founders Day, 1914
Photograph

Founders Day, 1914

Handwritten on sleeve: Founders Day, 1914.Webster & Stevens number: 42280
ID Number:1983.10.9904.2
Date:1914
Image of Ezra Meeker in an automobile, 1918
Photograph

Ezra Meeker in an automobile, 1918

In the 1850s, Ezra Meeker and his family had traveled to the Pacific Northwest by oxcart, along the Oregon Trail. When he was 75 years old, Meeker began his travels to promote the old trail. He formed the Oregon Trail Memorial Association, and worked with states and cities to commemorate the trail and the early settlers.In this 1918 photo, taken…
ID Number:1983.10.10420
Date:1918
Image of Prospector operating a rocker, Nome, 1904
Photograph

Prospector operating a rocker, Nome, 1904

In 1898, gold was found near Nome, Alaska, setting off a new stampede of fortune hunters. For the next decade or more, crowds of men, women, and children washed gravel and sand through rockers and other equipment, trying to find gold. Rockers were easily built and simple to operate. About $50 million in gold was removed from the Nome area…
ID Number:1983.10.13104
Date:1904
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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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