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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 Seattle Brewing and Malting Co., Georgetown, 1886
Photograph

Seattle Brewing and Malting Co., Georgetown, 1886

The Seattle Brewing & Malting Company was founded in 1878 and built its large new Bayview Brewery in 1890. Several years later, the company merged with a firm that eventually became the Rainier Brewing Company. Original photo copied by Webster & Stevens.Caption on image: 1886 Rainier Brewery 1886.Handwritten on sleeve: Rainier Brewery.Webster & Stevens number: 356x
ID Number:1983.10.6078.1
Date:1886
Image of New England House, possibly during Fourth of July celebrations, 1888
Photograph

New England House, possibly during Fourth of July celebrations, 1888

The New England House, a hotel, stood on Commercial Street in the heart of downtown Seattle. During the early 1880s, most of its residents were single men who worked in the downtown area. This image may show the 4th of July celebrations in 1888. The hotel was hung with evergreen swags and cloth bunting. Original copy negativeOriginal photograph: May 6,…
ID Number:1983.10.6079
Date:1888
Image of View of Seattle, circa 1888
Photograph

View of Seattle, circa 1888

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:1983.10.6083
Date:Circa 1888
Image of View of Seattle, looking northwest from 12th St. and Dearborn, circa 1882
Photograph

View of Seattle, looking northwest from 12th St. and Dearborn, circa 1882

Much of Seattle was built on land reclaimed from Elliott Bay and the mouth of the Duwamish River. Muddy tide flats once extended all the way to the foot of Beacon Hill. Roads and railroad tracks were built over the flats on wooden trestles. Regrades in the early 20th century flattened Seattle’s hills and also provided more material for reclaimed…
ID Number:1983.10.6089
Date:Circa 1882
Image of Yesler's Wharf after a blizzard, January 1880
Photograph

Yesler's Wharf after a blizzard, January 1880

Seattle's record snowstorm began on January 5, 1880. Eight days later, the snow was a record 5 feet 4 inches deep. In this photo, the snow covers the rooftops, ship spars, and hillsides. The owner of the wooden building in the center tried to prop up his building with poles, but the snow was so heavy that the roof collapsed.…
ID Number:1983.10.6117.1
Date:1880
Image of John J. McGilvra's farm, circa 1870
Photograph

John J. McGilvra's farm, circa 1870

President Lincoln appointed John J. McGilvra United States Attorney for Washington Territory. In 1864, McGilvra and his family settled near Lake Washington, in today's Madison Park district. They called their home Laurel Shade. At his own expense, McGilvra built a road from the farm to Seattle, along the route which became Madison Street.This stereographic photo shows John McGilvra's property, Laurel…
ID Number:1983.10.6122
Date:Circa 1870
Image of King County Courthouse, became Seattle City Hall, 1882
Photograph

King County Courthouse, became Seattle City Hall, 1882

In 1882, the government of King County occupied a wood frame courthouse at Third Avenue, between Jefferson Street and Yesler Way in downtown Seattle. In 1890, the county offices moved up the hill to a new courthouse near the present site of Harborview Hospital and sold the old building to the city of Seattle. This photo shows the King County…
ID Number:1983.10.6136
Date:1882
Image of Wooden sidewalk on Front Street, circa 1878
Photograph

Wooden sidewalk on Front Street, circa 1878

Before the 1870s, Seattle's Front Street was a rough path filled with stumps and cut by ravines. The city pulled out the stumps, filled in the gullies, and smoothed out the street. It also built a new wooden sidewalk with guard rails to keep people from falling down into the tidal flats.This photo, looking south from Madison Street, was taken…
ID Number:1983.10.6138
Date:Circa 1878
Image of Talbot Coal Company wharf and Yesler's Wharf, 1878
Photograph

Talbot Coal Company wharf and Yesler's Wharf, 1878

In the 1870s, coal from Renton was shipped from Seattle to San Francisco. Steamers loaded with coal on the trip south returned to Seattle filled with goods for the growing city.This photo, taken around 1878, shows the pier at the Talbot Coal Company's Seattle yard. The Talbot coal pier was just one of several coal docks at the Seattle waterfront…
ID Number:1983.10.6141
Date:1878
Image of Looking south from Denny Hill, 1882
Photograph

Looking south from Denny Hill, 1882

On a sunny summer afternoon in 1882, a person looking south from Seattle's Denny Hill would have had this view. Seattle was still a frontier city of wood frame houses on the recently cleared hillsides above Elliott Bay. The steamers that landed at Yesler's Wharf (right center) were the city's lifeline to the rest of the United States and to…
ID Number:1983.10.6143.1
Date:1882
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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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