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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 Cabinet card portrait of Mary Ann Boren Denny, circa 1870
Photograph

Cabinet card portrait of Mary Ann Boren Denny, circa 1870

Mary Ann Boren (1822-1910) married Arthur Armstrong Denny in Illinois in 1843. Eight years later, the couple, their two daughters, and other members of the Denny and Boren families set out for the Pacific Northwest. In the group, known to later generations as the Denny Party, were but five women, seven men, and 12 children. Mary Ann was already expecting…
ID Number:2008.54.2
Date:Circa 1870
Image of Carte-de-visite of Margaret Lenora Denny, 1869
Photograph

Carte-de-visite of Margaret Lenora Denny, 1869

Margaret Lenora Denny (1847-1915) was the second child of Arthur and Mary Ann Boren Denny. Known as Lenora or Nora, she was only five when the family arrived at Alki Point after their long trip to the Pacific Northwest. In 1915, on the way back from Tacoma, Lenora Denny and three other prominent Seattleites (Thomas and Virginia Prosch, and Harriet…
ID Number:2008.54.5
Date:1869
Image of Cabinet card portrait of Olive Bell Stewart, circa 1860
Photograph

Cabinet card portrait of Olive Bell Stewart, circa 1860

Olive Julia Bell Stewart (born 1846) was the daughter of Seattle pioneers William Nathaniel Bell (1817-1887) and Sarah Ann (Peter) Bell (1819-1856), who arrived at Alki Beach in present-day West Seattle with the Denny party and other pioneers on the schooner Exact in 1851. The Bells, settling north of the future downtown area in what would become known as "Belltown,"…
ID Number:2008.54.11
Date:Circa 1860
Image of View from First Hill toward Elliott Bay, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

View from First Hill toward Elliott Bay, Seattle, circa 1885

This view from First Hill looking west and north toward Elliott Bay was taken before the Great Seattle Fire in 1889. The large white building in the center of the frame is the Central School, built in 1883 at Sixth Avenue and Madison Street, and destroyed in an 1888 fire; just behind and to the right of Central School is…
ID Number:2008.54.16
Date:Circa 1885
Image of View looking north toward Queen Anne Hill, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

View looking north toward Queen Anne Hill, Seattle, circa 1885

This image of the city was taken from the roof of Central School, and is facing north, with Seventh Avenue on the right, and Queen Anne Hill straight ahead. Smoke can be seen rising from Western Mill on Lake Union in the distance. On June 6, 1889, the Great Seattle Fire destroyed 25 city blocks, including much of what is…
ID Number:2008.54.17
Date:Circa 1885
Image of King Street Coal Works dock on Elliott Bay, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

King Street Coal Works dock on Elliott Bay, Seattle, circa 1885

This view of Elliott Bay is facing north and west. Seen here are two full-rigged-ships sitting in Elliott Bay; the King Street Coal Works at Second Avenue and Columbia Street, with the C&PSRR Co. (Columbia & Puget Sound Rail Road) Ocean Dock and Norther Pacific rail cars; and the edges of Ballast Island at the foot of Washington Street and…
ID Number:2008.54.23
Date:Circa 1885
Image of King Street Coal Works docks, Seattle, circa 1885
Photograph

King Street Coal Works docks, Seattle, circa 1885

The King Street Coal wharf was erected in 1877 to enable coal mined in Newcastle, WA, and brought by railcar to Seattle's waterfront, to be loaded onto ships, many of which were destined for the Pacific Coast's main metropolis, San Francisco.This photo shows the King Street Coal Works at Second Avenue and Columbia Street, with Northern Pacific rail cars on…
ID Number:2008.54.27
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Seattle waterfront at Columbia and Madison, circa 1885
Photograph

Seattle waterfront at Columbia and Madison, circa 1885

This view of the Seattle waterfront shows two sailboats docked at Bud Long's Boathouse, located just north of Washington Street, and a center for recreational boating activity in the 1880s. Frye's Opera House dominates the view of downtown beyond, which also includes the First Presbyterian Church, Territorial University, and the Central School at the far right of the frame. Businesses…
ID Number:2008.54.31
Date:Circa 1885
Image of Plat of the Second Addition, City of Seattle, December 1876
Cartographic material

Plat of the Second Addition, City of Seattle, December 1876

Seattle pioneers William Nathaniel Bell (1817-1887) and his wife, Sarah Ann (Peter) Bell (1819-1856), were members of the Denny Party, arriving in present-day West Seattle in 1851. The Bells helped to establish the settlement that became Seattle, settling north of the future downtown in "Belltown." Denny party leaders Arthur Armstrong Denny (1822-1899) and his wife Mary Ann Boren Denny (1822-1910)…
ID Number:2008.54.44
Date:1876
Image of David Thomas Denny II home on Queen Anne Hill, circa 1890
Photograph

David Thomas Denny II home on Queen Anne Hill, circa 1890

Seattle pioneers David T. Denny and Louisa Boren married in 1853 and lived in a small house on their homestead claim where Seattle Center and surrounding area is today. Denny accumulated enough wealth from various business ventures to build this mansion on Queen Anne Hill around 1890. Unfortunately, the family suffered significant financial losses during the Panic of 1893 and…
ID Number:2011.26.2
Date:Circa 1890
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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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