Henry Van Asselt was an early white settler to this area in 1851. Although Henry Van Asselt originally intended to make his living in King County through agriculture, his first homestead was burned in the Battle of Seattle of 1856, prompting him to leave the area for the Willamette Valley of Oregon. While in Oregon, he polished his cabinet-making skills. When he opened up a cabinet shop upon his return to Seattle, he intended to specialize in tables, beds, desks and cupboards. Van Asselt's furniture was under demand by other Seattle settlers such as Dexter Horton and Arthur Denny. In addition to his furniture-making business, Van Asselt was known for helping to build the first road from Seattle across the Cascades to Ellensburg. He donated the site for the city's first Courthouse and for the first Methodist Church. According to Dexter Horton, "[Van Asselt's] charities were numerous and unostentatious. He used to give every worthy newcomer work on his ranch, and many an emigrant in those days got his first start from Henry Van Asselt." (Portage, W/S 1986, p.6).