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Seattle History
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Seattle has a deep history rooted
in business. According to Vince Kueter, a researcher at the
Seattle Times, there were a number of historic moments that
helped Seattle become the great city that it is today. In 1851,
for instance, the first store of the area opened up. The following
year, David Maynard was credited with naming the city after
his friend Chief Sealth, a leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish
tribes. The city grew and with the signing of the Point Elliott
Treaty |
in 1855, the U.S. government took control of much of the Native
American land in that area. This time was contentious, however,
and a battle was fought a year later between the Indians and Seattle’s
residents. Still, the city grew and the school that would later
become the University of Washington was established in downtown
Seattle in 1861. Soon after, a newspaper began printing, a library
opened, buildings were erected and the population grew. By 1873,
Seattle was chosen to be linked to other cities by a transcontinental
railroad, while steamship service also began. Before the century
ended, an electric trolley line roared to life and a number of famous
stores opened: the Bon Marché in 1889 and the Frederick &
Nelson department store in 1890, the latter of which closed after
101 years in 1992.
By 1900, Seattle’s population surpassed 80,000 and large
markets and hospitals soon opened. Other big businesses that are
still famous today began opening up, including Eddie Bauer and the
Olympic Hotel. And with all the mixing of ethnicities and people
as industrialization helped feed local businesses, the cultural
landscape of Seattle changed as well. In 1939, for example, Yesler
Terrance in Seattle became the first racially integrated public
housing in the country. At the same time, hundreds of Japanese Americans
were ordered to evacuate Seattle in 1942. Racial tensions softened
soon after and energy went into rebuilding parts of the city after
a massive earthquake shook the city in 1949. The city’s international
airport opened that same year, while its population soon bubbled
over 460,000.
The 1950s was a decade defined by advancements in transportation
services. The Seattle-based Boeing company became the first to successfully
launch a passenger jet, while the city’s metro system was
also established. In 1962, the World’s Fair opened and forever
changed Seattle’s skyline by leaving the Space Needle behind
as part of its legacy. The population kept growing, both in Seattle’s
urban area and surrounding suburbs, surpassing 530,000 in 1970.
And it finally happened in 1971—the opening of the world’s
first Starbucks café. Four years later, Seattle resident
Bill Gates help found Microsoft. Not surprisingly, the city continued
to grow, both financially and culturally. Today, Seattle features
numerous museums and attractions.
More Information
 www.state.gov
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Seattle Travel Guides
Frommer's Seattle
Lonely Planet Seattle
Let's Go Seattle
Fodors Seattle
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