History of Seattle facts for kids
Seattle is a large port city in Washington, located in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Its history is like a roller coaster, with periods of fast growth and sudden slowdowns. When times were tough, Seattle often used these moments to rebuild and improve its city.
The city has seen at least five major growth periods:
- A boom in the lumber industry, followed by the creation of a beautiful park system designed by the Olmsted Brothers.
- The Klondike gold rush began in 1896 and reached Seattle in July 1897. This was a huge boost for the city, helping it recover from economic problems that started in 1893.
- A shipbuilding boom during World War I, which ended quickly after the war. This was followed by a city development plan by Virgil Bogue that was never used.
- The Boeing boom, which led to a lot of general infrastructure building.
- More recently, a boom driven by companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and other software and telecommunications businesses.
Contents
Exploring Seattle's Past
Early Days and First People
What we now call Seattle has been home to people for a very long time, at least 4,000 years, since the end of the last Ice Age. In the mid-1850s, the Coast Salish people, including the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes, lived in about 13 villages within the area that is now Seattle. One village site on the Duwamish River shows continuous human life since the 6th century. The birthplace of Chief Seattle was also in this area, near where King Street Station stands today.
George Vancouver was the first European explorer to visit the Seattle area in May 1792. He was charting the Pacific Northwest.
Founding the City
The founding of Seattle is often marked by the arrival of the Denny Party on September 25, 1851. However, another group, including Luther Collins, Henry Van Asselt, and the Maple family, started a farming settlement in what is now Georgetown just two days later. The Denny Party first settled at Alki Point, but in April 1852, Arthur A. Denny moved to a more protected spot on Elliott Bay, which is now part of downtown Seattle. David Swinson "Doc" Maynard also settled land nearby.
Timber and Growth
In its early years, Seattle's main industry was timber. The city shipped logs and milled wood to San Francisco. The area was covered with huge, ancient trees, some nearly 400 feet tall. Today, trees of that size are rare.
When Henry Yesler brought the first steam sawmill to the region, he set it up where Maynard and Denny's land met. This helped Seattle become a leader in the lumber industry. Charlie Terry, an early settler, also played a role in developing the city, including donating land for the future University of Washington.
Seattle quickly grew from a logging town into a small city. It gained a reputation as a lively and sometimes rough town where rules were still being established. Records show that many of the city's first businesses were located on Maynard's land.
Relations with the local Native American population were sometimes difficult. This included a conflict known as the Battle of Seattle on January 25, 1856.
Seattle officially became a town on January 14, 1865, and was re-incorporated on December 2, 1869. Its population grew from about 350 to 1,000 people during this time. In 1867, a Catholic priest, Francis X. Prefontaine, built Seattle's first Catholic church, raising the money himself.
Building a Modern City
Railroad Rivalry and City Improvements
On July 14, 1873, the Northern Pacific Railway chose Tacoma over Seattle as the western end of its transcontinental railroad. The railroad leaders hoped to buy land cheaply around their chosen spot.
Seattle worked hard to get its own railroad. The Great Northern Railway finally arrived in Seattle in 1884, helping the city compete for freight. However, a major passenger terminal didn't come until 1906.
In this era, Seattle was still a developing town. While it had newspapers and telephones, law enforcement was still growing. Basic services like indoor plumbing were rare, and the city struggled with sanitation in its low-lying areas.
Workers began forming unions to improve their conditions. The first was the Seattle Typographical Union Local 202 in 1882, followed by dockworkers, cigarmakers, and others.
During this time, there were also tensions with Chinese laborers. In 1885–1886, due to complaints about economic competition, Chinese settlers were unfairly forced to leave Seattle, Tacoma, and other Northwest cities.
Women played an important part in making Seattle a more organized and "civilized" place. The Washington Territory was one of the first places in the U.S. to briefly allow women's suffrage, giving women the right to vote.
By the 1880s, Seattle gained its first streetcar and cable car, ferry service, a YMCA gym, and began developing a road system. It also passed a rule requiring sewer lines for new homes. Seattle's ability to avoid becoming a "company town" helped it grow more steadily than Tacoma.
The Great Fire of 1889
A major event in early Seattle was the Great Seattle Fire on June 6, 1889. It started from a glue pot and quickly spread, burning 29 city blocks. Most buildings were made of wood, and nearly the entire business district, all railroad terminals, and most wharves were destroyed. Other cities in Washington also experienced large fires that summer.
Thanks to quick financial help, Seattle rebuilt incredibly fast. New building rules meant downtown was rebuilt with brick and stone instead of wood. In the year after the fire, the city's population grew from 25,000 to 40,000, largely due to the many construction jobs created.
The Klondike Gold Rush Boom
Seattle's biggest growth period happened during the Klondike gold rush. Before this, Seattle and the rest of the country faced economic difficulties. In August 1896, gold was found in Canada's Klondike region. Almost a year later, on July 17, 1897, a ship called the Portland arrived in Seattle carrying a "ton of gold." This event, boosted by a clever publicity campaign, kicked off the Klondike gold rush. Seattle became the main supply center and starting point for people traveling to Alaska and the Yukon gold fields. This rush ended Seattle's economic problems almost overnight.
Seattle in the 20th Century
A City Transformed: 1900-1915
The gold rush brought many new people to Seattle, and new neighborhoods began to form. Downtown was very busy, with new immigrants constantly arriving.
To help people get around, streetcars were built to connect downtown to these new neighborhoods. City engineer R.H. Thomson led a huge project to level Seattle's steep hills. Dirt from these "regrades" was used to create the current waterfront and build Harbor Island. Other regrades reshaped areas like Pioneer Square.
Between 1911 and 1917, the Lake Washington Ship Canal was built. This project included two major "cuts" (Montlake and Fremont), bridges, and the Government Locks. The water level of Lake Washington dropped, and the Black River dried up.
During this time of rapid expansion, city planners, following a design by the Olmsted Firm, created many parks and boulevards. These green spaces and connecting roads still give Seattle much of its unique feel today.
Seattle was quickly becoming a major city. The Seattle Symphony was founded in 1903. Popular entertainment also thrived, with famous theater owners like Alexander Pantages based in Seattle.
The school system also grew, with new schools built and the curriculum expanded to include music, art, physical education, and programs for immigrants.
As a major port, Seattle improved its waterfront by building a port owned and operated by the local government. This efficient system helped Seattle grow even more after 1945, especially with trade to Asia.
Seattle celebrated its growth with the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909. However, this rapid growth also led to questions about how the city was run. Religious leaders like Rev. Mark A. Matthews of First Presbyterian Church also played a role, advocating for social reforms and building a model church with community services.
World War I and Beyond
In 1910, Seattle voters approved a plan for city development, known as the Bogue plan. It proposed a large civic center and a huge expansion of parks, but it was never put into action.
During World War I, trade across the Pacific Ocean increased, leading to a boom in shipbuilding in Seattle. However, when the war ended, the government stopped buying ships, and the economy slowed down significantly.
After the war, workers in Western Washington became very active in asking for better conditions. In 1919, a disagreement over wages led to the Seattle General Strike, where many workers stopped working to demand improvements.
In the 1920s, Seattle began to develop as an arts center. Collections that would become the Frye Art Museum and Henry Art Gallery were put on display. Artists like Mark Tobey and Morris Graves became well-known. The city also had a lively jazz scene.
In 1924, Seattle's Sand Point Airfield was the final stop for the first aerial circumnavigation of the world, a historic flight that helped establish Sand Point as a Naval Air Station.
The Great Depression in the 1930s hit Seattle hard. Construction slowed dramatically, and the city lost much of its trade with Asia.
World War II's Impact
When the U.S. entered World War II after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Puget Sound region became a key part of the war effort. Boeing became the largest employer in Seattle, producing thousands of planes like the B-17s and B-29 bombers.
Shipyards in the area also built many war vessels. Thousands of men and women worked in Tacoma and Seattle shipyards, building destroyers, carriers, and other ships for the United States Navy.
The war also brought tens of thousands of workers from across the country to Seattle. Many African Americans moved to the city for jobs in shipyards and at Boeing. Seattle's Black population grew significantly, leading to increased political influence and calls for civil rights.
Japanese American Community During WWII
Japanese Americans living in the Pacific Northwest faced great challenges during the war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the removal of 110,000 Japanese immigrants and Japanese American citizens from the West Coast to internment camps inland. About 7,000 people from the Seattle area were relocated. Seattle's Japantown, once the second largest in the nation, became empty. Local farms run by Japanese American families, which supplied much produce to the Pike Place Market, were also lost. While most people accepted this policy, some leaders, like Tacoma Mayor Harry P. Cain, questioned its fairness.
Post-War Seattle: Growth and Challenges
The Boeing Era and Changes
After World War II, military orders for bombers ended, and Boeing factories temporarily shut down, causing many job losses. However, Boeing soon recovered by becoming a world leader in commercial passenger planes, especially with the rise of jet aircraft.
With all this growth, Seattle's lakes and rivers faced increasing pollution. Traffic also became a big problem. To address these issues, local leaders formed the Metropolitan Problems Committee, or METRO, to manage the metropolitan area. METRO eventually focused on sewage treatment and was later merged into the King County government.
To help revitalize its downtown, Seattle hosted the Century 21 Exposition, the 1962 World's Fair. The fair had a futuristic science theme and left behind a civic center, now called Seattle Center, which includes arts buildings, the Pacific Science Center, and the iconic Space Needle. New freeways, like I-5 and I-90, were also built to handle the growing number of commuters.
A demonstration monorail line was built for the fair and later became a tourist attraction. The World's Fair was a great success, helping to re-energize downtown Seattle.
The University of Washington also grew significantly during this period. Starting in the late 1950s, Seattle became a center for the American counter-culture and protest movements.
The Boeing Bust
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Boeing faced tough times due to reduced military spending, the slowing space program, and the cancellation of the supersonic transport (SST) project. The company also had a lot of debt from building the 747 airliner. Boeing's Commercial Airplane Group, its largest division, saw a huge drop in employees. Unemployment in Seattle rose to 14%, the highest in the United States. Many people moved away, leading to a famous billboard near the airport that read: "Will the last person leaving SEATTLE- Turn out the lights."
After the Boeing downturn, Seattle began to recover. Pike Place Market, a popular tourist spot, was revitalized. During World War II, the internment of Japanese Americans had greatly affected the market. In 1971, an initiative to "Keep the Market" passed, creating a historic district dedicated to preserving it. Today, the market attracts over 10 million visitors each year.
Similarly, Pioneer Square, an old neighborhood built after the 1889 fire, was also revitalized. Businesses moved into renovated buildings, creating a demand for new restaurants, galleries, and shops. Seattle was definitely bouncing back from the economic challenges.
The Rise of Technology and Innovation
In 1979, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft, moved their company from New Mexico to the Seattle suburbs. By the 1990s, Microsoft became the world's most profitable corporation, making Gates and Allen billionaires and many employees millionaires. Microsoft inspired many other companies in the Seattle area, including RealNetworks and Amazon. Microsoft also contributed to public works, donating software to schools.
Seattle also saw growth in biotechnology and the coffee industry, with the international coffeeshop chain Starbucks starting in Seattle. Nordstrom, a Seattle-based department store, also became a national brand.
Paul Allen, who made his fortune with Microsoft, became a major figure in Seattle. He supported initiatives like building a football stadium for the Seattle Seahawks and founded the Experience Music Project (now the Museum of Pop Culture) at Seattle Center.
Seattle hosted the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999, which became the site of a major street protest between the anti-globalization movement and the World Trade Organization on November 30, 1999.
Seattle Today: A Diverse City
Seattle today looks similar to how it did in the 1960s, but its population has become more diverse. It is still a city with many single-family homes. The city is known for its progressive politics and has about three-quarters of a million people.
In 2023, Seattle made history by becoming the first city in the United States to ban discrimination based on caste.
Images for kids
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Seattle, engraving from Harper's New Monthly Magazine (September 1870)
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Second Ave. and Marion St., Seattle, Wash., July 1889
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Looking up 1st Ave. from Pioneer Square, 1900
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See also
- Timeline of Seattle
- Seattle Police Department
