Seattle was born of an adventurous spirit that has sustained and saturated the city over the years. Today, the inhabitants display that same bravery and perseverance that the pioneers first showed, though the challenges have changed greatly since the early days of Seattle's history. The first inhabitants of Seattle were the Duwamish, a Native American tribe that is in decline today and unable to gain official status as a tribe. They were fairly peaceable, and with the arrival of a group of settlers in 1851, the tribe helped the settlers enabling them to survive through the early days of the settlement. The leader of the group was a native of New York, David Denny.
One of the famous stories of the early frontier-town involved the plethora of bachelors who had no women to marry or to teach the children of the town. This problem was somewhat alleviated by the efforts of Asa Mercer who traveled east again to encourage young women to return to Seattle with him. A total of 57 women were recorded to have made this journey, becoming known as "Mercer's Belles" or "Mercer Girls." These famous stories spawned the bad 1960s TV show, "Here Come the Brides."
In 1889, the Great Fire destroyed 50 blocks of the old wooden downtown in a single day. What rose from the ashes was a city of brick and iron centered on today's Pioneer Square. In 1893, railroad connected Seattle to the rest of the country and immigration began to swell the numbers in the city. In 1897, Seattle experienced its first population boom when the Portland docked there with two tons of Yukon gold. Thousands of fortune hunters passed through Seattle on their way north, and it became the banking center for the newly rich as well as providing bars, brothels and honky-tonks for the eager miners.
Shipbuilding provided the next wave of commerce through WWI. WWII continued that trend, adding the aircraft and atomic industries to the city's list of accomplishments. Today, that economy has shifted to center on international trade and tech firms that provide the base for Seattle's booming economy. Microsoft and Amazon head the tech firms, and the city's progressive politics have enticed a number of other modern companies there as well.
In recent decades, Seattle has had some traumatic regional challenges to overcome. For years, the region was plagued by the disappearance of young women in the largest unsolved murder case in the country. The hunt for the "Green River Killer" (or killers) lasted nearly two decades, with Gary Ridgway eventually being arrested and confessing to the murders of 48 women, the most victims of any serial killer in history.
In 1980, the region experienced another stunning upset as Mount St. Helens erupted, triggered by an earthquake. The largest landslide in recorded history swept down the mountain at speeds of 70 to 150 miles per hour, removing a total of 23 square miles of material by the time it was finished. There were significant amounts of ash that landed as far away as Oklahoma, and the finer ash reached the east coast in 3 days and circled the earth within 15 days. There were 57 people killed, $1.1 billion in losses for timber, civil works, and agriculture (This figure does not include personal property, clean-up, or tourism loss.), and there were 7,000 big game animals, 12 million salmon, and millions of birds and small animals killed. The region was irreparably changed by this eruption. In 1982, the President and Congress designated 110,000 acres as the National Volcanic Monument, inside which the environment will be left to recover naturally from the disturbance. The area is designated for research, recreation, and education. Today, many people visit the area to climb the mountain and enjoy all sorts of hiking and other outdoor activities as well as learning about the history of the eruption and the area's recovery.
HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS
In addition to Mount St. Helens, there are many other fascinating places in Seattle that allow visitors to glance back at history.
MOHAI - Seattle Museum of History and Industry
This museum was opened in 1952 and has grown to be the largest private heritage organization in Washington. MOHAI serves more than 60,000 visitors each year, and introduces them to the history of the Pacific Northwest. Through exhibits and programs, the museum hopes to create an appreciation for the cultural, social, and economic history of the Northwest. MOHAI is not afraid to enter the community, and they offer a number of walking tours through various regions of the city in which they emphasize different aspects of Seattle's history.
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (University of Washington campus)
This is Washington State's museum of natural and cultural history. It is the only natural history museum in the Northwest and has a number of interesting exhibits including, huge totem poles, hand carved cedar canoes, the region's only dinosaur skeleton, gems and minerals, fossils, and more. It is divided into four categories: anthropology, geology, zoology, and botany. In those categories, the Burke Museum has nationally ranked collections totaling more than 5 million specimens.
Nordic Heritage Museum
With its tribute to the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), this is the only museum in the country to exclusively honor Nordic heritage. The museum displays a myriad of historical items including textiles, china, books, tools, photographs, and other items that illustrate the rich heritage of Nordic culture in the Northwest today. To give contemporary relevance to its offerings, the museum provides visitors with contemporary artists and community activities designed to draw the visitors into the world of Nordic culture so that people will experience it personally.
Log House Museum
Located near the landing site of the Denny party, this museum is dedicated to the history of the Duwamish Peninsula and the birthplace of Seattle. The museum seeks to preserve and share community history through exhibitions, events, public speakers, and special programs such as their oral history program. There are also facilities such as an orientation center for the Alki/Harbor/Duwamish corridor and an education resource center for students, educators, and researchers.
Sources:
( http://www.seattle-travel-services.com ) (Accessed June 15, 2004)
( http://www.lonelyplanet.com ) (Accessed June 15, 2004)
( http://www.seeseattle.com/visitors ) (Accessed June 21, 2004)