The History of Seattle

Five families of settlers landed on Alki Point in 1851. Upon their arrival, Chief Sealth, a Native American tribal leader, whom the settlers named Seattle after, befriended the settlers. Several years later, in 1864, due to shortage of women in the Northwest, Asa Shinn Mercer visited the New England area with the hopes of bringing women home for the men of Seattle to marry. Although Mercer brought back fewer women than expected, Seattle's population had increased to 1,107 by 1870. Since that time, Seattle's population has skyrocketed to 563,374 in 2000.

Seattle experienced a huge fire in 1889 that destroyed an excess of 25 city blocks in downtown Seattle. Washington National Building, Loan and Investment Association, now Washington Mutual, assisted the city in rebuilding the destroyed area. Many Seattle-based businesses continue to operate in downtown Seattle since the area was rebuilt: Nordstrom, Bartell's Drugstore, United Parcel Service, Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI), and Starbucks. Ivar's Acres of Clams founder, Ivar Haglund, opened his first shop on the Pier in 1938. He now has a myriad of restaurants dedicated to seafood. Other well-known Seattle businesses include: Boeing, K2, Microsoft, Eddie Bauer, Amazon.com, and Costco.

Washington State has been a leader in the political arena. Seattle was the first major city to elect a female mayor. Also in 1961, Seattle elected the first Chinese American to a major public office - a first for a major city. In 1978, Seattle created a public busing system without initiative from the government.

In 1962, the Seattle Center, the Space Needle, and the Monorail were unveiled for the World's Fair. Nearly 10 years later, Festival '71 (now referred to as Bumbershoot), the annual art and music festival held in Seattle Center, began. The Seattle Seahawks, a professional football team, played their first game in 1976. A year later, the Seattle Mariners, a professional baseball team, played their first game. Both sports are housed in new facilities. The Mariners' new home, Safeco Field, opened in 1999. In 2002, Seahawk Stadium opens taking the place of the now demolished Kingdome.

In the 1990's, Seattle's music scene was well-known, thanks to many Seattle-based bands: Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Sound Garden, and Pearl Jam. Seattle made grunge culture popular during this era.

Information gathered from the Seattle Times Timeline on June 6, 2002.