History of Seattle Timeline

(1851 – Present)

Seattle, located in Washington State on Puget Sound, was founded in the early 1850s and named after Chief Si'ahl of the Duwamish tribe. It grew rapidly as a lumber town, boomed during the Klondike Gold Rush, hosted the 1962 World's Fair, and later became a global hub for technology companies like Boeing, Microsoft, and Amazon. More Less

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Early Settlement

George Vancouver visits the Seattle area

May 1792

George Vancouver was the first European to visit the Seattle area in May 1792 during his 1791-95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest.

Image source: George Vancouver

Denny Party scouts arrive, founding of Seattle

Sep 25, 1851

The founding of Seattle is usually dated from the arrival of the Denny Party scouts on September 25, 1851.

Image source: Denny Party

Farming settlement founded at Georgetown

Sep 27, 1851

Luther Collins, Henry Van Asselt, and the Maple family founded a farming settlement on what is currently the Seattle neighborhood of Georgetown on September 27, 1851.

Image source: History of Seattle

King County created; Denny and Collins first commissioners

Apr 1852

In April 1852, Arthur A. Denny and Luther Collins were named the first commissioners of King County after its creation in 1852.

Image source: King County, Washington

Battle of Seattle

Jan 25, 1856

Settlement occurred against a background of sometimes rocky relations with the local Native American population, including a nominally pitched battle, the Battle of Seattle, on January 25, 1856.

Image source: Battle of Seattle (1856)

Seattle incorporated as a town

Jan 14, 1865

Seattle was incorporated as a town on January 14, 1865.

Francis X. Prefontaine arrives in Seattle

1867

In 1867, a young French Canadian Catholic priest named Francis X. Prefontaine arrived, helping establish the city's early Catholic community.

Image source: Francis X. Prefontaine

Town charter voided

Jan 18, 1867

The town's charter was voided January 18, 1867, in response to questionable activities of the town's elected leaders.

Seattle re-incorporated as a city

Dec 2, 1869

Seattle was re-incorporated on December 2, 1869, beginning its growth as a proper city.

Growth and Industry

First bathtub with plumbing installed

1870

Seattle saw its first bathtub with plumbing in 1870, an early sign of modernization in the growing frontier town.

Northern Pacific chooses Tacoma over Seattle

Jul 14, 1873

On July 14, 1873, the Northern Pacific Railway announced that it had chosen the then-village of Tacoma over Seattle as the Western terminus of its transcontinental railroad, dealing a blow to Seattle's ambitions.

Image source: Northern Pacific Railway

Chinese laborers begin digging Montlake Cut

1883

In 1883 Chinese laborers played a key role in the first effort at digging the Montlake Cut to connect Lake Union's Portage Bay to Lake Washington's Union Bay.

Image source: Montlake Cut

Great Northern Railway reaches Seattle

1884

The Great Northern Railway finally came to Seattle in 1884, winning Seattle a place in competition for freight, though it would be 1906 before the city acquired a major rail passenger terminal.

Image source: Great Northern Railway (U.S.)

Great Seattle Fire

Jun 6, 1889

The early Seattle era came to a stunning halt with the Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889, which destroyed much of the city's central business district and prompted a massive rebuilding effort.

Image source: Great Seattle Fire

Klondike Gold Rush reaches Seattle

Jul 1897

The Klondike gold rush started in 1896 after gold was discovered in Canada's Klondike region in August 1896, but reached Seattle in July 1897 when the steamer Portland arrived at Schwabacher's Wharf. This was the largest boom for Seattle proportional to its size, ending the economic woes since the Panic of 1893.

Image source: Klondike Gold Rush

Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition

1909

Seattle trumpeted and celebrated its rise with the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909, though the city's rapid growth had led to much questioning of the social order.

Image source: Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition

Lake Washington Ship Canal constructed

1911 - 1917

The 1911–1917 construction of the Lake Washington Ship Canal included two major cuts (the Montlake Cut and the Fremont Cut), four bascule bridges, and the Government Locks (now Hiram M. Chittenden Locks).

Image source: Lake Washington Ship Canal

Port of Seattle consolidates waterfront operations

1911

Before 1911, Seattle's waterfront was a confused jumble of private rail lines and docks. The efficient new port system later allowed Seattle to expand after 1945 with Sea-Tac airport and become one of the first Pacific Coast ports to move to containerized shipping, expanding business with Asia.

Image source: Port of Seattle

First aerial circumnavigation ends at Sand Point

1924

In 1924, Seattle's Sand Point Airfield was the endpoint of the first aerial circumnavigation of the world.

Image source: Naval Station Puget Sound

Boeing Bust devastates Seattle economy

1969 - 1971

Due to declining Vietnam War military spending, the slowing space program, the recession of 1969-1970, cancellation of the SST, and Boeing's $2 billion debt building the 747, Commercial Airplane Group fell from 83,700 employees in 1968 to 20,750 in 1971, and housing vacancy rates rose to 16% from 1% in 1967.

Image source: Boeing

Energy crisis recession follows Boeing Bust

1973

After 1973, Seattle was in good company for its recession, since the rest of the country was also experiencing the energy crisis.

Image source: 1973 oil crisis

Energy crisis recession follows Boeing Bust

Labor and Social Change

Seattle printers form Typographical Union Local 202

1882

In 1882, Seattle printers formed the Seattle Typographical Union Local 202, the start of a wave of labor organizing. Dockworkers followed in 1886, cigarmakers in 1887, tailors in 1889, brewers and musicians in 1890, and even newsboys unionized in 1892.

Image source: Labor history of the United States

Anti-Chinese riots drive out Chinese settlers

1885 - 1886

In 1885–1886, whites—sometimes in combination with Indians—complaining of overly cheap labor competition, drove the Chinese settlers from Seattle, Tacoma, and other Northwest cities.

Image source: Seattle riot of 1886

Seattle General Strike

1919

Most dramatically, in 1919, a dispute over post-war lowering of waterfront wages spread to become the Seattle General Strike, one of the first city-wide general strikes in American history.

Image source: Seattle General Strike

Ole Hanson rises during First Red Scare

1919 - 1920

Seattle mayor Ole Hanson became a prominent figure in the First Red Scare, and made an unsuccessful attempt to ride that backlash to the White House in an unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for the presidential election of 1920.

Image source: Ole Hanson

Pageant of Democracy performed in Woodland Park

Jul 5, 1920

On Monday, July 5, 1920, a Pageant of Democracy was performed in Woodland Park as part of Fourth of July celebrations, put on by the Central Labor Council.

Great Depression hits Seattle housing construction

1930 - 1932

The Depression hit Seattle hard: the city issued 2,538 permits for housing construction in 1930, but only 361 in 1932.

Image source: Great Depression

Great Depression hits Seattle housing construction

Maritime Strike of 1934 disrupts Smith Cove

1934

During the Maritime Strike of 1934, Smith Cove was nearly a battle zone; shippers were scared to the point where Seattle lost most of its Asian trade to Los Angeles.

Image source: 1934 West Coast waterfront strike

Modern Seattle

Frank B. Cooper hired as school superintendent

1901

The progressive school board hired a new superintendent in 1901, Frank B. Cooper, ushering in reforms in Seattle's public schools.

Image source: Frank B. Cooper

Seattle Symphony founded

1903

The Seattle Symphony was founded in 1903, becoming one of the city's most important arts institutions.

Image source: Seattle Symphony

Mark Matthews leads First Presbyterian Church

1909

Matthews (1867–1940) of Seattle's First Presbyterian Church addressed Seattle business leaders in 1909. With 10,000 members, his was the largest Presbyterian Church in the country, and he was selected the denomination's national moderator in 1912.

Image source: University Presbyterian Church (Seattle)

Referendum approves city-wide development plan

1910

In 1910, Seattle voters approved a referendum to create a development plan for the whole city.

Image source: History of Seattle 1900–1940

Seattle becomes an arts center

1919

Australian painter Ambrose Patterson arrived in 1919; over the next few decades Mark Tobey, Morris Graves, Kenneth Callahan, Guy Irving Anderson, and Paul Horiuchi established themselves as nationally known artists. Bandleader Vic Meyers kept speakeasies jumping through Prohibition, and by mid-century the Skid Road jazz scene launched careers including Ray Charles and Quincy Jones.

World War II brings black workers to Seattle

1940 - 1950

Most African American workers came to Seattle as shipyard employees, and by summer 1942 the National Youth Administration brought the first group of blacks to work for Boeing. Of 18,862 federal employees in Seattle in 1945, 1,019 were black, and between 1940 and 1950 Seattle's black population grew 413 percent, from 3,789 to 15,666.

Century 21 Exposition (1962 World's Fair)

1962

Seattle attempted to counter the decline of its downtown and the area immediately to the north by hosting the Century 21 Exposition, the 1962 World's Fair.

Image source: Century 21 Exposition

'Keep the Market' initiative saves Pike Place Market

1971

A 'Keep the Market' initiative led by architect Victor Steinbrueck passed in 1971, pushing for adaptive reuse of the historic market district, which had fallen into derelict status after the war despite largely being built after the Fire of 1889.

Image source: Pike Place Market

Microsoft moves to Seattle area

1979

In 1979, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, founders of Microsoft, moved their small company from New Mexico to the suburbs of their native Seattle. By 1985 sales were over $140 million, by 1990 $1.18 billion, and by 1995 Microsoft was the world's most profitable corporation.

Image source: Microsoft

WTO Ministerial Conference protests

Nov 30, 1999

Seattle's bid to host the World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 did not play out as planned. Instead, the city became the site of the first great street confrontation between the anti-globalization movement and the WTO on November 30, 1999.

Image source: 1999 Seattle WTO protests

Seattle Mardi Gras riot

2001

In 2001 the central city was the site of rioting, mixed with partying and racially motivated violence against European Americans in the Seattle Mardi Gras riot.

Image source: Seattle Mardi Gras riot

May Day marches bring confrontations

May 2015

Seattle along with other west coast cities experienced politically inspired confrontations and violence during the May Day marches in 2015.

Image source: May Day

Seattle bans caste discrimination

2023

In 2023, Seattle became the first city in the United States to ban discrimination based on caste.

Key Facts

Seattle was founded in 1851 by settlers at Alki Point and was named after Chief Si'ahl (Seattle), leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes.
The Great Seattle Fire of June 6, 1889 destroyed much of the downtown area, leading to a rebuilding effort that raised street levels.
The Klondike Gold Rush of 1897 made Seattle a major supply center for prospectors heading north, fueling rapid economic growth.
The 1962 Century 21 Exposition (World's Fair) left Seattle with its iconic Space Needle and elevated the city's international profile.
In the late 20th century, Seattle became a technology powerhouse, home to companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Starbucks.

Source

This History of Seattle timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

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