The Frontier Pulse: Seattle in 1871
A look back at the origins of the city, from the arrival of the first families and the Indian War to the rise of coal, sawmills, and the hope for a transcontinental terminus.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Seattle was settled in the year 1852. In the fall of 1851, C.C. Terry and Lee Terry, A.A. Denny, D.T. Denny, John N. Lowe, W.N. Bell, and C.D. Boren arrived at Alki Point. C.C. Terry and John N. Lowe established a trading post and named the place Alki, meaning 'by and by.' In 1852, Dr. D.S. Maynard and Chief Seattle arrived. Dr. Maynard established a trading post and engaged in the business of curing and packing salmon. By 1855, the population had reached 300, but the Indian War retarded growth. During the conflict, settlers built a blockhouse near the present Pavilion. In January 1856, about 400 to 500 Indians attacked the city. The settlers, supported by the ship of war 'Decatur,' defended the town, losing two men, Holgate and Wilson. In 1863, an entrepreneur named Mercer brought twenty young ladies to Seattle, and another group in 1866, bringing 'civilizing influence' that saw new residences and schools emerge. Today, Seattle has nearly two thousand residents. With local coal fields and a proposed ship canal to Lake Washington, Seattle is poised to be a city of metropolitan importance.
“We defiantly challenge any section of the World to show the equal of our city in prospect, beauty of situation and salubrity of climate.”
The 1871 editorial mirrors modern Seattle’s perennial obsession with 'metropolitan importance' and infrastructure—from the 19th-century focus on the ship canal and coal to the 21st-century battle over transit and density. The city’s identity as a 'frontier' town being rapidly built remains a constant thread through 150 years of rapid expansion.
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