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Seattle History continued...
Long before the settlement of the city of Seattle, the area was home to the Duwamish, a mostly peaceful Native American tribe that fished the bays and rivers of the Puget Sound and befriended early white settlers. The history of Seattle actually begins in 1851. A native New Yorker named Arthur Denny led the first group of settlers along the Oregon Trail with intentions of settling the land near the Puget Sound. Denny had long dreamed of migrating to the western United States. Several generations from his family had already made the journey. He envisioned starting a city in the west that would bring thousands of people from the east.
Denny's group originally settled at what is now known as Alki Point, located in what is now western Seattle. However, after a long harsh winter, the group moved the settlement to Elliott Bay. The settlers now needed a name for their small town. David Swinson “Doc” Maynard, one of the city's founders, was an advocate for the name Seattle. This name had come from one of the Duwamish chiefs named Noah Sealth. Sealth had befriended the early merchants in the area. The chief was also known as “Chief Seattle.” Originally, the town had been called Duwamps (or Duwumps), a name that is preserved in the nearby Duwamish River.
Seattle grew steadily under the vision of Arthur Denny. A university was established and local businesses were set up. The area became an important trading post. Manufacturing became prevalent, due to a vast resource of coal and timber. Denny's goal was to provide enough business opportunities that the North Pacific Railroad would build a link to the area. Seattle was incorporated as a town on January 14, 1865. Seattle was then reincorporated as a city on December 2, 1869. At the time of its incorporation, Seattle had a population of approximately 1,000 people. Denny wanted Seattle to become a major link for the railroad. However, the railroad chose Tacoma for their terminal, leaving Seattle to build its own connection to the Pacific North Railroad at Walla Walla. This allowed Seattle to have more control over its own development. The railroad was important to Seattle because of the exportation of raw materials out of the northwest.
At first, the settlement of Seattle consisted mostly of bachelors. Then, one of the founding fathers returned to the eastern United States on a mission to induce young women to come to Seattle. On two different trips, a total of 57 young women made the journey and married men who already settled in the city. This provided a more settled tone to the city where prostitution and gambling had become popular activities.
Disaster struck the city in 1889. The Great Fire, as it has become known, burned approximately 50 blocks of the old wooden downtown in a single day. Nearly the entire city was destroyed by a fire that, according to legend, was started by a spilled glue pot. The fire destroyed nearly the entire business district, all of the railroad terminals and all but four of the wharves. Seattle was growing so fast that the fire barely slowed the city's progress. The fire had done a natural job of cleansing the city of its rat infestation. A new zoning code required all new buildings to be constructed of brick and iron, rather than wood. In the single year after the fire, the city's population grew from 25,000 residents to around 40,000 residents. This was due mainly to the creation of an enormous number of new construction jobs.
In 1893, the railroad finally reached the city of Seattle. The Northern Pacific Railroad's terminus in Portland reached the city, linking it by rail to the rest of the country. Then, in 1897, the city experienced its first economic boom. A ship called the Portland docked with its now-famous cargo, two tons of Yukon gold. The Yukon gold rush had begun and within weeks, thousands of fortune hunters traveled across the country on their way to the northern gold fields. Seattle immediately became the banking center for the new wealthy class. The city's bars, brothels and honky-tonks became the hang-outs for the pleasure-starved miners.
The economic boom continued through World War I. Northwest timber was greatly in demand for the shipyards along the Puget Sound. In 1916, the Boeing Aircraft Company was founded and production plants were situated south of the city. The shipbuilding industry continued to thrive during World War II. The Boeing Company had become a major supplier of planes to Europe, and later, when the United States entered the war, to the U.S. itself. Boeing had become the area's largest employers and remains one of the area's largest employers today.
From World War II until the 1970's, Seattle enjoyed various periods of success. During the time right after the war, Seattle's economy had become very dependent upon the airline business. However, with the war over, the United States government cancelled their orders and thousands lost their jobs.
This down period did not last long, though. Seattle's economy rebounded with the rise of the jet plane and Boeing's reincarnation as the world's leading producer of commercial passenger planes. In 1947, Boeing employed about one out of every five of the area's workers.
The city's population continued to grow during the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's. The population began to spread toward the outer boundaries of the city. During this period, the downtown area began to decline. In order to revitalize the downtown area, Seattle decided to host the Century 21 Exposition, the 1962 World's Fair. The Fair, with its futuristic theme, left behind a civic center, now known as the Seattle Center. The building contains arts buildings, a food court and museums. Another continuing tourist attraction left over from the Fair is the Space Needle.
The 1970's saw more economic growth for Seattle. Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft, a computer software company, and produced their first product, Microsoft BASIC, in 1976. By 1978, Microsoft sales had exceeded $1 million. By 1985, Microsoft sales were over $140 million, by 1990, $1.8 billion and by 1995, Microsoft was the world's most profitable corporation. Allen and Gates were billionaires and literally thousands of their past and present employees were millionaires. Microsoft had grown from a two-man operation to a company with 11,000 employees. In 1992, the company employed over 48,000 people. Today the city is home to the headquarters of many major companies in the United States. Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com and Nordstrom all make their homes in Seattle.
Today, Seattle continues to be one of the most livable cities in the United States. Its popularity is due in part to its beautiful natural surroundings, with the waters of Lake Washington and Puget Sound nearby. The city is also safe, with one of the lowest violent crime rates among the top U.S. cities.
The city of Seattle is home to many fine cultural and educational institutions. Among the museums located in the city are Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, the Frye Art Museum, the Center for Wooden Boats, the Museum of Flight and the Museum of History and Industry. Seattle also plays hosts to many colleges and universities, among them are the University of Washington, Seattle University, Antioch University and the Seattle Bible College.
Besides museums and universities, the city also has many world-famous tourist attractions. Among the more popular attractions in the city are the Seattle International Film Festival, the Woodland Park Zoo, and of course, the Space Needle. Seattle is also the home to many professional sports teams. Among the teams that call the Emerald City home are the Seattle Mariners, of Major League Baseball, the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL and the Seattle Supersonics of the NBA.
Seattle enjoys a moderate climate. It continues to be a thriving metropolis with several major businesses, cultural and educational institutions and professional sports teams. With all of this, along with the city's lush landscape and low crime rate, Seattle truly is a city that has it all.
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