The free online encyclopedia of Washington state history

7923 HistoryLink.org articles now available.

Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.

This Week Then

8/12/2021

News Then, History Now

A Man on the Go

On August 13,1811, the first Native Hawaiian to visit the Inland Northwest arrived at Spokane House with explorer David Thompson. Known only as Coxe, he spent the winter with Jaco Finlay, who had established the trade house. The following spring, Coxe continued his travels east, first to Quebec, and then to England. He returned to the Pacific Northwest in 1813, and lived out the rest of his life near Fort Vancouver.

 

Beginning to Grow

On August 14, 1890, Edmonds incorporated, just six years after George Brackett and his wife Etta filed a plat for the first townsite. By the early twentieth century, the small town had blossomed into a vibrant community and was attracting all types of business professionals. It has since become known for its thriving cultural community.

On with the Show

In 1895 Mark Twain embarked on a year-long national lecture tour to help pay off his massive business debts brought on by the Panic of 1893. On August 13, he regaled a large Seattle audience in what the Post-Intelligencer called it a "continuous laugh." The following evening, he spoke in New Whatcom (now Bellingham), and later joined many attendees at a nearby club for cigars and drinks.

First and Pike

On August 17, 1907, Pike Place Market opened in Seattle as an informal collection of horse-cart and street vendors, including many of Japanese and Italian descent. The market soon blossomed into an eclectic emporium where local citizens could purchase everything from fresh fruits to flowers to folk crafts to fish. Over the years, the market survived the Great Depression, calamities, and world wars, only to face a far more formidable foe -- urban renewal.

 

An Event People Like

Fifty years ago this week, on August 13, 1971, the City of Seattle's Festival '71 music and arts fair debuted. Hastily produced by a small team on a meager budget, the event was a smashing success, and was later  rebranded as Bumbershoot: The Seattle Arts Festival.

Lighting Strike

On August 14, 2015, lightning storms ignited the Okanogan Complex fires, which soon grew into some of the biggest in the state's worst-ever wildfire year. But because these fires did not merge with others nearby, they did not surpass the state record set by the huge Carlton Complex fire a year earlier.

Today in
Washington History

New On HistoryLink

Image of the Week

The Seattle Totems hockey club was introduced on August 16, 1958.

Quote of the Week

"Loadin' coal, loadin' coal
I'm a double first cousin to a dad blamed mole
Never get rich for to save my soul
And forty 'leven years a loadin' coal, loadin' coal"

--Johnny Cash, lyrics, "Loading Coal"

Major Funding Provided By

Education Partners