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Redmond, Washington is located four miles east of Kirkland, 11 miles northeast of Seattle on the eastside of Lake Washington. The first pioneers in the area were native Indians. The population of Seattle in 1870 was 1,101 people. Later that same year a man named Luke McRedmond, who is namesake of the community obtained a land patent for 32.4 acres of land in a region that was named after him.
In this new wilderness, Mr. McRedmond and his older sons constructed a log cabin so that the family would have a home once they arrived. They waited until after David McRedmond arrives because the wife of Mr. McRedmond named Kate was pregnant, prior to the family packed up their belongings and relocated to what is currently known as Redmond. Mr. McRedmond loaded up his family, a cow, and all of the household belongings onto a scow. They traveled up the Duwamish River, into the Black River, and then across Lake Washington and up the Sammamish River. Mr. McRedmond was always a friendly man with the Indians, and they came in large groups and sat in the yard and mourned when one of them passed away. The Indians came to the McRedmond homestead quite often. The McRedmond family would feed them. Nobody was ever afraid of the Indians
After Luke McRedmond had constructed a rough log cabin for his homestead, he went on an earlier scouting mission of the region. It wasn't very long until they met their only neighbors, who were a group of Indians that were residing on Lake Sammamish. At that time, the region came to be known as Squak, which is an Indian name of unknown meaning. The native Indians had located here numerous centuries ago. The name of Squak Slough was later changed to the Sammamish River. For quite a while, Redmond was called Salmonberg, as the result of the plentiful dog salmon in the Sammamish River.
Redmond is located on a rich basin that was created by ancient glaciers that, at one time, had covered the majority of King County. Thousands of years before the first fur trappers arrived in the dense forests of the region, the rich bottomland in the Sammamish Valley provided plenty of shelter as well as food for the native Indians. In 1871, when the first settlers arrived, the Salmon were so plentiful in the Sammamish River that they named the settlement Salmonberg.
Clearing the extremely large tracts of the towering trees was the main activity for early pioneers. During the 1880's, loggers who arrived in the region by the droves, constructed shingle as well as lumber mills in the 1880's. Their payrolls were a considerable amount, which created a demand for their services and products. The Eastern and Seattle Lake Shore railroad arrived in the community in 1888, and with it, the marketability of the timber in the region was virtually ensured.
Redmond was a rollicking community that had restaurants, blacksmith shops, hotels, saloons, and a stagecoach office during its logging days. The population of Redmond was some 300 people in 1912, and the needed a modern waterworks system and, that same year brought the incorporation of Redmond in order to tax its flourishing saloons. It wasn't long before several new buildings were constructed in the downtown area, and motorized vehicle became a common sight on Main Street A two story schoolhouse was constructed and the first doctor became a member of the community.
During the 1920's, the logging industry declined as virgin forests were depleted. The mainstay of the economy in Redmond was agriculture during the following years. Chicken and dairy farms were plentiful, and the farmers plowed the rich bottomland for truck farms that were very profitable. During this period of time, the population of the community didn't grow very much. During the Great Depression, numerous young adults sought employment elsewhere.
From its earliest days of steamboats and stagecoaches, a natural progression of dependable transportation and better roads helped to grow the region. The floating bridge at Evergreen Point was completed and opened, in 1963, which initiated aggressive development of residential areas. Fueled by numerous high-tech service industries, which started rather modestly during the 1970's, this was followed by significant commercial growth.
Redmond has expanded to its current size of more than 17.14 square miles from an original incorporated area of three square blocks. As more businesses and people are drawn to the region, regional growth on the Eastside will continually impact Redmond.
These days, Redmond enjoys an economic base that is growing and diverse. Redmond is the home of some of the major high-tech companies in the nation, that include Medtronic's Emergency Response System, General Dynamics Airborne Electronics Systems, Honeywell, Nintendo of America, as well as Microsoft. Genie Industries also has its headquarters in Redmond. Enhanced by the Redmond Town Center, a strong retail sector included an open-air, multiple use center that offers 600,000 square feet of office space, one hotel, 22 restaurants, as well as some 110 retail stores.
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Redmond Tidbits
Redmond, Washington is located four miles east of Kirkland, 11 miles northeast of Seattle on the eastside of Lake Washington. The first pioneers in the area were native Indians. The population of Seattle in 1870 was 1,101 people. Later that same year a man named Luke McRedmond, who is namesake of the community obtained a land patent for 32.4 acres of land in a region that was named after him.
In this new wilderness, Mr. McRedmond and his older sons constructed a log cabin so that the family would have a home once they arrived. They waited until after David McRedmond arrives because the wife of Mr. McRedmond named Kate was pregnant, prior to the family packed up their belongings and relocated to what is currently known as Redmond. Mr. McRedmond loaded up his family, a cow, and all of the household belongings onto a scow. They traveled up the Duwamish River, into the Black River, and then across Lake Washington and up the Sammamish River. Mr. McRedmond was always a friendly man with the Indians, and they came in large groups and sat in the yard and mourned when one of them passed away. The Indians came to the McRedmond homestead quite often. The McRedmond family would feed them. Nobody was ever afraid of the Indians
After Luke McRedmond had constructed a rough log cabin for his homestead, he went on an earlier scouting mission of the region. It wasn't very long until they met their only neighbors, who were a group of Indians that were residing on Lake Sammamish. At that time, the region came to be known as Squak, which is an Indian name of unknown meaning. The native Indians had located here numerous centuries ago. The name of Squak Slough was later changed to the Sammamish River. For quite a while, Redmond was called Salmonberg, as the result of the plentiful dog salmon in the Sammamish River.
Redmond is located on a rich basin that was created by ancient glaciers that, at one time, had covered the majority of King County. Thousands of years before the first fur trappers arrived in the dense forests of the region, the rich bottomland in the Sammamish Valley provided plenty of shelter as well as food for the native Indians. In 1871, when the first settlers arrived, the Salmon were so plentiful in the Sammamish River that they named the settlement Salmonberg.
Clearing the extremely large tracts of the towering trees was the main activity for early pioneers. During the 1880's, loggers who arrived in the region by the droves, constructed shingle as well as lumber mills in the 1880's. Their payrolls were a considerable amount, which created a demand for their services and products. The Eastern and Seattle Lake Shore railroad arrived in the community in 1888, and with it, the marketability of the timber in the region was virtually ensured.
Redmond was a rollicking community that had restaurants, blacksmith shops, hotels, saloons, and a stagecoach office during its logging days. The population of Redmond was some 300 people in 1912, and the needed a modern waterworks system and, that same year brought the incorporation of Redmond in order to tax its flourishing saloons. It wasn't long before several new buildings were constructed in the downtown area, and motorized vehicle became a common sight on Main Street A two story schoolhouse was constructed and the first doctor became a member of the community.
During the 1920's, the logging industry declined as virgin forests were depleted. The mainstay of the economy in Redmond was agriculture during the following years. Chicken and dairy farms were plentiful, and the farmers plowed the rich bottomland for truck farms that were very profitable. During this period of time, the population of the community didn't grow very much. During the Great Depression, numerous young adults sought employment elsewhere.
From its earliest days of steamboats and stagecoaches, a natural progression of dependable transportation and better roads helped to grow the region. The floating bridge at Evergreen Point was completed and opened, in 1963, which initiated aggressive development of residential areas. Fueled by numerous high-tech service industries, which started rather modestly during the 1970's, this was followed by significant commercial growth.
Redmond has expanded to its current size of more than 17.14 square miles from an original incorporated area of three square blocks. As more businesses and people are drawn to the region, regional growth on the Eastside will continually impact Redmond.
These days, Redmond enjoys an economic base that is growing and diverse. Redmond is the home of some of the major high-tech companies in the nation, that include Medtronic's Emergency Response System, General Dynamics Airborne Electronics Systems, Honeywell, Nintendo of America, as well as Microsoft. Genie Industries also has its headquarters in Redmond. Enhanced by the Redmond Town Center, a strong retail sector included an open-air, multiple use center that offers 600,000 square feet of office space, one hotel, 22 restaurants, as well as some 110 retail stores.