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Seattle, Washington is located between Lake Washington's fresh water and Puget Sound's water on a narrow strip of land. Two mountain ranges, which are the Cascades to the east and the Olympics to the west, are located beyond these waters. This community was established around water and on hills, in a mild marine climate that stimulates abundant natural resources as well as prolific vegetation.
In 1851, the first white settlers came to the Seattle area, and established a site for a settlement and called it New York. However, it wasn't long before they relocated to the what is currently known as the historic Pioneer Square district. Soon this settlement was named Seattle in honor of a Duwamish Indian leader who known as Sealth who had befriended the pioneers.
In 1853, a man named Henry Yesler built a lumber mill at the foot of what is currently known as Yesler Way, which was the primary economic support for the new settlement. Although the mill supplied lumber to the fledgling settlements all throughout the Puget Sound area, much of the production of the mill went to the booming community of San Francisco. The development of the community was briefly interrupted during 1856 as the result of an Indian war. However, the year 1869 brought the official incorporation of Seattle and the community had a population of over 2,000 people.
In spite of coal being discovered close to Lake Washington and the resulting growth of another extractive industry whose products also found their way to San Francisco, the 1870's were relatively quiet. Tacoma was designated to be the western terminus for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company's transcontinental railroad during the early 1870's. Tacoma is located some 40 miles south of Seattle. Shortly after being completed in 1883, Seattle managed to establish a connection with Northern Pacific, in spite of the disappointment expressed by local leaders. During the late 1880's the population of Seattle exploded. The primary industries were still coal and lumber, although, the growth of shipping, shipbuilding, and fishing also contributed to the population growth and expansion of the community.
Despite the arrival of another transcontinental railway system, which was the Great Northern in 1893, it wasn't very prosperous during the 1890's. While a business depression all across this country didn't spare Seattle, and when gold was discovered in Alaska and in the Yukon Territory of Canada, this once again immediately made Seattle a booming community. The community exploited its previously established shipping lines and closeness to the Klondike and become the premier outfitting point for prospectors.
Seattle continued to experience strong growth in the early 1900's. Two additional transcontinental railway systems, the Milwaukee Road and the Union Pacific systems, finally arrived in Seattle and served to reinforce the position of the community as a shipping and trade center, especially with the North Pacific and Asia.
The shipbuilding industry in the community, which produced 20% of the wartime ship tonnage in the nation, was transformed by World War I. During the early part of 1919, the war also brought national attention to Seattle when, the shipyards were struck by the shipyard workers. It wasn't long before this event soon led to the Seattle general strike that lasted from February 6th through February 10, which was the longest such strike in American history. The success of this strike fueled postwar fears about American socialists and radicals, although the strike lacked an objective that was cohesive. The general strike helped to establish the reputation of Seattle as a center for political radicalism, in addition to the early ventures of the community into public electrical power and municipal transit service.
The Great Depression of the 1930's, hit Seattle especially hard, with almost 1,000 unemployed men. However, an economic rebound was sparked by World War II as the shipyards were thriving once more. In 1916, a modestly successful aircraft manufacturing company, known as the Boeing Company, was established in Seattle and increased its sales to $600 million from 10 million annually with an increase in workforce by over1,200%, during the war years. However, the end of the war brought an economic slump that lasted until the middle 1950's.
The population of Seattle remained relatively stable at about 500,000 people since 1962. However, the suburban areas have grown explosively. During the early 1970's, the Boeing Company experienced a slump, which severely depressed economy in the local area. Subsequently, the economy of the area has diversified and steadied. Along with such high-tech companies, such as Microsoft, Boeing and Weyerhaeuser have been a part of that development. During the decades following World War II, the political strength of Washington Senators Henry Jackson and Warren Magnuson have contributed significantly to growth in several defense related activities, as well as at such research institutions as the University of Washington. In addition, Seattle has also enjoyed an expanded sea and air and sea trade with the North Pacific, Alaska, and Asia.
Seattle has always exhibited a spirit of self-promotion, enterprise, and optimism. At one time this spirit was institutionalized and known as the Seattle Spirit, which was a movement that allowed the community to literally move mountains by washing down high hills to construct the largest manmade island in the world at the mouth of the Duwamish River, to connect Lake Washington and Puget Sound with a canal and locks, and to improve building sites. More recently, this spirit has been the reason for the accomplishments such as the Forward Thrust program during the 1970's that constructed numerous parks all throughout the community that included Freeway Park that spans the Interstate highway with hanging gardens and waterfalls, in addition to the Kingdome arena.
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Seattle Tidbits
Seattle, Washington is located between Lake Washington's fresh water and Puget Sound's water on a narrow strip of land. Two mountain ranges, which are the Cascades to the east and the Olympics to the west, are located beyond these waters. This community was established around water and on hills, in a mild marine climate that stimulates abundant natural resources as well as prolific vegetation.
In 1851, the first white settlers came to the Seattle area, and established a site for a settlement and called it New York. However, it wasn't long before they relocated to the what is currently known as the historic Pioneer Square district. Soon this settlement was named Seattle in honor of a Duwamish Indian leader who known as Sealth who had befriended the pioneers.
In 1853, a man named Henry Yesler built a lumber mill at the foot of what is currently known as Yesler Way, which was the primary economic support for the new settlement. Although the mill supplied lumber to the fledgling settlements all throughout the Puget Sound area, much of the production of the mill went to the booming community of San Francisco. The development of the community was briefly interrupted during 1856 as the result of an Indian war. However, the year 1869 brought the official incorporation of Seattle and the community had a population of over 2,000 people.
In spite of coal being discovered close to Lake Washington and the resulting growth of another extractive industry whose products also found their way to San Francisco, the 1870's were relatively quiet. Tacoma was designated to be the western terminus for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company's transcontinental railroad during the early 1870's. Tacoma is located some 40 miles south of Seattle. Shortly after being completed in 1883, Seattle managed to establish a connection with Northern Pacific, in spite of the disappointment expressed by local leaders. During the late 1880's the population of Seattle exploded. The primary industries were still coal and lumber, although, the growth of shipping, shipbuilding, and fishing also contributed to the population growth and expansion of the community.
Despite the arrival of another transcontinental railway system, which was the Great Northern in 1893, it wasn't very prosperous during the 1890's. While a business depression all across this country didn't spare Seattle, and when gold was discovered in Alaska and in the Yukon Territory of Canada, this once again immediately made Seattle a booming community. The community exploited its previously established shipping lines and closeness to the Klondike and become the premier outfitting point for prospectors.
Seattle continued to experience strong growth in the early 1900's. Two additional transcontinental railway systems, the Milwaukee Road and the Union Pacific systems, finally arrived in Seattle and served to reinforce the position of the community as a shipping and trade center, especially with the North Pacific and Asia.
The shipbuilding industry in the community, which produced 20% of the wartime ship tonnage in the nation, was transformed by World War I. During the early part of 1919, the war also brought national attention to Seattle when, the shipyards were struck by the shipyard workers. It wasn't long before this event soon led to the Seattle general strike that lasted from February 6th through February 10, which was the longest such strike in American history. The success of this strike fueled postwar fears about American socialists and radicals, although the strike lacked an objective that was cohesive. The general strike helped to establish the reputation of Seattle as a center for political radicalism, in addition to the early ventures of the community into public electrical power and municipal transit service.
The Great Depression of the 1930's, hit Seattle especially hard, with almost 1,000 unemployed men. However, an economic rebound was sparked by World War II as the shipyards were thriving once more. In 1916, a modestly successful aircraft manufacturing company, known as the Boeing Company, was established in Seattle and increased its sales to $600 million from 10 million annually with an increase in workforce by over1,200%, during the war years. However, the end of the war brought an economic slump that lasted until the middle 1950's.
The population of Seattle remained relatively stable at about 500,000 people since 1962. However, the suburban areas have grown explosively. During the early 1970's, the Boeing Company experienced a slump, which severely depressed economy in the local area. Subsequently, the economy of the area has diversified and steadied. Along with such high-tech companies, such as Microsoft, Boeing and Weyerhaeuser have been a part of that development. During the decades following World War II, the political strength of Washington Senators Henry Jackson and Warren Magnuson have contributed significantly to growth in several defense related activities, as well as at such research institutions as the University of Washington. In addition, Seattle has also enjoyed an expanded sea and air and sea trade with the North Pacific, Alaska, and Asia.
Seattle has always exhibited a spirit of self-promotion, enterprise, and optimism. At one time this spirit was institutionalized and known as the Seattle Spirit, which was a movement that allowed the community to literally move mountains by washing down high hills to construct the largest manmade island in the world at the mouth of the Duwamish River, to connect Lake Washington and Puget Sound with a canal and locks, and to improve building sites. More recently, this spirit has been the reason for the accomplishments such as the Forward Thrust program during the 1970's that constructed numerous parks all throughout the community that included Freeway Park that spans the Interstate highway with hanging gardens and waterfalls, in addition to the Kingdome arena.