|
|
Weather:
Seattle, WA Links
Chamber of Commerce
Seattle.gov
Seattle.net
|
In the past few decades, Seattle has quietly grown from a far-flung port city not registering on
too many radar screens, to being nationally recognized as one of the most livable cities in the
US. This recognition is based on criteria such as a critical mass of advanced technology, diverse
economic sectors such as agriculture, services, manufacturing and international trade, superior
educational and health care, public safety, a well-educated work
force, quality of life and the international outlook of its people. The popularity of Seattle's
natural and cultural amenities, that so epitomize the attraction of the Northwest, see the city
now faced with the challenge of preserving its livability under the pressure of increasing
residential and tourist populations.
Seattle, Washington History:
What is now Seattle has been inhabited since the end of the last glacial period
(8,000 B.C.—10,000 years ago). Archaeological excavations at West Point in Discovery Park,
Magnolia confirm that the Seattle area has been inhabited by humans for at least 4,000
years and probably much longer. Tohl-AHL-too ("herring house") and later hah-AH-poos
("where there are horse clams") at the then-mouth of the Duwamish River in what is now the
Industrial District had been inhabited since the 6th century. The Dkhw'Duw'Absh and
Xachua'Bsh people (now called the Duwamish Tribe) occupied at least 17 villages in the
mid-1850s, living in some 93 permanent longhouses (khwaac'ál'al) along Elliott Bay,
Salmon Bay, Portage Bay, Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, and the lower Duwamish, Black,
and Cedar Rivers.
Most of the Denny Party, the most prominent of the area's early Caucasian settlers
(and historians), arrived at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. They called the spot "New
York" at first to reflect their aspirations to create a great trading port, later appending
Alki, a Chinook Jargon word meaning, roughly, by and by or someday, literally or
ironically. They relocated their settlement to Elliott Bay in April 1852. The first plats
for the Town of Seattle were filed on May 23 1853. Nominal legal land settlement was
established in 1855. The city was incorporated in 1865 and again in 1869, after having
existed as an unincorporated town from 1867 to 1869.
Seattle was named after Chief Sealth, (si'áb Si'ahl, Noah Sealth), "high-status man"
(appointed chief by the territorial governor) of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes. David
Swinson ("Doc") Maynard, one of the city founders, was the primary advocate for naming the
city after Chief Seattle. The name "Duwamish" is an Anglicization of Dkhw'Duw'Absh, "the
People of the Inside", and a variation of that name is preserved in the name of the
Duwamish River. Previously, the city had been known as Duwamps (or Duwumps), an earlier
name settlers used for the river.
Seattle, Washington Businesses Wanted
Have a computer or internet related business in Seattle, Washington?
We would like to talk to you about becoming a reseller of our services.
Contact Us to request more information or a copy of
our resellers agreement.
|
