The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. On April 29, 1854, the Alki Post Office is established. Charles Terry (1830-1867) is appointed postmaster.
On April 12, 1854, a lynch mob hangs two members of the Snohomish tribe in Pioneer Square. The Native Americans are accused of murdering a man believed to be Pennsylvania native James B. McCormick, wh...
On the Fourth of July, 1854, most of Seattle's few hundred residents gather to celebrate near a lake called Tenas Chuck ("little waters"). Thomas Mercer (1813-1898) addresses the group and proposes na...
On December 26, 1854, at a meeting at Medicine Creek in present-day Thurston County, 62 leaders of major Western Washington tribes, including the Nisqually and Puyallup, sign a treaty with Territorial...
On January 22, 1855, Chief Seattle joins 81 other leaders of Puget Sound tribes in signing a treaty with Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens (1818-1862) at Point Elliott (now Mukilteo). Tribes includin...
On January 31, 1855, at Neah Bay near Cape Flattery at the tip of the Olympic Peninsula, 42 Makah leaders sign a treaty with Isaac Stevens (1818-1862), governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs of...
On May 12, 1855, Seattle's first church building, called the Little White Church because of its white paint, is dedicated. The Reverend David Blaine (1824-1900) had established the church's Methodist ...
In May 1855, Gustavus Sohon (1825-1903) documents important scenes at the Walla Walla treaty council conducted by Governor Isaac Stevens (1818-1862) and General Joel Palmer, the Superintendents of Ind...
On May 29, 1855, Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens (1818-1862) convenes the First Walla Walla Council with Native American tribes of the Columbia River basin. Stevens' orders are to exting...
On June 12, 1855, the Native American daughter of Seattle pioneer Henry Yesler (1810-1892) is born. Julia (Benson) Intermela (1855-1907) is the child of Susan, the daughter of Curly (Su-quardle) and H...
In June or July, 1855, the first group of tourists visits Snoqualmie Falls, a spectacular waterfall located on the Snoqualmie River in eastern King County.
On August 29, 1855, the area around the later-named Sand Point on the western shore of Lake Washington was surveyed, so that settlers could homestead the land and acquire it from the federal governmen...