On January 21, 1867, the Black River Post Office is established, the same day the Slaughter (renamed Auburn) and White River Post Offices open. Christian C. Clymer (?-1879/80), an early settler on the...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. On January 21, 1867, the Slaughter (later renamed Auburn) Post Office opens. Joseph Gibson is appointed postmaster....
On January 31, 1867, the Washington Territorial Legislature approves the present-day (2006) boundaries of King County (with subsequent minor adjustments). One of the Territory's first eight counties, ...
On April 9, 1867, the U.S. Senate ratifies the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000. Russia is a reluctant seller and the United States is a reluctant buyer. Many Americans think little of th...
On August 5, 1867, the Weekly Intelligencer, a precursor of the Post-Intelligencer, makes its debut in Seattle. The paper is the latest incarnation of what was originally called The Seattle Gazette, t...
On October 7, 1867, the Seattle Weekly Intelligencer announces that the first wagon road has been completed over Snoqualmie Pass through the Cascade Mountains. The importance of this route was realize...
On March 13, 1868, Samuel and Martha Benn trade their homestead at Melbourne, a community on the Chehalis River near Montesano, for land owned by Reuben Redman (Martha's father) at the mouth of the Wi...
On April 1, 1868, promoter Morton Matthew McCarver (1807-1875) arrives at Eureka, on Commencement Bay. Recognizing the location's potential as a terminus for the Northern Pacific Railroad, he will pur...
From 1868 to 1869, the Dexter Horton Bank builds the first stone structure in Seattle and King County.
On August 7, 1868, Seattle's first library association, the future Seattle Public Library, is organized. Sarah Yesler (1822-1887) is appointed first librarian.
On August 17, 1868, the Coleman party reaches the summit of Mount Baker, the first climbers in recorded history to do so. Mount Baker is one of the most striking and powerful features of the northwest...
On September 5, 1868, William Goldmyer (1843-1924) is the first homesteader to settle on a point jutting into Lake Washington, later called Sand Point. (Sand Point in on the western, Seattle side of t...