Just before dawn on September 21, 1868, 26 S'Klallam Indians, led by a man known locally as Lame Jack (or Nu-mah the Bad by his tribesmen), conduct a raid on a party of 18 Tsimshian Indians camped on ...
From June 1 to October 29, 1868, a drought desiccates the Pacific Northwest. Forest fires rage from British Columbia through Washington, Oregon, and California. Sailing ships report smoke more than 1,...
On December 15, 1868, Chinese settler Chun Ching Hock (1844-1927) opens the Wa Chong Company, a general-merchandise store, at the foot of Mill Street (later renamed Yesler Way) in Seattle. Chun (whose...
In 1869, Russell and Ferry, a Portland real estate firm, gives Seattle the epithet the Queen City.
In 1869, Seattle's first Roman Catholic Church is built. It is called Our Lady of Good Help and guided by Fr. Francis Xavier Prefontaine (1838-1908) until its demolition in 1904.
On February 23, 1869, William Perry Bruce files a plat for the town of Waitsburg. The town, which was officially named the previous year, has grown up around a flour mill established by Sylvester M. W...
In April 1869, Seattle's Library Association opens a loan library, the future Seattle Public Library. Sarah Yesler (1822-1887) serves as the first librarian.
In 1869, the Charles Schanno family plants the first known grapevines in the Yakima Valley on their farm near Union Gap. Finding the climate ideal for wine grape production, other settlers follow suit...
On June 3, 1869, Phillip Ritz purchases 80 acres from the federal government in what would become the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. (Ritz's land extends from the future Woodlawn to Meridian Ave...
On June 17, 1869, Charles Watts murders his San Juan Lime Company partner Augustin Hibbard at the company office. The partners are arguing about the amount and quality of Watts's contribution to the l...
On June 29, 1869, just before 8 p.m., the Puget Sound region had an earthquake that was felt from Astoria, Oregon, to San Juan Island and perhaps all the way to Victoria, British Columbia. At Seattle ...
On July 21, 1869, former Secretary of State William H. Seward (1801-1872) starts a two-day visit to Puget Sound, during which he will tour more than half a dozen settlements, traveling on the steamer ...