On May 28, 1890, the City of Kent is incorporated in south King County. Although always known as Kent, the area had also been referred to as Titusville after early settler James H. Titus. Seattle pioneer Henry L. Yesler (1810-1892) platted some land (received in settlement of a debt) in 1884 and designated it the Town of Yesler.
When the Northern Pacific Railroad established a station there in 1885, a general construction engineer by the name of Stone is quoted as saying, "We'll call this station Kent, after Kenty County, England where they raise nothing but hops." Until the turn of the twentieth century, hops (the main ingredient in beer) was the principal crop of the White River (now Green River) Valley.
Sources:
Clarence B. Bagley, History of King County Washington (Chicago-Seattle: S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1929), pp. 727-728.
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