Pioneer Square has long been an important location and center of activity for the residents of this area. Prior to non-Native settlement, they used the area as a winter village known as Sdzidzilalitch, or Little Crossing-Over Place, building seasonal longhouses and taking advantage of the local resources in the forest and in the bay. The next arrivals were the Denny Party, considered to be the founders of Seattle, who arrived in 1852. For them the Pioneer Square area became the business and industrial heart of the small town. It also became the first place that many newcomers arrived and stayed, which led to the neighborhood’s evolution as a melting pot for diverse cultures. For many of these groups, Pioneer Square became home, sometimes by choice and sometimes because they were unwanted elsewhere.
To take this walking tour, visit HistoryLink.Tours.
