On June 7, 1866, Chief Seattle, the leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes in whose honor Seattle was named, dies at Old Man House in north Kitsap County.
On December 26, 1866, a problem arises between American and British forces jointly occupying San Juan Island when the British commander asks the American commander to return an English deserter who is...
During 1867, the Lake Washington Company opens the first coal mine at Newcastle. Newcastle is located in King County, east of Lake Washington and south of present-day Bellevue.
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. On January 21, 1867, the White River Post Office (later O'Brien) is established. Lewis McMillan is appointed postma...
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...
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...