This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Flying High Fifty years ago this week, on February 9, 1969, the first Boeing 747 took wing from Paine Field in Everett. Christened the City of Everett, the jumbo jet flew for more than an hour while a three-man crew performed a series of tests, including…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. In Solidarity One hundred years ago this week, on February 6, 1919, the wheels and gears in Seattle stopped turning as tens of thousands of workers in all trades and occupations laid down their tools in one of the nation’s first general strikes. The city-wide…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. A Life Cut Short Fifty years ago this week, on January 26, 1969, civil rights leader and Seattle Urban League Executive Director Edwin Pratt was killed by a shotgun blast outside his home in Shoreline. The assassin was never found. Pratt’s funeral at St. Mark’s…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Looking Back at Our Past This week HistoryLink celebrates our 20th anniversary with a look at our own history of the online encyclopedia of Washington history. This website debuted on January 15, 1999, at the Seattle Center’s annual Martin Luther King Day celebration, where curious passersby marveled at this new online…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Farewell, Viaduct This week, a new chapter of Seattle history begins when the Alaskan Way Viaduct closes permanently, three weeks ahead of the planned opening of its replacement, the SR-99 tunnel. This is the longest major highway closure the Puget Sound region has ever seen…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Wenatchee Starts to Grow On January 7, 1893, Wenatchee, located in Chelan County at the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers, incorporated as a fourth-class city. The area had seen human habitation since prehistoric times, but the first non-Indian settlers did not appear until…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Out for a Row On December 15, 1899, students at the University of Washington accepted an offer from developer and rowing aficionado E. F. Blaine to help establish a rowing club on campus. Within a year enough money was raised and support garnered to build two four-oared rowing…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Provident Souls On December 8, 1856, the Sisters of Providence arrived at Fort Vancouver, where they quickly established a boarding school, an orphanage, and St. Joseph’s Hospital. Their mission was to build and operate schools and hospitals throughout the Pacific Northwest. In 1878 they opened their first hospital in Seattle,…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Growing Ambition This week HistoryLink notes several cities celebrating incorporation anniversaries, beginning with the state’s two largest, Seattle (shown above ca. 1872) and Spokane. Seattle’s first town charter was granted in 1865, but then voided in a political backlash. The Washington Territorial Legislature reincorporated the city on December 2, 1869, this time…

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. Phyllis Lamphere (1922-2018) This week HistoryLink marks the passage of Phyllis Lamphere, a longtime Seattle civic leader and, from 1967 to 1978, a member of the Seattle City Council. Born and raised in Seattle, Lamphere attended Barnard College, where she studied modern dance under the…

Women carrying water from relief wagon on Bellevue Avenue during water shortage, Capitol Hill, Seattle, November 21, 1911

Armistice Day parade in Pierce County in 1918

This story was originally published at HistoryLink.org. Subscribe to their weekly newsletter. One hundred years ago this week, on November 5, 1918, Pierce County voters approved the creation of the Port of Tacoma by a 5 to 1 margin. Before the Port’s formation, the Tacoma waterfront was privately owned by railroads, shipyards, lumber companies, and other industrial…