Wedgwood in Seattle History

In the 1920s the (future) Wedgwood area began to be populated by immigrants. In northeast Seattle out along 35th Ave NE, those who searched for homes found an undeveloped area with inexpensive housing and a semi-rural lifestyle. At the (future) Wedgwood intersections of NE 75th & 85th Streets, there were no close-by industries or business districts, and no transportation system.

Dutch immigrant teens on 35th Ave NE at about NE 81st Street.

Commuting by car from northeast Seattle had been made easier by bridges over the ship canal, such as the University Bridge (1919). As early as the 1920s, many northeast Seattle residents drove to work, even though 35th Ave NE was unpaved.

Gus Johnson, a Swedish immigrant who lived at 3603 NE 75th Street, drove to work at his barber shop in downtown Seattle.

William Rose, a German immigrant who built a house at 6810 40th Ave NE, was a chef who drove to work at Don’s Oyster House, Second & Yesler Streets by the Smith Tower.

This blog article will tell about Dutch, German and Italian immigrant families in the Medohart plat at NE 75th Street & 39th Ave NE.

Continue reading →

Charles Hartge met his future wife, Lena, while they both were teaching school in Pennsylvania. Charles was an ambitious person whose goal was to become an attorney, so he worked until he could go to law school in Buffalo, NY.

This book tells about the AYP Exposition and its impact on the growth of northeast Seattle.

The Hartges may have been attracted to the Seattle area as many other people were, by news of the upcoming world’s fair event to be held on the campus of the University of Washington in 1909.

The Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition of 1909 was a big success for the fair itself, and it also launched the University District as a newly developed neighborhood which had not had electricity and paved streets before the fair.

In 1908 the Hartges settled in a house in the 5200 block of University Way NE, a convenient location where Charles could catch a streetcar to work at his downtown Seattle law office. The location was convenient for Lena, as well, as she intended to complete her education and her occupational goals. She graduated from the University of Washington at age 40 and began to teach high school science. Then she went on to earn a Masters degree in Botany and she taught at the university level.

In addition to pursuing her calling as a science researcher and teacher, Lena Hartge anticipated that she would have to be prepared to support herself.  Her husband’s health was failing and he died in 1927 at age 51.  Lena lived to be 92.

During their early years in Seattle the Hartges made a land investment in northeast Seattle, the future Wedgwood neighborhood, though they didn’t intend to live there themselves. They saw that northeast Seattle was becoming more populated, with growth increasing due to the proximity of the University of Washington, and bridges across the ship canal which made it easier to get downtown.  In 1919 the Hartges filed a plat, meaning that they had hired a surveyor to lay out house lots and lines for streets in the section of land they had bought, which they named the Medohart Addition to Seattle.  The Hartges then offered house lots for sale.

Only this one advertisement ran in the newspaper in 1919 and after that the Hartges left Medohart sales in the hands of real estate promoters.

A real estate ad for the Medohart plat ran in the Seattle Daily Times in September 1919.

Continue reading →