Milton Densmore (1839-1908) was a Civil War veteran of Vermont who became an early resident of Seattle.

At the close of the Civil War in 1865, Densmore followed the pattern of many veterans, who moved westward and made land claims.  He met and married his wife Rosamond in Beloit, Wisconsin, and in 1871 they moved to Seattle.  The Densmores opened a grocery store in Seattle and got involved in the efforts to move coal to be exported.

Seattle Coal & Transportation Company Railroad at Lake Union, December 25, 1871. Photo courtesy of UW Special Collections PSE 072.

The coal economy in early Seattle

Historians describe early Seattle as having “coal on the brain” between the years of 1866 and 1872.  Coal was an exportable product which brought high prices, but the problem was to get the coal out from east of Lake Washington, all the way to load onto ships on the downtown Seattle waterfront.

In 1870 the Seattle Coal Company had been formed to do coal mining, and separately, the Seattle Coal & Transportation Company was formed to transport the coal.  Milton Densmore became one of the captains of a tugboat, the Linna C. Gray, which pulled barges of coal across Lake Union.  The landing point was at South Lake Union about where the museum (MOHAI) is now.

Next, Milton Densmore helped lay the rails of a narrow-gauge railroad along Westlake Avenue.  This tram line was the last transfer point of the loads of coal, which went to a bunker at Pike Street and were dumped into ships at the waterfront.  The coal would make its journey to San Francisco, which had an insatiable appetite for coal as well as timber.

Why did the Densmores come to Seattle?

Arriving in 1871, Milton Densmore was one of the earliest Civil War veterans to come to Seattle.  We know that Civil War veterans were interested in making a new start Out West, where they hoped that land would increase in value and there would be economic prosperity generated from the growth of rail lines.  In the case of Milton Densmore, we can find clues by looking at his wife Rosamond’s relatives, who came to Seattle before the Densmores.

In about 1868 Rosamond’s mother Mary, with her second husband J.T. Kenworthy, moved to Seattle.  The family group included Mary’s parents the Wheldens, Mary’s sister Frances, and Mary’s two youngest children, Willard K. Merwin and Alda Merwin.  Perhaps these relatives had written to the Densmores in Wisconsin, to encourage them to come out to the fledgling city of Seattle.

The Densmores arrived in Seattle about two years after the Kenworthy family group.  Rosamond would have a few more years with her grandparents the Wheldens, and most of the other relatives lived a long time in Seattle.  In newspaper articles over the years, the Densmores were often mentioned in attendance at family gatherings such as the weddings of Rosamond’s siblings and cousins.

Downtown Seattle in 1878 as photographed by Peterson Studio.

The Densmores first lived on Third Avenue nearest to Union Street, where they established a grocery store at the northeast corner, present site of the Vance Building at 1402 Third Avenue.

Milton Densmore juggled many involvements.  He was the agent of the Seattle Coal & Iron Company, and he was sometimes listed as an expressman (wagon driver).  He was a charter member of the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War veterans’ organization which had been formed in Seattle in 1878.  Rosamond Densmore was active in the women’s auxiliary called the Women’s Relief Corps, and she was active in the Pioneer Association of Washington.

Milton Densmore was active in civic affairs and served two terms on the city council.  He must have had his finger on the pulse of activities and trends and may have anticipated that “north Seattle” (north side of Lake Union) might be the next big thing.  As of 1887 he would have known that the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway was being put through, and the railroad would open up areas on the north shore of Lake Union.  There were opportunities of economic benefit for those who would develop land along the route of the new railroad line.

The growth of Seattle north of Lake Union

In about 1887 the Densmores closed their grocery store on Third Avenue and moved to the north shore of Lake Union.  Residence areas were being founded such as Fremont in 1888, which had the advantage of the new Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway coming through.  This made it possible for businesses to transport products.

East of what is now Stone Way, Corliss P. Stone & William Ashworth filed a plat called the Edgewater Addition (1889). East of that was the Lake Union Addition (1883).  As the rail line (today’s Burke-Gilman Trail) came through, communities sprang up and were identified by the names of the rail stops.

This map of 1894 shows the communities on the north shore of Lake Union.

In the Seattle City Directory editions of the 1890s, the Densmores’ address listing was “Edgewater.”  Over many years’ time this neighborhood name identity faded until it became today’s Wallingford.  Today Densmore Avenue and the other street names (Corliss, Stone, Ashworth, etc) extend from Wallingford all the way to North 205th Street (the county line).

The Densmore home at 3607 Densmore Avenue was built circa 1887 and was expanded in 1909 to become a duplex.  The Densmore’s son, James Worth Densmore, became a music teacher who lived in the other unit of the house.

3607 Densmore Avenue North

Over the years, Rosamond Densmore’s numerous relatives continued to live in Seattle, and some gravitated to the north Lake Union/Fremont area.

Captain W.K. Merwin 1854-1932

Rosamond’s brother Willard K. Merwin (1854-1932) became a steamboat captain who piloted ships on Puget Sound.  He lived at the northwest corner of 36th & Aurora.  In the last year of his life, he had to move away due to the widening of Aurora Avenue to become Highway 99.  Capt. Merwin moved to 1609 North 36th Street, across the street from the Densmore home.

In the last year of his life Milton Densmore was visited by his brother Jason who had also fought in the Civil War.  The two had not seen one another in more than forty years.  During their reunion they reminisced about all that they had experienced.

 Sources:

“Brothers Meet 41 Years After the War,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 10, 1907, page 25.

The Fremont neighborhood in Seattle is located at the northwest corner of Lake Union. Map courtesy of HistoryLink.

Census, city directory, genealogy resources and newspaper references.

“Coal on the brain,” Four Wagons West, page 335, by Roberta Frye Watt, 1931.

“Densmore Avenue,” Pig-Tail Days in Old Seattle, page 154, by Sophie Frye Bass, 1937.

HistoryLink Essay #5412, “Seattle Coal & Transportation Company begins operating Seattle’s first railroad on March 22, 1872,” by Jennifer Ott, 2012.

“Milton Densmore,” History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, page 35, by Clarence Bagley, 1916.

Seattle Historical Sites Index, 3607 Densmore Ave.