Category Archives: Immigrant heritage

The Hara Family in Seattle

By 1910 there were about 13,000 Japanese immigrants in the state of Washington.  Many of these worked in lumber mills, railroad construction crews, or in agricultural work.  Of that number, about 6,000 lived in Seattle. Japanese in the City of … Continue reading

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From Pasture to Playfield: View Ridge

The years of World War Two (1941-1945) marked a major turning point in the development of neighborhoods in northeast Seattle.  Up until that time northeast Seattle had been very rural.  There were some real estate investors and builders of houses … Continue reading

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Houses and Immigrants on 37th Ave NE in Wedgwood

In 1910 a group of Dutch immigrants began to settle in what is now the Wedgwood neighborhood in northeast Seattle, building their houses on or near 35th Ave NE.  They worked in carpentry, painting, and in small businesses such as tailoring. … Continue reading

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A Garden of Immigrants in Medohart

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) … Continue reading

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Medohart in Wedgwood

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. … Continue reading

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An Elm Tree in Seattle History

The American Elm is a species of tree native to the northeastern United States, and elms can also thrive in the temperate climate of the Pacific Northwest.  Elms can grow to seventy feet high, with a wide-spreading canopy of branches … Continue reading

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Meadowbrook in Early Years

Where is “Meadowbrook” in Seattle? The Meadowbrook neighborhood in northeast Seattle derived its name from a golf course which was at the present site of Nathan Hale High School. This lowlands acreage with a creek running through it had once … Continue reading

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The Swansons of Ravenna Valley

The little community of Ravenna in northeast Seattle began to expand in the early 1900s.  Population growth naturally moved in that direction as more people clustered near to the University of Washington. The growth of northeast Seattle was further stimulated … Continue reading

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Names in the Neighborhood: Bryant

In northeast Seattle most of the neighborhood names are those of real estate developments such as Wedgwood, which originally was only a plat name. The builder of the Wedgwood group of houses, Albert Balch, did not deliberately set out to … Continue reading

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Alexandrina McKenzie and Real Estate in Early Wedgwood

In the year 1900 Alexandrina McKenzie was a 43-year-old farm wife in Bingham Township, Huron, Michigan, with five of her six children still at home. Ten years later, Alexandrina was a widow in Seattle, supporting herself and her children with … Continue reading

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