Wedgwood’s NE 85th Street Dividing Line

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History
In 1858-1859 William H. Carlton led a survey team and drew this map of Township 26, north Seattle from 85th to 205th Streets.

In 1858-1859 William H. Carlton led a survey team and drew this map of Township 26, north Seattle from 85th to 205th Streets.

On September 2, 1858, a team of surveyors stood at what is now the center point of Seattle’s Wedgwood business district on 35th Ave NE at NE 85th Street.  The survey team of the year 1858 consisted of two chain carriers (men with a measuring device like that used to measure yardage in football games), two ax men who helped chop through underbrush, and the leader of the team listed as compass man, William H. Carlton.

Carlton’s hand-written field notes tell that the men set a post at this intersection because it was an important marker as they walked the east-west line between Township 25 which had already been surveyed from downtown Seattle out northward as far as 85th, and Township 26 which Carlton’s team surveyed in 1858 to 1859.  That line between the two townships is now NE 85th Street at Wedgwood’s main business district along 35th Ave NE.

This blog post will tell why NE 85th Street is an important line and why the two halves of Seattle’s Wedgwood neighborhood, north and south of NE 85th Street, are somewhat different.

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In Love with the Trees of Seattle

Posted on March 7, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Northeast Seattle Tree WalkAre you a Tree Lover?  Do you admire trees and tell others about your favorite trees?  The City of Seattle has a program just for you:  you can become a Tree Ambassador.

The Tree Ambassador program is for those who want to help nurture their neighborhood trees.  Tree Ambassadors can help build community and heighten awareness of and appreciation for the natural environment.

Tree Ambassadors can develop tours (tree walks) which can be printed and posted as a resource, or led as a public event.  Other Tree Ambassadors are interested in landscaping projects.  They can identify a site which needs work, such as removal of invasive species.  Check out the schedule of events, work parties and tree-planting informational seminars.

Posted in Nature and wildlife, trees | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Seattle History in Landscape and Story

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

One aspect of Seattle history is its built environment and landscape.  How have the forces of nature, people and historic events interacted to create Seattle?  On Saturday, March 7, the conference program of the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild will be held at the downtown Seattle Public Library on the theme of The Urban Northwest in Landscape and Story.  All events are free and open to the public.  The library is at Fourth & Spring Streets and has a parking garage.

Gas Works Park in Seattle

Gas Works Park in Seattle

9 AM – Plenary Session – “Thick Stories of Seattle’s Urban Landscape: Gas Works Park by Richard Haag” By Dr. Thaisa Way, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Washington College of Built Environments.

10:15 to 11:45 AM and 1:30 to 5 PM – diverse sessions on the urban history of the Pacific Northwest.

Seattle Street Smart Naturalist12 noon – Keynote Speaker – “History Underfoot: Seattle’s Storied Landscape”  By David B. Williams, a freelance writer whose work focuses on the intersection of people and the natural world.

David B. Williams’ books include Stories in Stone: Travels Through Urban Geology, The Seattle Street-Smart Naturalist: Field Notes from the City and Cairns: Messengers in Stone.  In September 2015 his newest book will come out, Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography.  This book will explore how the City of Seattle reshaped itself through projects such as the filling of tideflats and sluicing of hillsides.

 

 

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Marshall Blinn: Logging and Land Speculation in Washington Territory

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

Before Washington became a state in 1889, territorial land claims recorded many names which are not now well-known.  Who were these early-arriving settlers? The map of what is now the Wedgwood and Meadowbrook neighborhoods of northeast Seattle is dotted with land claims in the name of Marshall Blinn.  Who was he?

Marshall Blinn 1827-1885

Marshall Blinn 1827-1885

Students of Seattle history recognize names of major figures such as Arthur Denny, leader of the Denny Party of white settlers who arrived in 1851 and who are considered the founders of the city.  But there were many other contributors to early Seattle whose names have been forgotten.  On the basis of the number of land claims of Marshall Blinn, he would seem to have been an important figure, but we will find that though his influence touched Seattle, he never actually lived in Seattle.

In this article I will tell about logging and land-grabbing in Washington Territory before statehood, and I will speculate on how northeast Seattle might have developed differently if Marshall Blinn, an early adventurer, had come to live on his land claims.

Copyright notice:  the text of this article is protected under a Creative Commons Copyright.  Do not copy without permission.

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Posted in Land records and surveys, research resources, Seattle History | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Big Green House: Thanks for the Memories

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History
In one hour the hundred-year-old Big Green House was reduced to rubble.

In one hour the hundred-year-old Big Green House was reduced to rubble.

On February 17, 2015, the hundred-year-old Big Green House at 7321 35th Ave NE came to the end of its lifespan and to me, it felt like the death of a friend.

The Big Green House was like an eccentric, misunderstood person, perceived by some as spooky because of the way the house loomed up over the surrounding business district.  In getting to know it, I found the Big Green House to be more like an elderly person with long-held memories of bygone days.

The Big Green House was clothed in the architectural preferences of long ago and will now be replaced by the newest design trend in commercial districts in Seattle:  townhouse buildings with live-work units at the sidewalk level.

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Seattle Spring Season Plant Tours

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History
Arthur Lee Jacobson, Seattle tree expert

Arthur Lee Jacobson, Seattle tree expert

Arthur Lee Jacobson is a Seattle resident with a life-long passion for plants.  He writes, teaches, and does hands-on gardening work for individuals and businesses.  As the season turns to spring, Mr. Jacobson leads walking tours of Seattle’s trees and plants.

Mr. Jacobson shares his enthusiasm and expertise through his walking tours in which people can benefit from personal interaction.  He says that “exploring Seattle plant occurrence, noting flowering and fruiting times, tasting edibles, and conversing, is a joy.”

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The Great Backyard Bird Count 2015

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History

You can learn more about birds and help scientific efforts at the same time by participating in the Great Backyard Bird Count of 2015.

Count us, please, for the GBBC!

Count us, please, for the GBBC!

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of bird populations. Participants are asked to count birds for as little as fifteen minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more days of the event, Friday through Monday, February 13 to 16, 2015, and report their sightings online.

Anyone can take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, from beginning bird watchers to experts.  Bird-identification and other helps are available on the GBBC page.  Don’t want to go out in the cold and rain?  No problem, you can participate from your kitchen window by simply counting the birds you see out in your yard.

If you are new to the count, first register online.  In 2014 there were GBBC participants in 135 countries, compiling data on the distribution and abundance of birds.  During this year’s count you will be able to see the photos and lists pouring in from all over the globe.

Posted in Nature and wildlife | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Always a 12

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History
Go Seahawks! Never give up!

Go Seahawks! Never give up!

The Mayor of Seattle has issued a proclamation with a petition which can be signed electronically, to thank the Seattle Seahawks football team for their heart and determination.

We commend the teamwork, discipline, dedication, practice and never-give-up spirit of the Seattle Seahawks.  We the “12s” have learned from their example and we will cheer them on — for next time!  Never give up!

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Requiem for the Big Green House

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History
The Big Green House at 7321 35th Ave NE is boarded up and awaiting demolition.

The Big Green House at 7321 35th Ave NE was boarded up and awaiting demolition in 2015.

Some neighborhoods of Seattle have any number of houses which are one hundred years old or older, but in Wedgwood the number of hundred-year-old houses is very small.   One was the Big Green House at 7321 35th Ave NE which continued to stand while the arterial 35th Avenue NE became increasingly dominated by commercial structures.

A developer had owned the site since 2002 but he never went forward with redevelopment plans.  Finally he sold the site to another developer and demolition took place on February 17, 2015, to replace the Big Green House with a cluster of townhouses.

Wedgwood is a neighborhood of northeast Seattle which was very thinly populated and was outside the Seattle City Limits until after World War Two.  When the war ended in 1945, demand for housing jumped as soldiers returned to civilian life, married and started families.  For that reason, Wedgwood has a large number of houses built in the 1940s and later.  On some streets one can see a few old houses from 1910-1930 with “infill” where newer houses from 1940+ have filled up the lots.  The Big Green House is on what later became a major arterial, 35th Avenue NE, and the house stood alone as a residential structure surrounded by storefront buildings.

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Wedgwood Memories: If a House Could Talk

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Wedgwood in Seattle History
Property photo taken in 1972 for the tax assessors office. The writing on the photo is the plat name of Pontiac, with block number and address.

Property photo taken in 1972 by the property tax assessors office. The writing on the photo is the plat name of Pontiac, with block number and address.  Photo courtesy of the Puget Sound Regional Archives.

If houses could talk!  We can just imagine all the memories of Wedgwood neighborhood life from our childhood days, which a house could tell.

In this guest post from Carleen Ormbrek Zimmerman who is one of the Seattle Urban Sketchers, Carleen captures poignant moments of remembering the joys of her parents’ home during the transition of turning over the house to a new owner.

The Seattle Urban Sketchers “see the world one drawing at a time.” They help us see Seattle through the eyes of artists with appreciation for color and detail.  Look down the right-side column of the Seattle Urban Sketchers page for the list of blog correspondents, including Carleen.

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