Junius Rochester

Junius Rochester, whose family has shaped the city for many generations, is an award-winning Northwest historian and author of numerous books about Seattle and other places.

Old Seattle: It’s All in the Pronunciation

"New York" was the first settler name of "Smaquamox" for the Denny, Low, Boren, Terry, and Bell families.  John Low and Lee Terry, native New Yorkers, believed that ambitious name would augur a bright future for their little encampment.

Father F.X. Prefontaine – An Original

Upon Father Prefontaine's death he left a bequest of $5,000 to the city for the construction of a public fountain.  Today that blue-tiled pool rests at the junction of Yesler and Third, not far from the site of the young priest's $6 a month clapboard room and chapel.

Settler Amenities in the Early Seattle Days

Our lives are soothed by an array of service attendants and a flock of mechanical conveniences.  Foods "appear" at market stalls as if from a garden or bakery in...

Workers of the World Unite: Remembering the Wobblies

The Industrial Workers of the World, known as the IWW or "Wobblies," in the early 1900s had aggressively recruited mill workers and loggers in Southwest Washington State.  The Wobblies believed that a revolution was at hand. 

Pioneers Who Brought Christianity to Puget Sound

Within the first decade of the 20th century over 100 churches were established in Seattle.

Why Clint Eastwood Bought a Historic Carmel Ranch

After buying a home in the neighborhood during his "Rawhide" TV days, Eastwood's affection for Carmel took root.  It was while he served the town as mayor that the historic Mission Ranch came on the market.  It was only a step or two from there to investing in what Eastwood saw as Carmel's living history.

Alexander Pantages, Seattle’s Impresario

Just before World War I, Pantages emerged as the top theater owner in the United States.

Icelanders’ Northwest: The Point Roberts Connection

Icelanders settled in large numbers in the Point Roberts area in the late 1800s.

Deciphering Chinook Jargon

Some pure forms of Native language still exist.  For example, the elementary school at Taholah, on the Quinault Reservation in Washington State, teaches Quileute to youngsters.

Pied Piper: The Flamboyant Clarinetist who Starred in the Seattle Symphony’s Early Days

At the old clarinetist's last house, a backyard boasted an imitation of the Parthenon and the fence around it consisted, in part, of old bedsteads. 

Latest