HistoryLink is an evolving online
encyclopedia of Seattle and King County history, and, as such, has articles that
mention Issaquah. For complete research on Issaquah History, we encourage
you to visit www.historylink.org and
search for "Issaquah" and other related terms, such as
"Gilman", "Sammamish", "Pickering" - whatever!
Here is the result of a search for Issaquah on March 8th, 2000.
It is here so that our site's search engine will direct our users to this page,
and thus indirectly to articles kept on the HistoryLink web site.
In
1900, according to the United States Census, the population of King
County is 110,053 and that of Seattle is 80,671. Between 1890 and 1900,
more than 80 percent of the county's population gain was in Seattle. The
city established itself as the dominate urban area in Washington state.
This file lists the 1900 populations of the largest counties and towns
of Washington Territory and the populations of the largest towns in King
County.
In
1930, the U.S. Census reports the King County population at 463,517 and
the Seattle population at 365,583. Seattle’s population is 79 percent
of the total King County population, and King County is the most
populous county in Washington state. This file lists the 1930 population
of the state’s largest counties and largest towns, and also lists the
1930 population of King County's largest cities and towns.
On
February 2, 1899, an Act of the Washington State Legislature changes the
name of Gilman (previously Squak) to Issaquah. Although the King County
town just south of Lake Sammamish has been known as Gilman since 1889,
the U.S. Post Office Department calls it Olney (after the Postmaster's
home town in Illinois) because the name Gilman is too close to Gilmer,
located in Klickitat County in Eastern Washington, and the Post Office
does not wish the mail to be misdirected. The Gilman Town Council
successfully petitions the legislature for the name change to Issaquah,
which is close to the original Indian name Is-qu-ah, meaning snake.
On
September 25, 1902, the Seattle-Tacoma Interurban Railway inaugurates
electric rail service between Seattle (from a downtown terminal at
Yesler and Occidental streets) and downtown Tacoma, with a branch line
to Renton. Wooden cars manufactured by the Brill Co. depart
approximately once every hour with the typical run taking 100 minutes.
Limited service is 70 minutes. One way fare costs 60 cents and a round
trip one dollar.
The
opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a
community. On May 20, 1870, the Squak Post Office is established. The
name Squak is the white man's pronunciation of the Indian name Is-qu-ah,
meaning snake. On January 31, 1889, the town and post office are renamed
Olney. On June 10, 1895, the town renames itself Issaquah and on
February 2, 1899, an Act of the state legislature makes the name
Issaquah official.
On July
26, 1924, the Ku Klux Klan, an all-white, racist, anti-semitic,
anti-Catholic organization, promises to "put Issaquah on the
map" with a rally that draws onlookers conservatively estimated at
13,000.
In
1890, Captain Edwin R. Barrows took one look at the idyllic landscape at
the mouth of the Black River and knew immediately, "this was
Shangri-La, where my family would live for generations." His
great-grandson Homer Venishnick (b. 1926) imagines his
great-grandfather's thoughts as he holds a photograph of Captain Barrows
house on the Black River, taken around 1900. The family came together on
the river over the next several decades, fishing for work and for
pleasure.
During
April 1915, 250 men constructing the Issaquah to Renton road refuse to
continue working because the pay is below minimum wage and working
conditions are poor.
Currently
viewed page last updated
March 05, 2008
Photos on
this site copyright Issaquah Historical Society,
unless otherwise noted. USE PHOTOS ONLY BY PERMISSION
