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Diablo Dam incline railway climbing Sourdough Mountain, 1930. Courtesy Seattle Municipal Archives, 2306.
Children waving to ferry, 1950. Courtesy Museum of History and Industry.
Loggers in the Northwest woods. Courtesy Washington State Digital Archives.
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7/9/2026
Choosing a Mayor
This week HistoryLink looks at Seattle's early mayoral elections, which used to be held on the second Monday in July, with the winner limited to a term of one year. On July 11, 1870, Henry Atkins – a pile-driver who helped build docks and wharves – was elected as the city's first mayor. The next year, voters elected John Jordan, a stonemason, who was followed in office by Corliss Stone, a Republican businessman. Stone later quit the job and was falsely accused of embezzling funds. His predecessor was appointed acting mayor until the next election in 1873.
John Collins, an industrialist, won that year, and was followed by millwright Henry Yesler, one of the city's most prominent citizens. In 1875, Seattle elected Bailey Gatzert, the city's first and to date only Jewish mayor. Dr. Gideon Weed was elected in 1876, and reelected in 1877. Next came journalist Beriah Brown, former chief justice Orange Jacobs, and library advocate Leonard Smith, who also served a second term.
Henry Struve, a lawyer and journalist, was elected in 1882 and 1883 and was followed in office by businessman John Leary. In 1885, Henry Yesler returned to office, and in 1886 pioneer William Shoudy won out over Arthur Denny, one of the city's founders. Dr. Thomas Minor was elected in 1887, and ship builder Robert Moran was elected in both 1888 and 1889.
The last mayor elected under the city's original charter was Harry White, who took office in 1890, but later resigned under pressure. Under the city's new Freeholders Charter, mayoral elections were held in March for a two-year term in office. A new Freeholders Charter in 1946 changed the term of office to four years, and in 1963 a state law moved all city elections to November of odd-numbered years.
Early Surveyor
On July 9, 1811, Canadian explorer David Thompson planted the British flag at the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers. During his travels, Thompson was the first white man to contact and record descriptions of the Kalispel, Sanpoil, Nespelem Methow, Sinkayuse, and Wanapum Native American tribes.
Thompson's claim did not prevail. After traveling down the lower Columbia River, he met up with agents of John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company. They had already established a post at the mouth of the river, thereby strengthening America's claim to the Columbia region. After the War of 1812, Great Britain and the United States agreed to a joint occupation. This lasted until 1846, when the Treaty of Oregon gave all land below the 49th parallel, except the southern tip of Vancouver Island, to America.
In the 1860s, Seattle's first municipal cemetery held the graves of the city's deceased, many relocated from informal plots to make room for downtown development. On July 10, 1884, the graveyard – located on land owned by David Denny – was rededicated as Seattle's first public park. Its original residents were again moved, mostly to Washelli Cemetery.
On July 11, 1915, a train carrying Philadelphia’s famous Liberty Bell entered Washington at the southeast corner of the state. En route from Philadelphia to the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the bell attracted thousands of visitors as it traveled through the state, with some of the largest crowds being in Everett, Seattle, and Tacoma.
On July 13, 1918, the Port of Everett was created in a special election. Local citizens had hoped to acquire a robust World War I wartime industry on their city's waterfront, but the November 11, 1918, Armistice quickly ended their shipbuilding plans.
On July 9, 1949, the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport opened its first modern terminal, five years after the first runways opened in 1944. Just more than five years later, on July 14, 1954, the first attempted hijacking at the airport was foiled when a man fired two shots near a flight attendant and demanded that the plane be flown to Africa. Police surrounded the plane and thwarted his plans.
On July 15, 1996, guerrilla artist Jason Sprinkle, also known as Subculture Joe, parked his pickup truck in the middle of Seattle's Westlake Park. A large heart-shaped, metal sculpture in the flatbed was meant as a statement, but the words "Timberlake Carpentry Rules (The Bomb!)" scrawled on the front grille created a bomb scare. Sprinkle was arrested on a felony charge and spent more than a month in prison.
Washington cities that celebrate birthdays this week include Benton City, which incorporated on July 14, 1945; Gig Harbor, which incorporated on July 12, 1946; and Richland, which transitioned from being federally owned to being a self-governing city on July 15, 1958.
On July 10, 1910, Stadium Bowl opened in Tacoma next to Tacoma High School, which later changed its name to Stadium High School.
"When the burdens of the presidency seem unusually heavy, I always remind myself it could be worse. I could be a mayor."
–Lyndon B. Johnson
