The “hub” of King County is Seattle. Seattle is known internationally as one of a few, truly “world class” cities. From the arts to zoos, and the alphabet in between, Seattle is renowned for innovation and excellence.It is nearly 85 square miles in size and rests on a 2 to 6 mile wide strip of land between Puget Sound and Lake Washington. The largest city in the NW Metroplex, it is located 108 miles south of the US-Canadian border on the beautiful, deep-water Elliott Bay. Built upon 7 hills surrounding urban lakes and parks and with vistas west to the Olympics and east to the Cascades and Mount Rainier, Seattle is absolutely one of the most beautiful cities in the world.

Seattle was first inhabited by the Duwamish People who lived passively subsisting from a naturally productive land for thousands of years. They traveled by canoe, spoke several Indian dialects, prepared and stored food including salmon, shellfish, berries, roots and hunted dear, elk, bear and duck. They had a complex culture developed over 300 generations that included stories told by elders which passed on ancient traditions, ritual dancing and singing, healing ceremonies, the sweat lodge, and gifting ceremonies yet due to the natural abundance of the land had no form of agriculture and no domesticated animals. They also had no concept of personal land ownership and so in the span of one generation the course of their long history changed with the arrival of hoards of whites hungry for land and a place to establish their own culture.

In 1850, white settlers began to swarm into the Northwest in search of land and fortune. The United States had established its claim over the region and was encouraging its settlement by giving away land, 320 acres to those willing to improve it and live on it for 4 years. The city was
named Seattle in honor of Noah Sealth (Si’ahlth), an important leader among the native people. Sealth’s mother was Duwamish, his father was a Suquamish leader from the West of Puget Sound and he was considered a “high status man” by his people and was one of several leaders.

He was appointed chief by the territorial governor and called Chief Sealth by the whites. Respected and revered by the Settlers, he had the reputation of a fierce warrior yet supported and helped the whites despite the entreaties of other tribes to war against them.

Seattle was platted in 1853, incorporated in 1869, and developed an early business community based on logging and timber products. Soon coal and other mineral deposits were discovered and became important commodities. As the land was cleared of timber, the settlers began to turn to farming including dairy, orchards, hops and berries with the natives providing much of the labor. Early on, a commercial fishing industry began to develop with Alaska cod, salmon and shell fish sold in local markets like the one at Pike Place. Canneries were built and staffed with imported Chinese and Filipino workers adding to Seattle’s multi-cultural mix. Railroads and highways were built to transport all of the products and people. Large fleets of small boats, dubbed the “mosquito fleet” moved men and materiel across the harbor, over the lakes and up
and down the rivers between communities.

By 1881, Seattle had eclipsed Walla Walla as the largest town in the territory. Several events became considerable catalysts to Seattle’s growth. Ironically, the first was the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 which gave the city a fresh start by burning the downtown to the ground. The Alaska Gold Rush of 1897 brought through thousands of people who left behind millions of dollars. The Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Exposition of 1907 brought 4 million tourists to town and introduced Seattle to the world, as did the 1962 Century 21 Exposition World’s Fair and the 1990 World Goodwill Games.

As the years passed and industry continued to grow, so did the numbers of people needed to work. Transportation systems such as the Interurban light rail train allowed people to live in one community and work in another. The region was beginning to blend together into a single, major metroplex. Pacific Car and Foundry came to nearby Renton in 1907. Boeing started up in Georgetown in 1917 and exploded with government contracts during WWII. Major dairy operators and canneries built local processing plants in various suburbs. Mining continued into the 1940s and the timber industry into the 1970s. Today, shipbuilding, banking, insurance, universities, transportation, retailing, medicine, communications, electronics, computers and software have all become important market sectors. By the beginning of the 21st century, Seattle had risen to become the heart of the NW Metroplex. Crowned by INC. Magazine as the Best City in America for Business in 2006, Seattle is now the leader of a great community of four million residents, who are physically active, intellectually gifted and culturally diverse.
Seattle has one of the most recognizable skylines in the world having more than 200 high-rises and over 50 skyscrapers. The single most defining architectural structure is the 605 ft, 54 story Space Needle,
with its “flying saucer” shaped restaurant and observation deck sitting atop three gracefully bending legs. It was built in 1962 for the World’s Fair and stands about a mile north of downtown in an entertainment
district called the Seattle Center.

Named the Smartest City in America by both Forbes and Money Magazines, it’s
not surprising that Seattle has excellent educational opportunities available. Of the citizens over the age of 25, more than 95% have a high school diploma and more than 50% have a Bachelors degree. Post-secondary education in Seattle is dominated by the University of Washington. With over 40,000 undergraduates and postgraduates, it is the largest school in the Pacific Northwest and is ranked among the top research universities
in the United States. Most prominent of the city’s other universities are Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University.

The Seattle medical community is one of the world’s finest. The University of Washington is considered to be one of the top ten teaching hospitals in the nation. Children’s Hospital has over 150 ongoing pediatrics research projects. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center pioneered bone marrow transplants. Virginia Mason Medical Center has acclaimed research in diabetes. Harborview Medical Center is a leader in working with AIDS. The Greater Seattle area has one of the most significant concentrations of biomedical and biotechnology companies in the United States and is recognized around the world as a center for exciting and ground-breaking medical innovation and research.

As a Tree City USA for 21 years, the best in urban recreation is at your toes and at your fingertips around Seattle. Like at the Washington Park Arboretum, across Union Bay from the University of Washington campus. It’s a 230 acre paradise with 3 miles of shoreline featuring walking and hiking trails among more than 10,000 flora specimen and is visited by over 200 bird species annually. The solitude of both groomed gardens and natural habitat is interrupted only by the gentle swish of a rented canoe knifing through one of its many interlacing waterways. Seattle has an additional 396 parks, wet lands and open spaces to visit. A short drive out of the city leads to skiing, camping, snowboarding, river rafting, hiking and some of the most scenic National Parks in the US. Spectator events are exciting and plentiful in the Northwest. There are professional and major college sports and auto races, hydroplane races and thoroughbred races.