HomeMy WebLinkAbout1900s - Tukwila - Thumbnail HistoryTukwila — Thumbnail History
By Alan J. Stein
Posted 1/29/1999
HistoryLink.org Essay 2091
Looking west, future SE 180th Street, Tukwila, 1920s
Courtesy Tukwila Historical Society
Frederick Dent, for whom Fort Dent was named; Dent
was the brother-in-law of President Ulysses S. Grant.
Courtesy Library of Congress
The City of Tukwila, located 10 miles south of Seattle, is near the original
confiuence of the Black and White rivers. These rivers, before development
altered their courses, merged to form the Duwamish River. The Duwamish
fiowed north into Elliott Bay, below the hills of Seattle. The Duwamish Indians
inhabited this valley for many centuries before white settlers arrived in the
1850s. In 1851, the Collins party staked a claim near the mouth of the
Duwamish River. Around the same time, the Denny Party settled at Alki Point,
to the west of the Collins' claim. Soon after, other settlers started claiming
land further south into the valley.
First Settlers
Joseph and Stephen Foster, brothers who had walked west from Illinois
alongside an oxcart, were the flrst to settle in what is now Tukwila. They both
staked claims near where the Black and White rivers met, then known as Mox
La Push (Chinook jargon meaning "two mouths"). Spring fioods would often
reverse the course of the small Black River, causing it to fiow backward into
Lake Washington, temporarily giving it another mouth.
Two years after the Fosters began clearing their land, hostile Indians
massacred settlers in the White River valley to the south. This led to the short-
lived Indian War, the result of which was the removal of all local tribes onto
reservations. Although many of the Duwamish Indians remained friendly with
local settlers, the tribe was never granted its own reservation and was forced
to move onto land inhabited by other tribes.
Nineteenth Century Development
Soon after the Indian War, Fort Dent (a small blockhouse) was built near
Joseph Foster's cabin in case of further uprisings. Also, the flrst road in King
County was built along the Duwamish River over an established Indian trail.
The road and the river enabled valley settlers to access the growing city of
Seattle. Logs harvested while clearing the land could be fioated upstream to
the mills, and the road allowed mill workers to get to their jobs.
Joseph Foster, who served in the Indian War as a packer and scout, became a
territorial legislator in 1858. Among legislation he sponsored was a bill that
established a Territorial University in Seattle, which later became the
University of Washington.
Throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century, the Duwamish Valley
attracted many settlers. The soil was excellent for growing hops, hay, fruit, and
vegetables. The river was abundant with salmon. In 1880, the total number of
people living in the valley was 199. By 1892, the population was 2062. An aphid
infestation and the nationwide economic panic of 1893 temporarily slowed
growth in the area, but the community's location along a transportation
corridor allowed it to fiourish in the twentieth century.
Planes, Trains, Automobiles
Flooding, East Valley Highway, Tukwila, near future site
of Southcenter Mall, n.d.
Courtesy Paul Dorpat
Camouflaged Boeing Plant No. 2, Tukwila, 1940s
Courtesy Boeing Archive
Shafts for U.S. Navy ships, Isaacson Iron Works,
Tukwila, ca. 1943
Photo by Hack Miller, Courtesy UW Special Collections
1986.5.4446.3
The grassy plain a few miles down river of Mox La Push was called The
Meadows. In the early 1900s, a horseracing track was built there. In 1912, the
First King County Fair was held at the site. Later still, a small airport was built
which grew to become Boeing Field and home to the Boeing Company's Plant
II, which produced many of the larger planes that fought in World War II. In
1902, the Seattle-Tacoma Interurban Railway was built through the valley. The
electric train, which could achieve speeds of 60 to 70 miles an hour, greatly
suburbanized the area by allowing commuters a chance to have a home in the
country and a job in the city.
The increase in the number of automotive vehicles soon followed, and better
roads and bridges were built throughout the region to accommodate them. By
1928, the Interurban was phased out as roads became the preferred routes for
many people. The rivers, which had been the flrst travel routes in the
community, also underwent man-made changes. One of these rivers was
phased out. Following a major fiood in 1906, the Duwamish River was dredged
and straightened over a period of years. Ten miles to the south, the White River
was diverted from its original course, and the Green River now fllled the
channel. And in 1916, the lowering of Lake Washington resulting from the
construction of the Montlake Cut to connect Lake Washington with Lake Union
caused the Black River to disappear. Mox La Push went from two mouths to
none.
By this time, the community had already been named Tukwila. The etymology
of the name is unclear, but it was used by Duwamish Indians to describe the
region. Locals had been calling the community by this name for years. In 1908,
Joel Shomaker, a Seattle newspaperman who lived in the valley, pushed for
incorporation. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer held a "Name The New Town"
contest, and the name Tukwila won. The town was incorporated on June 23,
1908 with Shomaker as mayor.
Industrialization vs. Commercialization
As transportation corridors expanded throughout south King County, Tukwila
cemented itself as a central hub. The rapid growth of Boeing and other
industries during World War II threatened to over-industrialize the area after
the war, but opposition from Tukwila citizens prevented it. Rather than rely on
industry to sustain growth, they turned to commercial businesses.
In the 1960s, planning had already begun for two new highways that would
cross right next to the city: I-405, which would travel around Seattle and Lake
Washington, and I-5, which would run the entire length of the Paciflc Coast.
The city planners, realizing the potential of such a busy crossroads, started
work on a grand shopping mall for Tukwila. On July 31, 1968, Southcenter Mall
opened with 116 stores built on 30 acres. At the time it was one of the largest
malls in the state.
In recent years, the City of Tukwila has annexed many smaller nearby
communities such as Riverton, Allentown, and Foster, including a number of
industries along East Marginal Way. Seattle had sought these industries for
their tax base in the 1980s, but the resistance of a small number of residents in
the neighboring South Park area prevented the annexation. The industries now
enrich Tukwila's tax base. By 2021, Tukwila had a population of 21,615 people.
With industry to the north, Sea-Tac Airport to the west, and a wide variety of
Southcenter Mall, July 31, 1968
Photo by Dudley, Hardin & Yang, Inc., Courtesy UW
Special Collections (SOC6955)
businesses within and without, Tukwila continued to be a thriving city as it
entered the twenty-flrst century.
This essay made possible by:
King County
Green River Trail, Fort Dent Park, Tukwila, April 15, 2009
Photo by Joe Mabel (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Sources:
Kay F. Reinartz, Tukwila: Community at the Crossroads (Tukwila: City of Tukwila, 1991).
Related Topics
Cities & Towns
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