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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1857 - Military Road Built by US Army in 1850s2 ( JULY 2014 « www.TUKWILAREPORTER.com Military Road built by U.S. Army in 1850s Retaining its original name and general route throughout South King County, Military Road is part of the Fort Steila- coom-Fort Bellingham Road constructed by the U.S. Army in the late 1850s. Hostilities between natives and settlers spurred Con- gress, with the support of the Secretary of War and future Confederate Presi- dent Jefferson Davis, to ap- propriate $35,000 in 1857 to construct a land route between the two forts to move troops and supplies and facilitate settlement in the remote Puget Sound Country. Traveling on foot with a pocket compass and an axe to mark trees along the way, Army Capt. W.W. DeLacy began surveying the un- settled wilderness accom- panied by a crew of six Na- tive Americans and three settlers; the area was so densely wooded that pack animals could not be used. Construction began in 1858 under the supervision of Lt. George H. Mendell; the road was completed to LOVLG3�/ r `/ tite. a tteevt • July 18 - The Great Gatsby *Rated PG-13 July 25 - E.T. *Rated PG Enjoy appetizers, dinner or drinks at Billy Historic Military Road wended along Five Mile Lake. Tukwila Historical Society Seattle in October 1860. In South King County, Army troops camped at the three lakes the road connects: Five Mile Lake, Star Lake and Angle Lake. Five Mile Lake derives its name from the fact it is five miles from Carson's Ferry Crossing on the Puyallup River — the same location as the mod- ern Puyallup River Bridge. The gravel footpath along the lake is a remnant of the original wagon road. A number of future Civil War generals were assigned to the Pacific Northwest as junior officers in the 1850s; among them were Ulysses S. Grant, George S. Pick- ett, George B. McClellan, Philip Sheridan and Joseph "Fightin' Joe" Hooker. Sev- eral of them were involved in the construction of Mili- tary Road; Capt. George Pickett was in charge of construction at the north- ern end of the road from Bellingham Bay to Fort Bellingham. The first tele- graph line in Washington Territory was strung along the length of the road dur- ing the Civil War; the Ses- quicentennial of the tele- graph line reaching Seattle in October of 1864 will be celebrated this fall. Carved out of the wil- derness more than 150 years ago, Military Road encouraged settlement and commerce and enabled the movement of people and supplies throughout South King County, a legacy that continues today. This article was written by local historian Karen Meador. Her work has ap- peared in Columbia, The Magazine of Northwest His- tory, Pacific Northwest Mag- azine and a number of other venues. Meador will share the history of Military Road at 6:30 p.m. July 17, prior to the Tukwila Historical Society's July 17 meeting at 7 p.m. at the Nelsen House, 15643 W. Valley Highway in Tukwila. Admission is free and open to the public; how- ever, donations are gladly accepted.