HomeMy WebLinkAbout1851-09-14 - Collins Party Arives at Mouth of Duwamish RiverLuther Collins Party arrives at mouth of Duwamish River in future King County on September 14, 1851.
By Greg Lange
Posted 3/08/2003
HistoryLink.org Essay 5390
Luther Collins and
On September 14, 1851, Luther M. Collins (1813-
1860), Henry Van Asselt (1817-1902), Jacob Maple
(or Mapel) (1798-1884), and his son Samuel Maple
(or Mapel) (1827-1880) arrive at the mouth of the
Duwamish River on Elliott Bay. The members of the
party, the first non -Indian settlers in what will
become King County, begin exploring the area with
an eye to selecting Donation Land Claims.
Proposed Earlier Arrival Date for Collins Party
Probably Inaccurate
There is one account, that of Eli Mapel, that puts
the Collins party settlement on the Duwamish
River three months earlier. Eli traveled west over
the Oregon Trail and joined his father and brother in
the Duwamish River valley in October 1852. Fifty
years later, Eli Mapel published an
autobiographical account in a local newspaper in
which he relates that Collins, Van Asselt, and his
father Jacob and brother Samuel "were the first
settlers who located here -- June 22, 1851."
Yet it is doubtful that the Collins party reached the
Duwamish River Valley and Puget Sound that early.
Evidence suggests that in early July 1851, at least
two of these homesteaders were farther south, in
Oregon. In March 1855, Samuel Maple stated in a
Donation Land Claim filing that he arrived in
Oregon Territory on July 1, 1851. This probably
refers to the date he entered Oregon Territory while
traveling north from the California gold fields. The
Samuel Maple party included Jacob Maple and
perhaps Henry Van Asselt and his group of returning miners who joined forces
somewhere between California and the Columbia River.
Moreover, two different biographical sketches place Henry Van Asselt in Oregon in early July 1851, and
imply that Collins and the two Maples were with him. Finally, a letter dated January 1, 1880, published
iD0h8.WeSt.ShUR3iD1884,and signed bvKing County pioneers Henry Van ASS8h,William Bell, Henry
YeSi8r,Carson Boren, and Arthur and David Denny, gives 8chronology Ofsettlement iDKing County. This
Letter states: "September 1S,1851—Henry Van ASSGft,Jacob M8p8iand L.M.Collins selected claims OD
[}uvvG0OiSh River."
Courtesy Duwamishhistory.com
Sources:
History.of.the.Pacific.NorthwestLOregon.and.Washington (Portland, OR: North Pacific History Company, 1889), 612-
613; H. K. Hines, An.ILLustrated.History.of.the.State.of.Washington (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1893),
522-523; Thomas W. Prosch, "A Chronological History of Seattle From 1850 to 1897." Typescript dated 1900-1901,
Seattle Public Library, Seattle, Washington, 22'23; HintoryLinkiorgl}nUne.EncycLoped ia.of}Naohington.Stmte.
Hiatory?'Soattioand King County'eFirst Non -Indian Settiera"(byGrogLangm).http:/kwvvvvhiotoryUnk.or8/(acceaaod
September 14'2018).
Note: This entry was revised onSeptember 14,2018.
Retated Topics
Settlers
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