“The fact there were many prominent Irish in the early days of Seattle will not be surprising when you consider in the 2000 census about 800,000 Washingtonians claimed Irish as their primary heritage. Some of the earliest non-native settlers in Seattle had Irish backgrounds, including Seattle’s first non-native settler, David Denny, who was the great-grandson of a man who left Ireland in the 1790s. Judge Thomas Burke, “The Man Who Built Seattle”, was born in New York of Irish immigrant parents. He was a Seattle civic leader, a railroad promoter, a champion of the University of Washington, a voice of tolerance during the 1886 anti-Chinese riots, and in 1889 Chief Justice of the Washington Territorial (later State) Supreme Court. John Collins, a native of Ireland, served 4 terms on Seattle’s City Council 1869-1883, and became Seattle's fourth Mayor in 1873. In the 1890s, the Klondike Gold Rush brought thousands of Irish people through Seattle on their way to the goldfields. When the Yukon gold petered out, thousands of Irish ended up settling in Seattle.” - Irish Heritage Club Seattle

Night view of Mount Rainier at Kery Park, downtown Seattle

Creator: Dixin, Official Photographer of Seattle Seafair

Copyright: Dixin Yan (c) All rights received.