- Seward Park is a southeast Seattle neighborhood that derives its name from the city park located on the Bailey Peninsula extending into Lake Washington. In 1911, four years after annexing much of what is now southeast Seattle, the City acquired the peninsula from the Bailey family to develop a park named for U. S. Secretary of State William H. Seward (1801-1872), noted for advocating the U.S. purchase of Alaska. The surrounding area that took its name from the park grew as street grading and completion of Lake Washington Boulevard improved access. While many Seattle neighborhoods that were named by real estate speculators had definite boundaries, Seward Park evolved after the developers and the name embraces parts of Brighton Beach, Hillman City, and Lakewood along both sides of South Orcas Street. The area is racially and economically diverse and is a center of the Jewish community in Seattle.
- Seattle — Thumbnail History (historylink.org)
Seattle is the largest city in Washington state and its economic capital. Settled in 1851, its deep harbor and acquisition of Puget Sound’s first steam-powered sawmill quickly established it as a center of trade and industry. It gained the Territorial University (now University of Washington) in 1861, but was snubbed by the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1874 when it picked Tacoma as its western terminus. Despite this, the town prospered thanks to independent railroad development fueled by local coal deposits…
