The Evolution of South Lake Union: A Journey Through Time
By Yordanos Tesfazion
As Seattle Parks Foundation celebrates its 25th Anniversary, we want to uplift the history and people who have made this milestone possible. With the help of our community, philanthropic, and corporate partners, we have proudly supported over 300 grassroots projects all throughout Seattle.
Seattle Parks Foundation operates and supports projects on the unceded ancestral land of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the ancestral land of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Stillaguamish, and Muckleshoot People. We acknowledge that our work over the last 25 years has only been possible because of our access to the land, and our commitment to equity in public spaces includes reckoning with this history.
Lake Union is one of Seattle’s greatest gems, offering a little bit of everything to both locals and tourists who keep coming back for more. Existing near the geographic center of Seattle, the lake is an attractive amenity that is surrounded by local food and drink establishments, city parks, and various water activities for the entire family.
The lake’s southern shore, South Lake Union, is a unique neighborhood with a story to match. Its history is rich – from the Duwamish Tribe who lived near the lake for generations to the industrial transformation that took place near the end of the 19th century, the South Lake Union we know and love today looks the way it does because of those who came before us.
Trouble in “Tenas Chuck”
Thousands of years ago, the Vashon Glacier gave us several bodies of water that we know and love today, one of them being Lake Union. Long before settlers made their way to the region, Lake Union was called “Tenas Chuck” (Little Waters) by the Duwamish people residing alongside the southern shore.
The lake and surrounding wilderness were luxurious resources for the Duwamish Tribe. Spending the warmer months foraging for fresh berries, vegetables, fish, and hunting wildlife like deer and elk, the Duwamish sustained themselves through wet and cold winters with an efficient system. The bear, otter, raccoon, beaver, and duck meat hunted in the winter was supplemented by the dried fish and berries they preserved in the summer and fall.
Lake Union was home to the Duwamish and other Coast Salish peoples more than 5,000 years before European-American settlers claimed their land. After trekking through the Oregon Trail from Illinois, David Denny and his wife-to-be, Louisa Boren, settled at Alki Point on November 13, 1851. Two years later, the couple married, and Denny filed a claim on the south end of Lake Union in January of 1853.
Over the next few decades, Denny’s mark was clearly established. Most notably, Denny built the Western Mill Company in 1882, contributing to the acceleration surrounding Lake Union’s development over the next several decades. However, that expansion was undeniably reliant on settler violence enacted upon Indigenous people.
Out of all the Coast Salish Tribes around Lake Union, the population density of the Duwamish people ranked the highest, and the arrival of settlers in 1851 immediately destabilized them. Conflict between the Duwamish and settlers was inevitable and took a significant turn in 1854.
Chief Cheshiahud’s Commitment
When the body of a settler was found buried on the shore of Lake Union, it was assumed to be that of a man who was reported missing the previous year. Three men from the Duwamish Tribe were arrested for murder, including John Cheshiahud, who later became the Tribe’s Chief. Two of the men were violently killed by a lynch mob – Cheshiahud was minutes away from facing the same fate before the very sheriff who had him arrested stepped in to stop the mob. He was found to be innocent in court, and from there on out, maintained cordial relations with the settlers.
Tensions between the Duwamish and the settlers continued to rise after the Treaty of Point Elliot was signed in 1855. Within months, European-American immigrants violated the treaty, sparking a wave of rebellions that lasted until 1858. When neighboring tribes traveled to Seattle to support the rebellions, some of the Duwamish alerted settlers ahead of time, and were able to find refuge in their blockhouses – and away from the U.S. Marines that showed up to fire back. Cheshiahud was amongst the group of Duwamish people who took refuge with the settlers.
Despite the extreme generosity that many of the Duwamish exhibited since their arrival, the settlers prohibited them from living in Seattle when it officially became a city in the late 1860s, but Cheshiahud was one of the few Duwamish people who made the decision to stay.
Cheshiahud had a unique relationship with the settlers. Nicknamed “Lake Union John,” he was known for his craft of carving canoes and ability to get around the lake, even working as a travel guide for settlers traveling through Lake Union. Just as Cheshiahud was able to communicate with the settlers in their own language, his friend David Denny was able to communicate with the Duwamish people, becoming the first settler to serve as a translator between the two parties.
Cheshiahud and his wife Tleebuleetsa were the last of the Duwamish who resided in South Lake Union, mostly due to the fact that Denny sold the Chief five acres of land in Portage Bay for $1. When Tleebuleetsa passed away, Cheshiahud sold the land and moved to the Suquamish Reservation. He spent the last few years of his life with his daughter and other relatives before passing away in 1910.
There are many unanswered questions when it comes to Cheshiahud and his relationship with the settlers who displaced his tribe. The documented friendship between the Chief and Denny is particularly striking. When Cheshiahud sold the land he purchased from Denny for $1, he made a significant profit. And when Denny passed away, his nephew – Arthur Denny’s son – Orion, continued the friendship, taking many of the photos we see of Cheshiahud in his later years. In a piece titled “A Pioneer Mystery and Tragedy,” Abbie Denny-Lindsley, Denny’s daughter, wrote about Cheshiahud’s near-execution. She wrote “He is still living and never ceases to be grateful to the preserver of his life. He is known as Lake Union John, and is a mild, kind-hearted old-man, who is well thought of by the pioneers.”
Honoring Our Roots
Highlighting the reality of Seattle’s past is a necessary responsibility that honors the legacy of the Indigenous tribes whose histories have been deliberately watered down and erased. As Seattle residents, we have the privilege of experiencing the beauty of this city because of that history.
Today, South Lake Union is nationally praised for the urban village it has become over the last several decades. The Brookings Institute has designated South Lake Union as being one of seven “Innovation Districts” in the country, noting the neighborhood’s proximity to downtown and transit access, as well as the corporate giants and research facilities who dominate the area.
The mixed-use spaces we see around Seattle exist because of the 1994 Comprehensive Plan. The Growth Management Act of 1990 required Seattle to adopt city plans that could accommodate a significant increase in population. Backed by then-mayor Norm Rice, city planners proposed that creating urban villages would be ideal in combatting concerns surrounding Seattle’s expected growth.
Although South Lake Union was only included in an updated version of the Comprehensive Plan in 2004, Seattle residents in the early ‘90s had the opportunity to transform the neighborhood into an urban mecca not just once, but twice.
Coming up on our next blog post in this series – the story of what could have been – the Seattle Commons.
Sources
Chesheeahud – Duwamish Tribe
Cheshiahud: Last of the Lake Union Duwamish – Lake Union Virtual Museum
Cheshiahud: The Last of the First – Lake Union Virtual Museum
Coast Salish people & languages – The Burke Museum
History of the Duwamish Tribe – University of Washington Manifold
Seattle Now & Then: John Cheshiahud (aka Lake Union John), 1904 – Jean Sherrard
The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in America – Bruce Katz and Julie Wagner