This free event by ‘Words, Writers & SouthWest Stories,’ a historically-based speaker series of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society is co-sponsored by the Seattle Public Library and will take place Thursday, February 13th at 6 PM at the Southwest Branch of the Seattle Public Library, 9010 35th Ave. SW in West Seattle.
Today, the Town of Alki no longer exists. In its place rests remnants of summer beach cottages, 1950’s and 60’s styled houses and, increasingly, a collection of waterfront multi-million dollar homes, condominiums and penthouses. The 1850’s Town of Alki promoters, John N. Low, and the brothers Charles C. and Leander Terry failed in their efforts to build a trade and commercial center along the shores of Puget Sound largely because they failed to recognize the natural and physical limitations to trade and exchange of their town site. Their efforts might have met with more success if they had better observed the settlement and trip patterns of the Native Americans who first occupied Alki and Elliott Bay (then called Duwamish Bay) environs.
The story of the Town of Alki is generally seen as an aside to the story of Seattle’s founding. As an aside, the story ignores the significant contributions of persons other than the Denny brothers, fails to adequately explore the motivation and character of the pioneer European-American immigrants and dismisses the role played by environmental characteristics, particularly the lack of accessible fresh water supplies and topographical challenges.
In the eyes of the European-Americans the Town of Alki land was “free” courtesy of the United States Government’s Oregon Donation Land Claim Act. To the Native Americans, the compensation promised for the “free” land remains unpaid. Beyond the issue of compensation and mutuality of the compensation agreement, a case can be made that the European-Americans who first took the Alki land did so by deceit and dishonesty.
Mr. Hoffman is an Alki Point resident having relocated to Alki in 2013. He recently retired from the University of Washington where he was Director of the Office of Institutional Studies. Mr. Hoffman holds degrees from Georgia State University, Atlanta, and, in Urban Planning, from Wayne State University, Detroit. He founded the Alki History Project in May 2016. The mission of the Project is to document, explore and interpret the history of the Alki neighborhood of Seattle from its earliest settlement and habitation by Native Americans until current times and to make known and accessible this history to all. In cooperation with the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, he guest-curated the Society’s exhibit “Navigating to Alki” illustrating Alki’s founding and growth to 1907 through a display of United States Coast Survey Maps and the exhibit “Between The Line”, retelling the story of the interplay of corporate and civic interest giving rise to Duwamish Peninsula local government. Hoffman’s current research includes investigation of proposed and failed transportation improvements which would have forever changed Alki’s landscape and land use and an effort to identify ‘Watson’ the suspected 1893 Herring House arsonist.
