The first non-native American settlers of present-day Seattle landed on Alki Point during the fall of 1851.  With assistance from the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes, they survived that first winter. That following spring most of the settlers moved to the present day site of Seattle.  By 1853, Henry Yessler's steam-powered sawmill established Seattle as a lumber town. By the 1870's coal became a major export of Seattle. The growing town was referred to as "Liverpool of the Northwest."

Hopes were temporarily dashed in 1873 when Tacoma was selected over Seattle as the Northwest terminus for a Northern Pacific transcontinental railroad.  Not wanting to loose out on the commerce opportunity local businessmen built small spur lines to carry coal, lumber, and agricultural products to port.  The population was nearly 40,000 before a disastrous fire in the summer of 1889 destroyed 25 blocks of downtown Seattle.  Business and political leaders seize the opportunity to rebuild and replat downtown.  By 1896 nearly 165 fireproof buildings have been built or in the process of completion.  Many of those buildings are preserved today in the Pioneer Square Historic District.

In 1897, the steamship Portland arrived in Seattle with prospectors carrying almost a 2 tons of gold from the Klondike gold fields in Canada.  The mass migration and "Klondike" hysteria begins the next day. Fearing a possible mass starvation, for those headed to the undeveloped Yukon Territory, the Canadian government required each person to have a year's worth of food and supplies to enter into Canada.  Eventually over 70,000 individuals will pass through Seattle purchasing their "ton of supplies" here. The economic benefits of the gold rush were enormous pulling the local economy out of a recession.

Between 1890 and 1900 Seattle grows from 40,000 to 120,000 residents, is the terminus for transcontinental rail service, and becomes a major shipping port for both Alaskan and Asian bound ships.