Seattle Founders' Day: The Denny Party Landing at Alki Point

On November 13, 1851, in pouring autumn rain, the two-masted schooner Exact dropped anchor off the exposed shores of Alki Point in modern-day West Seattle, landing a party of 24 pioneers consisting of 12 adults and 12 children led by Arthur A. Denny. Having traveled thousands of perilous miles across the Oregon Trail from Illinois, the "Denny Party" spent their first harrowing winter living in crude, half-roofed cedar log cabins. They were assisted through that bitter cold season by the native Suquamish and Duwamish peoples led by Chief Si'ahl (Chief Seattle), who provided guidance on local fish, timber, and survival. Recognizing that the shallow, windswept waters of Alki Point were ill-suited for deep-draft timber ships, Denny, Carson Boren, and William Bell explored the protected waters of Elliott Bay the following spring, moving their settlement to what is now downtown Seattle. Naming their city "Seattle" in deep reverence for Chief Si'ahl, the pioneers established a bustling timber port that grew over the next century and a half into the Emerald City—a world capital of maritime trade, aerospace engineering, software development, and global cultural innovation. Seattle Founders' Day honors the grit, perseverance, and cross-cultural encounters that birthed one of the world's great Pacific gateway cities.