TheDenny Party were a group ofAmerican pioneers credited with foundingSeattle,Washington in 1851.
Originally fromCherry Grove, Illinois, the party began their journey west on April 10, 1851, led by 29-year-oldArthur A. Denny. Four months later, they arrived inPortland, Oregon and, upon hearing of the remotePuget Sound, sentDavid Denny, John Low, and Lee Terry to scout for land there. The remainder of the party, consisting of 24 people total, arrived atAlki Point on November 13, 1851, where they would remain until relocating acrossElliott Bay in April 1852.
The second settlement, established at present-dayPioneer Square, grew into the city ofSeattle, which became the largest city in thePacific Northwest by 1910.
On April 10, 1851, a wagon party headed byArthur A. Denny leftCherry Grove, Illinois and headed west.[1] The party included Arthur Denny's fatherJohn Denny, his stepmother, two of his older brothers who ultimately settled in theWillamette Valley ofOregon, his younger brotherDavid Denny, his wife, Mary Ann Boren, Mary's younger sister Louisa, and their brotherCarson Boren.[2] Mary Ann Denny and was pregnant throughout the journey and Mary Ann's sister Louisa Boren ultimately married David Denny in 1861.
On July 6, 1851, the party battledNative Americans atAmerican Falls,Idaho on theSnake River, but escaped unharmed.[3] The following day they met John Low, and he joined the party. Late in July 1851 they reached theBurnt River in eastern Oregon where they encountered a man named Brock who suggested to Denny thatPuget Sound would be a good place to create a town.
The Denny Party arrived inPortland, Oregon on August 22, 1851.[4] Arthur Denny was ill and Mary Ann was about to give birth so the party convalesced in Portland. On September 2, Mary gave birth to a son, Rolland H. Denny.
John Low and David Denny headed north to scout the possibilities. Along the way they were joined by Leander "Lee" Terry. In newly foundedOlympia, Washington, they metMichael Simmons, the wealthy founder ofTumwater.[5] He guided them toAlki to scout as a possible site for a settlement. On September 28, 1851, at Alki, Terry and Low began building a cabin with help from the local Native Americans and then staked claims to the land. They decided to name their new village New York.[5] Low returned to Portland to alert the others, Terry looked for afroe to makeredcedar shake shingles, and David Denny stayed on in the unfinished cabin. David Denny hurt his leg and was unable to complete the roof of the cabin.[4]
In Portland, Arthur Denny recruitedIllinois farmerWilliam Nathaniel Bell and his wife, and, by coincidence, Charlie Terry, Leander's younger brother.[6] The Terry brothers, fromWaterville, New York, had come west as part of theCalifornia Gold Rush, but had not liked the rough and tumble ofSan Francisco.
On November 5, 1851, the Denny Party left Portland on theschoonerExact, bound forPuget Sound andHaida Gwaii. TheExact carried a number of settlers bound for Puget Sound in addition to the Denny Party, includingDaniel Bigelow who settled in Olympia. After a difficult passage, particularly hard on the still-ill Denny, they arrived at Alki on November 13,[2] where David greeted them with the words, "I wish you hadn't come."
Arthur Denny was bitterly disappointed that Low and Lee Terry had already staked the relevant claims for Alki. However, with no other shelter in the midst of heavy rainfall, he had no choice but to pitch in, finish the cabin and settle in for the winter.[7] Denny convinced Bell and Boren that they needed to scout a different location. Once the worst of winter cleared, Denny and other party members explored as far asCommencement Bay (now the site ofTacoma),Port Orchard,Smith Cove, and up theDuwamish River to the present site ofPuyallup, before settling on an island in the mudflats near the east shore ofElliott Bay, now the site ofPioneer Square.[8]
For the next three years Alki Point and Elliott Bay sites competed as rival townsites. Charlie Terry bought out his brother's and Low's Alki holdings and led this community. Arthur Denny settled at Elliott Bay and, along with his rivalD.S. "Doc" Maynard, led the development of Seattle. Terry and Low could not attract settlers to their townsite and people facetiously began calling the smaller village "New York Alki" or "New York bye and bye" inChinook Jargon.[5]
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TheBirthplace of Seattle Monument atAlki Beach is inscribed with the names of all members of the Denny Party.