From Many, One: The Immigrant Threads of Issaquah’s History

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

These words—engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty—are those of author Emma Lazarus. They were written in 1883 to raise funds for the pedestal’s construction. Emma was born in New York City in 1849 but her ancestry is that of Brazilian, Portuguese, German, and Jewish descent.

Issaquah’s family tree looks much the same, and yours likely does as well. Anyone who embraces family history, quickly discovers that a country’s borders are merely lines on a map. The deeper one digs into their ancestry, the discovery of who came from where paints a worldly picture of connection and family relations. People traveled from across the US and abroad. They settled, married, raised families, and the cycle began anew as their own children came of age. Often, with more family coming from afar to join them. From the mid-1800s to today, history continues to echo through the movement of people.

With exception to the indigenous peoples living in the United States long before any new world settlers arrived, we have been a nation of immigrants from whom the rest of us descended. During the global mass movement between 1815-1930, most immigrants arriving in the US came via Ellis Island. The push and pull factors typically boiled down to economic opportunity—the lack of it, and the lure of it. And of course, politics and religion had their roles too. Whether it was a person of color, a white European, or an American settler, people were pushed to make their moves due to lack of jobs, discrimination, or shifting policies, and pulled to a land of promise—a promise that might still be met with hardship and resistance.

Similar to every region across the country, the Pacific Northwest felt this impact. Historically, our area was home to the Coast Salish people, which included our local Snoqualmie and Sammamish tribes. Squak Valley (now Issaquah) was remote and wild. No roads, no trains, and the only access was by water or old Indian trails. In the 1860s as Indigenous communities experienced displacement in the valley from land and resources, early immigrants joined those settlers. What they found was a fertile valley, fresh water, big trees, and a place to build a new life. And with them came the traditions and expertise of their homelands, laying the groundwork for Issaquah’s evolving identity.

THE SQUAK VALLEY MELTING POT

Though Census records would often undercount Native populations, it’s interesting to look at what they do tell us. Looking at where people came from to put down roots, the 1870 US Federal Census for the Squak-Snoqualmie area lists eleven US states and five foreign countries—Canada, Denmark, England, Norway, and Russia/Finland. Not one person is listed as Native American. But of the thirty males that were counted as living in the area, 16 were foreign born, and among the ten females, there were two foreigners. For occupations, 22 of the 27 adult males are recorded as being farmers, another was a “logger,” and only four men worked in the essential services of teacher, shoemaker, laborer, and county. Dependent upon the land for their living, the settlers cleared heavy timber, grubbed stumps, built homes and barns, cut roads across the flat areas, and planted crops—agriculture was key to their survival. And here they stayed, raising food and children on farms cut out of the wilderness, almost entirely dependent on their own land and neighborly cooperation for existence.

However, the path wasn’t always harmonious. Our area’s early immigration story is a complex mix of opportunity, resilience, and transition. Many non-Native settlers were Civil War veterans taking advantage of government land grants or looking to cash in on jobs with the valley’s newly discovered coal. As a result, Native communities were displaced and resisted the settlers, but they also adapted and found new economic opportunities.

James Bush—who arrived in 1863 with the notion of working in coal—was friendly with the local Indians. In a story confirmed by his great granddaughter, in 1866 James and his sons Jack and William “Tap” walked the Indian trail to the Snoqualmie River (where Fall City would be laid out a few years later) and a tribe member took them across the river to the council house to meet Chief Saniwah. The next day, they were taken by dugout canoe to meet a small group of other settlers living in the area. The Bush children grew up with the Indian children and learned to speak their language, some becoming lifelong friends. Years later, in the book “Squak Valley: A Tale of Old Issaquah,” Bessie Wilson Crane recalls being friendly with the Indians around the valley as a pioneer child, learning some of the local Native language, and looking after babies when their mothers were working in the fields.

More immigrants and settlers continued to flow in, but 1889 was a big year. The arrival of Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway in 1888 changed the complexion of things almost at once. It brought new residents and a transition to mining, boarding houses, saloons, and new merchants accelerated—attracting workers from various backgrounds. With expanded rail transport, goods like coal, lumber, and agriculture could reach new markets—driving up demand for labor.

The 1890 US Federal Census recorded 228 workers in a range of fields: blacksmith, carpenter, coal miner, doctor, editor, farmer, fireman, grocer, railroad foreman, saloon keeper, sawmill laborer, shoemaker, teacher, telegraph operator, tinsmith, town marshal, and watch repairer. The coal mine was by far the largest employer, alone providing jobs for 138 workers. Farmer labor followed with 29 jobs and in the timber/construction industry, there were 16 workers. As sawmills, mines, and railroads began to rise, so did the need for labor, along with the special skills brought by immigrant laborers.

CHINA—drawn by mining, hop farming, and railroad construction, Chinese immigrants were among the earliest groups to arrive.

IRELAND and WALES—experience in their home countries made them a natural fit for jobs in mining and farming.

ITALY—often took on jobs building railroads; in coal mining; the timber industry; and farming. Over time, many Italian families transitioned from labor-intensive jobs to entrepreneurship, founding businesses. 

GERMANY and EASTERN EUROPE—found work in about every industry, but many worked in logging, timber, and mining. Known for their farming skills, farming was also an option.

SCANDINAVIA—particularly Finland, Norway, and Sweden—brought skills and expertise in the above-ground industries of forestry and logging, sawmills, construction, railroads, fishing, boat building, and woodworking.

Work preferences were not absolute as there was significant crossover amongst their different cultural backgrounds, but there were patterns to above ground and underground work, and work under dangerous conditions, which ultimately shaped the region.

In the mid 19th Century, European immigrants—particularly Scandinavian, Irish, and German—became prominent. By the late 19th Century, Issaquah’s residents hailed from around the world, but what they had was a more expanded and cohesive community. This melting pot and their contributions, shaping Issaquah’s cultural and economic landscape.

[Becker farm c.1890 / IHM: 91.007.038; Joe Donlan and his logging crew c.1915 / IHM: 2018.011.075; Cubbon Grocery and Feed Store, Thomas Cubbon c.1908 / IHM: 89.041.001; Hop pickers at George Tibbetts hop farm c1898 / IHM: 91.036.002; Grand Ridge coal miners: Archie Adair, John Reynolds, Romeda Marchetli, Mr Luk, Sandy Livingstone, George Pedro, Andrew Somsak c.1910 / IHM: 86.018.264; Northern Pacific flatcar at lumber mill c.1900 (Darius Kinsey photo) / IHM: 2000.018.001]

DISCRIMINATION & STRIFE

Fenians like Michael Donlan—who was forced from his Irish home in 1866 for his religious beliefs—arrived in Squak Valley in 1879 and established one of our prominent logging and sawmill operations. Resources such as coal, timber, wheat, and salmon presented opportunities for work to harvest commodities in the Pacific Northwest and up until 1882, immigration had been an open door. But this began to change. Racial tensions, shifting policies, discrimination, and strife were on the rise. 

Political instability and economic decline in China pushed immigrants from their country and pulled them to the US for new opportunities. The majority who arrived were male and single (the male to female ratio was 20:1) and for most, their goal was to work in America for several years until they made enough money to return home and have a better life.

1882 brought the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for ten years and denying those already here from becoming citizens. It was the first major US law to prevent members of a specific national group from immigrating to the US. Chinese immigrants began facing discrimination, including violent attacks. In 1885, 30 Chinese immigrants came to Squak Valley to help with the Wold farm hop harvest. This sparked tension among local white and Native residents who feared their jobs were at risk. They threw them out—resulting in violence that left three Chinese workers dead and several others wounded. They had come and worked the least desirable jobs (for the railroads cleaning snow off the tracks, in mines, laundries, restaurants, canneries, and as farm laborers) and despite their contributions, anti-Chinese sentiments were at a fever pitch across the country.

Labor struggles were fraught with increased racial divisions and by the turn of the century, the alarm among some Americans at the growing number of immigrants was sounding. Not only were they alienated for the color of their skin or the language they spoke, but even Europeans were no longer welcome for being Catholic or Jewish. The cartoon “The High Tide of Immigration—A National Menace” appeared in the humor magazine Judge in 1903 reflects the hostility, which culminated in the Immigration act of 1903.

Immigration from Japan became strong in the early 1900s. There was a greater balance of men and women, they found jobs predominantly in the lumber and railroad industries, and they built small farms with their earnings (Bellevue Square was built on an old Japanese farm). Baseball and the Boy Scouts were popular in the Japanese community and their children went to US schools. But by the 1920s, they too faced intense racism, including forced removal and incarceration during World War II.

At the same time, the KKK—known for their hatred of all persons of color—was calling for anti-immigration. In fact, in 1924, they sponsored the largest Klan rally ever held in Washington State in Issaquah, on Pickering property near where the transit center sits today. Albert Johnson, a WA Congressman and vocal proponent of nativist policies was the architect of the Immigration Act of 1924.

Canadians were the largest group of immigrants in the US, but being white and English-speaking, they got a pass from the hostility.

ISSAQUAH’S BECOMING

Shaped by waves of immigration and settlement, Issaquah’s immigration story is one of resilience, industry, and cultural blending. And while mid-century into the 1970s, Issaquah trended more white and there is clear evidence of racism, in more recent years, Issaquah has become increasingly diverse.

According to race and ethnicity research data from Neilsberg, as of February 2025, Issaquah’s largest racial group is White (57%), followed by Asian (27%), Multiracial (9%), Hispanic (6%), Black or African American (1%), and smaller percentages of Native American and Pacific Islander populations. Data from another source gives the city a high diversity score, 92 out of 100.

We owe much gratitude to the Coast Salish communities who accepted the immigrants and settlers, taught them, and allowed them to stay, but also to those who came, found their way, and put down roots in our valley:

ADAIR: Wilhemina (Germany) and Archie (Ireland); ALEXANDER: Caroline (Canada) and Thomas (Scotland); ALLEN: Mary (Austria) and Fred (IN); ANDERSON: Addie (Canada) and John (Norway); ANDERSON: Christina and Tolle (Sweden); ANDREWS: Lyman (NY); BABICK: Susie and Mike (Austria); BAKAMUS: Stamatina and William (Greece); BARLOW: Wilhelmina and John (Finland); BAXTER: Elizabeth (IL) and Sylvanus (NY); BECKER: Mathilda and Louis (Sweden); BERGSMA: Hettie and Henry (Netherlands); BERNTSEN: Anna (Denmark) and Peter (Norway); BOGDAN: Antonina and Martin (Poland); BONNER: Charlotte (CO) and James (PA); BOYDEN: Lena (UT) and Moses Alfonso (CA); BUSH: Martha (IN) and James (PA); CAMPBELL: Margaret and Thomas (Scotland); CASTAGNO: Gertrude (OR) and Remo (Italy); CLARK: Lulu (CO) and George (Scotland); COOPER: Sarah and Isaac (England); CROSSLEY: Marguerite (Germany) and Thomas (England); CROSTON: Anna and John (England); CUBBON: Margaret and Thomas (Isle of Man); DARST: Cyrus (IL); DAVIS: Rosa (Germany) and George (Wales); DONLAN: Ann and Michael (Ireland); EASTLICK: Abbie (IL) and Mahlon (OH); EK: Christina and Anton (Sweden); ENBERG: Nels (Sweden); ERICKSON: Magdalena and Eric (Sweden); EVANS: Sarah (Scotland) and Thomas (PA); FAVINI: Madeleine and August (Italy); FINNEY: Elizabeth and John (OH); FISCHER: Agnes (MI) and John (Germany); FISHER: Nora (IL) and Frank (MI); FRANCIS: Mary (England) and Thomas (Wales); GIBSON: Ida (WI) and John (PA); GIBSON: Sarah (IN) and William (PA); GLEASON: Catherine (NY) and Martin (Ireland); GUNDERSON: Inez (WA) and Marcus (WI); HACKETT: Sarah and John (England); HAILSTONE: Ester and Francis (Scotland); HORROCKS: Molly and James (England); JONES: Mary (Norway) and Jacob (Finland); KINNUNE: Maria and Charles (Finland); KRANICK: Mary and Michael (Austria); LAPSANSKY: Mary and Joseph (Bohemia); LEGG: Mary (IL) and John (OH); LEWIS: Anna (MN) and John (Canada); LINDSAY: Mary and Thomas (Scotland); LIVINGSTON: Bertha (IA) and Alexander (Scotland); MARCHETTI: Angela and Romeda (Austria); MCCLUSKEY: Elizabeth and Peter (Ireland); MCEACHERN: Alice (IL) and John (Canada); MCQUADE: Margaret (Wales) and John (Ireland); NIKKO: Eliina and Matt (Finland); PEDRO: Anna and George (Austria); PLUM: Elizabeth (Hungary) and Ernest (Germany); SANDELL: Gustava and Victor (Finland); SCHOMBER: Anna and Henry (Germany); SOMSAK: Mark and Andrew (Czechoslovakia); STEFANI: Angelina and Frank (Austria); TIBBETTS: Rebecca (MO) and George (ME); THOMPSON: Mary (Sweden) and Andrew (Norway); VAUGHAN: Harriet and William (IL); WILFONG: Mary and Jacob (IA); WILSON: Cora (IN) and Robert (MO); WOLD: Amelia (Denmark) and Ingebright (Norway); WOLD: Henrietta (Denmark) and Lars (Norway); WOLD: Mary (OR) and Peter (Norway); YOURGLICH: Barbara and Joe (Austria); along with many others.

The above list highlights the birth countries and states of many of our early residents. The list is not intended to exclude anyone but is not exhaustive of all who contributed to Issaquah’s becoming. Today, Issaquah continues to grow as a city of many stories, carried by those who came before and those still arriving. Welcome home.

Sources:

• bestneighborhood.org

• Brian Casserly, PhD – History Professor at Bellevue College

• The Issaquah Press

• IHM archives and collections

• historylink.org

• IHM archives and collections

• Neilsberg.com

• "The Past at Present in Issaquah Washington" by Edwards R. Fish, 1990

• US Federal Census Records

Issaquah exists on the ancestral lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, who have lived here since time immemorial. We acknowledge and honor their enduring connection to this place.