Belltown Messenger

Our north-of-center Seattle borough known as Belltown, was named for William Nathaniel Bell (1817 -1887), but relatively little is written about him. Originally from Illinois, Bell was one of the two oldest members of the fabled "Denny Party." His was the last family to join, aboard the small schooner Exact, which threw anchor in Elliot Bay, on the spot now known as Alki Point, on November 13, 1851.

Relatively little is known about the pioneer Bell, according to the librarian in the Seattle Room, on the tenth-floor of the new library and Roger Sale, author of Seattle: Past and Present. Sale said, comparatively "he remains faceless" like his compatriot Carson Boren who became a recluse in 1856, Bell disappeared from the scene in 1856 when he left for California. He came up on the Seattle scene as one of the 24-member Denny Party including (the leader) Arthur and Mary Boren Denny, John Denny, Arthur's father, and his four unmarried sons: James, Samuel, Wiley and David Denny, Sarah Latimer Boren, Carson and Mary Boren, Louisa Boren, Lee Terry, John Low, William and Sarah Ann Bell, and 12 children came ashore that chilly, rainy November morning.

Arthur Denny said, in an interview with historian Frederick James Grant, "We were landed the ship's boat when the tides was well out, and while the men of the party were all actively engaged in removing our goods to a point above high tide, the women and children had crawled into the brush, made a fire, and spread a cloth to shelter them from the rain. When the goods were secured, I went to look for the women, and found on my approach their faces were concealed. On closer inspection I found they were in tears, having already discovered the gravity of the situation. But I did not, for some time, discover that I had gone a step too far; In fact it was not until I became aware that my wife and helpless children were exposed to the murderous attacks of hostile savages that it dawned upon me that I had made a desperate venture. My motto in life was to never go backward and in fact if I had wished to retrace my steps it was about as nearly possible as if I had taken up my bridge behind me. I had brought my family from a good home, surrounded by comforts and luxuries and landed them in a wilderness, and I did not think it at all strange that a woman who had, without complaining, endured all the dangers and hardships of a trip across the plain, should be found shedding tears when contemplating hard prospects then so plainly in view." Arthur Denny and John Low scouted the land previously and were greeted peacefully by Chief Sealth (Seattle) and his tribesmen, then sent for their families. Upon landing the weary party trepidatiously acclimated themselves, they quickly constructed rudimentary cabins adjacent to the shallow shores of Alki and developed a sense of the thick forest around them. Low and Terry were the first to lay claim. In January, 1852, Bell, Boren and the Dennys headed back out on the waters of Elliot Bay to scout their claims. They were looking for a deep harbor, and abundance of timber and better shelter. They found it, and landed near where Colman Dock is today. Arthur Denny, an experienced surveyor, lead the way. In February, the trio began dividing the area between Denny Way and King Street. Bell selected the north section. On April 3, they moved.

Weather remained a huge issue for the settlers, especially the women, it did more than take the starch out of their bonnets. Sarah Ann Bell and their children were jilted by the taxing experience, and being the last to join the party their family's cabin was the last built. The cold winter rain sept into the rough-hewn cabins and the "hostile savages" became more of an issue. In 1855, Seattle's population consisted of about 40 homes, according to the historian Grant, in his History of Seattle. Bell's cabin was constructed on the northern part of his claim about a half mile north of what is now considered Bell-town. Fueled by the early trade demand, notably Daniel S. Howard the San Franciscan timber buyer, Seattle grew-up around what is now Pioneer Square: skid row, Yesler's sawmill, Washington Street and the early docks. Bell was out in relative BFE. (But, the Bell children were able to make it to the first Seattle schools.)

In his letter Bell was a noted dissenter. He frequently complained about the indigenous people, his tortured tales differed from the initial and predominate peaceful, nature-loving perceptions of the natives. He reported on the first battle of Seattle, January 26, 1856, when two settlers were killed and Bell wrote "a number" of Indians died. Bell tried to uphold relations, it was he and Denny who made the special coffin for chief Sealth's wife, when she died in the brutal winter of 1852, but radical factions of Indians wanted the settlers out. In an effort to halt the advancing settlement, the Indians burned the Bell's family home.

In a letter to Arthur Denny, Bell said, "My house was burned on my claim during the action but the outhouses are still standing but your house in town was robbed of flour and perhaps other things on the night of the attack . . . The Indians we suppose are back near the lake (Washington) where they must be from 500 to 1000 strong and say they will give us two or three months siege . . . Our company (volunteer militia) is disbanded and another has been formed from this morning for the protection of Seattle; and from the best information I can obtain the majority of Indians on the Sound will join them (the original Indian attackers)."

This was the last straw for Sarah Ann Bell, already ill and traumatized from the endeavor she and her young daughters, Olive and Virginia, had enough. Shortly after the incident Bell picked up and moved his family to San Francisco.

His wife died that June, but Bell and the children didn't return to Seattle for 14 years. He'd heard Seattle was quickly expanding and his claim was now considerably valuable. In 1870, Bell returned to his claim to find a bourgeoning young city lapping at his land. He sold a few lots to finance the building of his Hotel Bellevue, on First and Battery, and began to dabble in a variety of business, including helping to build the former Belltown Odd Fellows Building.

After his death in 1887, his son Austin stayed in Belltown. Virginia and Olive Streets are named for Bells two daughters who survive the exploration, and Stewart Street honors Olive's husband, Joseph H. Stewart. (Some joke that is why the two streets intersect.) With the regrade the look of Belltown changes, but the trolley stop and the family quietly remained.

Currently, the City of Seattle defines Belltown as the area bordered by Denny Way, Fifth and Sixth Avenue, the waterfront, Elliot and Western Avenues, and Stewart Street. (Though some residents insist Belltown begins north of Lenora, some say it encompass the waterfront, a.k.a. Bell Street Pier.) In an ever changing city, it is hard to say...