Captain John Anderson and the Mosquito Fleet

How did folks get around before I-5, Rapid Ride buses and traffic choked streets? Come to hear Junius Rochester’s talk about the Mosquito Fleet.

“Why did both Natives and Euro-Americans find Lake Washington (also known as “It-How-Chug,” “Hyas Chuck,” later “Lake Geneva” and “Lake Washington”) perfect for home sites, recreation and business?  Once the haven of mollusks, deer, bear, mink, coot, loons and swans, this great body of water evolved into a community of canoes, sternwheelers, and sail boats. Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker loomed above both ends. Logging was underway in the 1850s. In 1887 a rattling cable car from the Big City arrived at Leschi, and in 1889 a wild amusement park arose on the shore. This watery environment boomed in 1916 after the lake dropped nine feet following the opening of Montlake Cut. Development companies invited newcomers with the promise that the lake harbored “no pestilence or plague; no famines; and failure of crops is unknown.”

November 13 at 7pm. Grace United Methodist Church, 722 30th Ave. S on the lower level.