Tukwila: Seattle's Denny party settled later

All these years Tukwila listened as Seattle went on, about how the Denny Party did this, and the Denny Party did that, and how great it was that the Denny Party was the first European group to settle the area.

On Tuesday, Tukwila got the chance to shut Seattle up. On the third floor of a Southcenter parking garage, in the comfort of a heated tent, with a woman in period costume waiting in the wings, Mayor Jim Haggerton made an announcement:

We were here first.

According to historical documents, he said, the Collins Party had been the first Europeans to settle in the area, near what is now Tukwila.

"More than five months before the arrival of the Arthur Denny settling party," said the mayor.

And so, with a lighthearted jab at Seattle, the city began its centennial celebration. The yearlong affair will feature everything from fireworks to cooking demonstrations, all designed, city officials said, to turn Tukwila into a tourist destination.

"We are, to some extent, the center of the universe," declared former Mayor Steve Mullet, before tamping it down a notch. "We are definitely the center of the transportation system in South King County."

It is not uncommon for cities in South King County to complain about secondary status, living in the long shadow of Seattle. But a couple of years ago, Tukwila, Kent, SeaTac, Burien and Des Moines began to mobilize, forming Seattle Southside Visitor Services, a tourism agency designed to market their cities.

Tukwila is spending more than $430,000 on its centennial celebration, money from its hotel-tax fund, hoping to break through.

Once a white, agricultural community, 9-square-mile Tukwila is now home to 2,000 businesses, 55 languages, 15 community parks, 10 neighborhoods, and one of the largest shopping malls in the area. It went from about 500 people in 1940 to some 18,000 today.

On Tuesday, the city broke out with a new slogan, "Tukwila Life," courtesy of the people who brought "Metronatural" to Seattle. There were Tukwila Life silver coffee Thermoses and black hoodies available to buy.

And of course, a new Web site (www.tukwila100.com), highlighting 100 things you might not know about Tukwila — including the claim that its settlers arrived in the area before the Denny Party.

While city officials called it a fact on Tuesday, and local historians confirmed it, others were more wary to wade in.

Karen Haas, of Tacoma, stood behind a table full of historical artifacts, dressed in a traditional wrapper dress and shawl. Earlier, she had performed a monologue as Diana Collins, wife of Luther Collins, leader of the Tukwila settlers.

"Oh, gee," she said, of the question of who came to the area first. "I'm not getting in the middle of that."

But Leonard Garfield, director of the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle, confirmed the truth of it. The Collins Party, led by Luther Collins, and including members of the Van Asselt and Maple families, settled in the area in late summer of 1851, at the latest.

The Denny Party settled in November.

But as the founders of Seattle, the Dennys are often the best-known pioneers in the Puget Sound area.

"It doesn't hurt to have a large street in Seattle named after you," said Garfield.

Sitting in the audience Tuesday, Cecile Hansen, chair of the Duwamish Tribe, just listened mostly for the mention of her people, who ceded 54,000 acres of land in a treaty in 1855. Shortly after, she left, not much concerned about which white people arrived in the area first.

"They can quibble back and forth," she said with a shrug on her way out. "We were here first."

Cara Solomon: 206-464-2024 or csolomon@seattletimes.com