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Cascade, Seattle
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=== Pioneers === Like most of Seattle, the Cascade Neighborhood was originally heavily forested. In the 1860s, [[David Denny]] and [[Thomas Mercer]] first claimed portions of this land. However, initial development was a bit west of Cascade, at southwest Lake Union, which became a transportation nexus and where Denny established the lake's first sawmill. By the 1880s, more mills and more cleared land led to the origin of Cascade as a residential and industrial neighborhood, tied into water transportation.<ref name=Fiset /> Another notable pioneer was Margaret Pontius, known for her extensive work as what would now be called a [[Foster care|foster parent]]. She and her husband, Rezius Pontius, lived in the neighborhood by 1885, and by 1889 had built a [[Queen Anne style architecture in the United States|Queen Anne style]] mansion, designed by John Parkinson, along Denny Way near what is now Yale Avenue.<ref>{{Harvnb|Link|2004|p=4}}</ref> Cascade was settled largely by [[Russian Americans|Russians]] (some via [[Alaska]]<ref name="Link 2004 5">{{Harvnb|Link|2004|p=5}}</ref>), [[Swedish Americans|Swedes]], [[Norwegian Americans|Norwegians]], and [[Greek Americans|Greeks]]. In 1894, the Cascade School (also designed by Parkinson<ref name="Link 2004 5" />) opened and the neighborhood acquired a name. As the neighborhood grew, the school expanded in 1904 and 1908.<ref name=Fiset /> Cascade businesses in this era included sawmills, shingle mills, and boat yards along the lake, as well as cabinetry and furniture shops, grocery stores, laundries, and boarding houses.<ref>{{Harvnb|Link|2004|p=7}}</ref> Both landscape architect [[John Charles Olmsted|John C. Olmsted]] (in 1903) and city planner [[Virgil Bogue]] (in 1910β1911) believed that the neighborhood was best suited for industrial use, although Olmsted unsuccessfully proposed that there also be a small park on the lake.<ref name=Fiset /> [[Regrading in Seattle|Denny Regrade No. 1]] (completed 1911) took out nearly half of Denny Hill, making Cascade more accessible from downtown Seattle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Link|2004|p=8}}</ref> The Ford plant, designed by John Graham Sr. and built in 1914, was the [[Ford Motor Company]]'s first factory built west of the [[Mississippi River]].<ref name="Link 2004 9">{{Harvnb|Link|2004|p=9}}</ref> When the [[Lake Washington Ship Canal]] opened in 1917, maritime and industrial uses intensified. The area also became the center for the city's large laundries, as well as smaller machine shops.<ref name=Fiset /> Cascade-area laundries played a crucial role in Seattle labor history, with a successful fight for the [[8-hour day]] in the years 1917 through 1918.<ref name="Link 2004 9" />
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