Mercer Island, Washington

Maple Valley

As one of Seattle’s earliest pioneers, Thomas Mercer was credited with first exploring the island in the middle of Lake Washington and was recognized in a federal land survey with his name attached to the island --- thus, Mercer’s Island.

In the beginning, Mercer Island was just as wild as the surrounding Bellevue countryside. A black bear was taken in 1873 and the last deer hunting season was as recent as 1942.

Initial settlers started arriving about 1870, and a short 17 years later, Charles Calkins homesteaded in 1887 where Luther Burbank Park is today. He quickly proceeded to build a community called East Seattle, and a luxury resort hotel designed by John Parkinson, at the north end of the island.