CITY OF RENTON WASHINGTON

Location

Corner of Lake Avenue South and South Tobin Street

The City of Renton's history began with land claims along the Black River. However, the Duwamish people had lived there for thousands of years.

Henry Moses was the last descendant of Chief William, leader of the Duwamish tribe. His family faced many changes following the arrival of white settlers in the early 1850's. Moses was born in 1900 in a rough board and batten shack on a one-acre site where Renton High School stands today.

Henry was an outstanding athlete and participated in multiple sports at Renton High School. After the school basketball team won the state championship in 1916, his fellow players honored him by naming the team the "Indians." Henry Moses became a respected member of the community throughout his life.

Location

NE Corner of South Tobin and Rainier Avenue

Henry Tobin, the first settler of European descent in the Renton area, was originally from Maine. In 1853, Tobin and his wife Diana claimed a tract of 320 acres at the confluence of the Cedar and Black Rivers.

The land proved richer than Tobin had imagined when Dr. R. H. Bigelow, working a neighboring claim, discovered a coal seam in 1853. Soon after, Tobin, Bigelow, and two other men, Obediah Eaton and Joseph Fanjoy, formed the Duwamish Coal Company.

In 1854, Tobin, along with Eaton and Fanjoy, built a small sawmill on the Black River to provide a supply of timbers to shore up the mine tunnels. Tobin died in 1856 of unknown causes.

Location

NW Corner of Hardie and Renton Center Way

The Black River School was the first school building in King County. The first term began in January 1854.

The school was located at the base of Earlington Hill on Christian Clymer's homestead. The school was a small shack, 14 by 16 feet, built of rough lumber and cedar shakes. It stood a short distance west of the Black River. A crude mud and stone fireplace at one end of the building provided heat and rough board desks served the few children. Mats of cattails, made by the Duwamish, lined the walls to help keep out the wind.

To attend school, some children had to cross the river via the fish traps set by the Duwamish or by using a rowboat pulled back and forth on a cable

Location

South Third Place and Rainier Avenue

As a young man from Virginia, Erasmus Smithers left home at the age of 19 and headed west in a wagon train pulled by three pair of oxen.

When he arrived in the Puget Sound area in 1856, he found a job for himself and his oxen hauling the first logs to be cut at a mill on Bainbridge Island. Later he served in the territorial militia. Eventually he found his way to the Renton area. In 1857 he met and married Diana Tobin, the widow of Henry Tobin.

Under the Donation Land Claim Act, Smithers pre-empted a 160-acre claim of land adjoining his wife's. Their combined claims totaled 480 acres, part of which eventually became the Smithers' dairy farm.

Location

SW corner of Third and Rainier Avenue

The Black River Bridge was built in 1860 to improve the postal route. It was also used by cattlemen east of the mountains to drive their herds to slaughterhouses in Seattle and eliminated the need for ferries across the river.

The original bridge has been gone for a long time; however, the existing Black River Bridge, just north of West Seventh on SW Monster Road, spans what remains of the original Black River.

Location

Shattuck Avenue near location of mine entrance

One of Renton’s original homesteaders, Erasmus Smithers, gave a portion of his property to the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad with the stipulation that the railroad would construct a tunnel to allow his dairy cows to get from one area of his farm to the other. Unsure of the size needed for the tunnel, he instructed the railroad company to make the tunnel four cows wide.

This marker was removed during construction of the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe bridge. The marker will be reinstalled with a new piece of public art.

Location

Rainier Avenue and Third Avenue South

The Renton Triple XXX was the first drive-in on the West Coast and its popularity soon spread throughout the region.

Archie Rutherford and his two sons, Joel and Jerry, expanded the Renton Triple XXX success into a chain of restaurants throughout the Pacific Northwest. In the 1930's and 40's, the Triple XXX was "the" place to be in the area for many of the teens with cars.

Hamburgers and fries were also available with the special root beer that was produced at the A. H. Rutherford and Sons Triple XXX plant. Root beer was 10 cents and a baby mug was free.

Three generations of the Rutherford family worked at The Triple XXX drive-in. The remaining Triple XXX in Issaquah, Washington, is designated as a historical landmark.