Welcome to “Invisible Histories” exploring Seattle’s lost stories. In this podcast we explore lost stories of marginalized people, hidden histories of forgotten places, and generally unearth some cool, creepy and hopefully meaningful connections for people living and working in the Seattle area and beyond.

In our first series we explore the ‘lost’ Potter’s Field, a cemetery established in 1876 on land next to the King County Poor Farm and Hospital in what is now the Georgetown neighborhood. In just over 30 years over 3,260 people were buried there; people who due to lack of money, family or other connections had nowhere else to go when they died. In 1912 the Army Corps of Engineers embarked on the ambitious “Duwamish Canal,” turning the river’s meandering curves into a 5-mile shipping channel and turning “useless mudflats” into industrial land. The Duwamish Cemetery aka “Potter’s Field” was erased from maps and memories, covered with industrial businesses and all 3260 human remains were exhumed and cremated. Find out about who was buried there and what happened to their ashes.

Subscribe and keep listening wherever you get your podcasts.

Check out our landing page

Our Instagram account will share images from each episode, @invisiblehistoriesPNW

We are always looking for “invisible histories” of the Pacific NW so if you have a good story idea please reach out at invisiblehistoriespnw@gmail.com.

Our podcast music is from Samuel Coleridge Taylor's (1875 - 1912) Funeral March, Op. 79 Nº 3 (from Othello, Incidental Music)

Recorded at Works Progress Cooperative www.worksprogress.coop

Edited by Elke Hautala

2023

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello -- and welcome to “Invisible Histories” exploring Seattle’s lost stories, with Cari and Elke - Episode #1

In this podcast we explore lost stories of marginalized people, hidden histories of forgotten places, and generally unearth some cool, creepy and hopefully meaningful connections for people living and working in the Seattle area and beyond.

In our first series we explore the ‘lost’ Potter’s Field, also known as the Duwamish Cemetery established in 1876 on land next to the King County Poor Farm and Hospital in what is now the Georgetown neighborhood. In just over 30 years over 3,260 people were buried there; people who due to lack of money, family or other connections had nowhere else to go when they died.

In 1912 the Army Corps of Engineers embarked on the ambitious “Duwamish Canal,” turning the river’s meandering curves into a 5-mile shipping channel and turning “useless mudflats” into industrial land. The Duwamish Cemetery aka “Potter’s Field” was erased from maps and memories, all 3260 human remains were exhumed and cremated, and covered with industrial businesses .

In Episode #1 Elke and Cari share their research experiences, and why this story of finding the lost cemetery is connected to many aspects of Seattle's growth and development.

Subscribe and keep listening where you get your podcasts

Read our latest newsletter!

Show notes at Our landing page

Our Instagram account will share images from each episode, @invisiblehistoriesPNW

We are always looking for “invisible histories” of the Pacific NW; please reach out at invisiblehistoriespnw@gmail.com.

Our podcast music is from Samuel Coleridge Taylor's (1875 - 1912) Funeral March, Op. 79 Nº 3 (from Othello, Incidental Music)

Recorded at Works Progress Cooperative

Edited by Elke Hautala

2023

Resources:

Friends of Georgetown History: www.foghi.org

HistoryLink article about Georgetown

King County Archives: https://kingcounty.gov/en/legacy/depts/records-licensing/archives

4Culture: https://www.4culture.org/

King5 Evening's coverage of the Potter's Field: https://www.king5.com/article/entertainment/television/programs/evening/seattle-georgetown-cemetery-mystery-missing-bodies-remains-graves/281-4a5f7ebf-c596-4ab8-8c22-54727e5af11f

Paul Dorpat - Seattle Waterfront history

https://pauldorpat.com/2009/07/09/seattle-waterfront-history-chapter-7/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Invisible Histories - Episode #2

In this podcast we explore lost stories of marginalized people, hidden histories of forgotten places, and generally unearth some cool, creepy and hopefully meaningful connections for people living and working in the Seattle area and beyond.

In this episode we go way back in time, to share the perspective of a character that rarely gets to tell its story — the land itself — how the cemetery removal was an example of forced industrialization and this progress at all costs mentality; contextualizing the land in Georgetown, and the existing death and burial practices of the time, as well as how there was an evolution of infrastructure as Seattle became what we like to think of as modern city in the early 1900s.

Unearth the history of the land around the Potter’s Field with us and explore a glimpse of the old Seattle. This formerly out-of-the-way place that held the dead from the early days of Washington Territory up through Statehood in 1887, was erased from maps and memories as Seattle entered the Modern era.

Featuring Elizabeth Davis PhD and music by Kevin MacLeod in a special introduction.

Subscribe and keep listening wherever you get your podcasts.

Read our latest newsletter!

Check out our landing page

Our Instagram account will share images from each episode, @invisiblehistoriesPNW

We are always looking for “invisible histories” of the Pacific NW so if you have a good story idea please reach out at invisiblehistoriespnw@gmail.com.

Our podcast music is from Samuel Coleridge Taylor's (1875 - 1912) Funeral March, Op. 79 Nº 3 (from Othello, Incidental Music)

Recorded at Works Progress Cooperative www.worksprogress.coop

Edited by Elke Hautala

2023

Resources:

Elizabeth Davis, PhD: https://ess.uw.edu/people/elizabeth-davis/

Samuel Coleridge Taylor: (1875 - 1912) Funeral March, Op. 79 Nº 3 (from Othello, Incidental Music) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Coleridge-Taylor

RH Thompson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_H._Thomson

The King County Indigent Remains program

https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/medical-examiner/indigent-remains-program

The King County Medical Examiner's Office unidentified remains.

https://kingcounty.gov/en/dept/dph/health-safety/medical-examiner/unidentified-remains

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.