In 1893 Seattle streetcar service came to Georgetown and the King County Hospital was built near the corner of Orcas Street and Corson Avenue, east of the Poor Farm. In 1890 a County Poor Farm was established along the Duwamish in the southern part of Georgetown. The unincorporated community was named Georgetown by Julius Horton, after his son, in 1890. Recent years have seen the opening of several microbreweries with pubs in Georgetown, in a nod to the neighborhood's roots fitting with its revival as an entertainment and cultural district. The old Georgetown brewery was used as a warehouse and cold storage facility. The red brick brewery, home to artists and small businesses, dominates the commercial district along Airport Way S. The old Seattle Brewery was reopened and expanded after Prohibition ended. The holdings were incorporated as the Seattle Malting and Brewing Company in 1892. A Georgetown brewing company began operations in 1882 and in 1888 acquired the Seattle Brewery with its Rainier brand. With access to good hop-growing areas in the valleys of the Duwamish drainage and a large contingent of German immigrants, Georgetown became the sixth-largest beer producing district in the world. With fill provided by waste from an early regrade attempt on Beacon Hill, the industrial area grew northward across the former tideflats. Reconstruction of Seattle after the fire of 1889 and its rapid growth in the following decade boosted demand for building materials supplied by Georgetown. The freight hub in Georgetown fostered the development of industries capitalizing on its access to resources and rail-to-market, including breweries, lumber mills, brickyards, and foundries. With an abundance of flat land that Seattle lacked, Georgetown became the site of the rail yard servicing the new freight traffic. In 1884 the rail line got connected to the Northern Pacific line to the south, and by 1889 transcontinental service came to Georgetown. Although rail lines connecting Georgetown to Seattle had been constructed as early as 1878, Steele's Landing retained its importance for commerce with Seattle until a reliable, permanent rail connection was established in October 1885. In 1878 the line was extended to Newcastle (east of Lake Washington) and it was later extended to other coal sites in south King County. The Duwamish community's transition towards a rail-centered economy began on March 7, 1877, with the first run on a new rail line between Steele's Landing on the Duwamish and coal mines in Renton. Developer Julius Horton, brother of Seattle banker Dexter Horton, purchased a portion of the Collins homestead in 1871 and began to plat the lots that would become the community of Georgetown. In 1869 a Seattle saloon and brothel keeper rented a portion of the Collins homestead from Luther's widow Diana (Borst) Collins to run a horse track, making the area a destination for all sorts of manly fun. Before land transport links with Seattle were established, the economic hub of the Duwamish was a boat landing at the approximate location of the South Lucille Street/East Marginal Way junction. Boatwrights set up shop along the Duwamish estuary as land was cleared for farming. The Collins farm was located in the vicinity of the present-day First Avenue Bridge, running north to the vicinity of South Idaho Street, on the east bank of the Duwamish River.įarms in the Duwamish Valley supplied the lumber-based settlement in Seattle. The Denny Party suffered in relative squalor in an unfinished cabin and encampment until their move in 1852 to the future downtown Seattle area. Although the Denny Party arrived at Alki Point two days prior to the Collins Party arrival, the Collins Party was able to complete permanent structures and build a successful farming community within a year. Georgetown's first settlement was founded on September 27, 1851, when Luther Collins, Henry Van Asselt, and the Maple family arrived with their household goods with the intention of farming the rich alluvial lands of the Duwamish delta. Georgetown is arguably the oldest neighborhood of Seattle. Stock House of the Georgetown brewery, now demolished