Henry A. Smith

Who was Henry A. Smith?

Dr. Henry A. Smith was a physician, poet, legislator and early settler of Seattle, best known today for his flowery translation of a speech by Chief Seattle that is still in print.

In 1852, Dr. Smith traveled from Wooster, Ohio to Portland, Oregon Territory in a wagon train with his mother and sister. In 1853, he settled at the north end of Elliott Bay, at what came to be known as "Smith's Cove", deciding that it was a likely spot for docks and that the flat area was a terminus for the perennially rumored transcontinental railroad. His mother staked the next claim north. Smith built a cabin and, the next year, an infirmary at what is today Grand Boulevard and 15th Avenue W.

Seattle was at the time hilly and heavily forested; the only route to the main settlement was by small boat or canoe until Smith cut a trail through the woods. He is said to have known the local Indians well and had some command of local language. At the time of the Battle of Seattle, the Smith Cove settlers fled for the safety of Seattle's block house. Their homes was burned and stock taken, except, according to some accounts, for Dr. Smith's cabin, apparently a result of his friendship with the locals.