For the Reporter
Everyone knows King County to be a high-tech hub today, but the region’s first brush with cutting-edge technology occurred well before Bill Gates and Paul Allen.
A century and a half ago, the first high-tech endeavor to put down roots in King County was the telegraph, which came up from Olympia along Military Road, and arrived in Seattle on Oct. 25, 1864.
To mark the occasion, a flag was raised, a cannon was fired, and the newspapers crowed that the Puget Sound region was now “tied by lightning” to the rest of the world. The next day a dispatch was sent to President Lincoln, commending “the suppression of rebellion and the extension of Science.”
At last, this western outpost could receive up-to-date news about the Civil War, and settlers could connect with family, friends, and business relations on a nearly instantaneous basis.
In October, with the assistance of 4Culture Historic Site(s) Specific funding, the sesquicentennial of the telegraph’s arrival will be marked with “Tied By Lightning” exhibits, free hands-on telegraph demonstrations, and other events along Military Road in South King County, as well as at 4Culture offices and the King County Courthouse.
Come try your hand at working a telegraph key, read dispatches from the war front 150 years ago to the day, and check out the equipment that may look quaint now, but represented the forefront of technology back then.
The Tukwila Historical Society, the Highline Historical Society, the Greater Kent Historical Society and the Historical Society of Federal Way are participating in the unprecedented collaboration to celebrate history in South King County.
The effort was coordinated by SoCoCulture.
For an online listing of all events, visit sococulture.org/calendar/2014-10/.
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EXHIBITIONS AND DEMONSTRATIONS
• Telegraph Exhibit and Hands-on Demo: Sept. 30-Oct. 9 (open Tuesday-Thursday), 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 4, 12-4 p.m., Federal Way Historical Society, 2645 S 312th St., Federal Way. Also: Oct. 1-11, (Wednesday-Saturday), 12-4 p.m., Kent Historical Museum, 855 E. Smith St., Kent
• Hands-On Telegraph Demo: Oct. 5, 12:30-5 p.m., Church By the Side of the Road, 3455 S 148th St., Tukwila
• Telegraph Exhibit: October-November, Hands-On Telegraph Demo: Oct. 2 and 3, 9 a.m.-5 p.m., SeaTac City Hall, 4800 S 188th St., SeaTac
Hands-on telegraph demos funded by 4Culture
COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS
Learn about the history of Military Road and share your own stories of the road.
• Tied by Lightning (Tukwila/SeaTac): Oct. 15, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Mike’s Community Cup, 16260 Military Road S, SeaTac. Also: (Kent/Federal Way): Oct. 28, 7-8:30 p.m., Iglesia Rey de Reyes (Old Star Lake School), 3212 S 272nd St., Kent
Community Conversations funded by Humanities Washington
The programs are a collaboration among: SouthKingCountyCulturalCoalition-SoCoCulture.org; Tukwila Historical Society – www.tukwilahistory.org; Highline Historical Society – www.highlinehistory.org; Greater Kent Historical Society – www.gkhs.org; Historical Society of Federal Way – www.federalwayhistory.org; Seattle-Tacoma “Evergreen” Chapter – Morse Telegraph Club.
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