Bellevue & Issaquah

The City of Bellevue is a modern, metropolitan community dotted with skyscrapers. Although it didn’t incorporate until 1953 and has experienced most of its rapid growth since then, its history goes back many decades, as a farming center, inland port, and milling center.

The first homesteaders in the Bellevue area were William Meydenbauer (1832-1906) and Aaron Mercer (1824-1902), who both arrived in 1869. Meydenbauer, a Seattle baker, settled alongside the sheltered bay which now bears his name. South of Meydenbauer Bay, Mercer farmed along what is now known as the Mercer Slough. Once their land became profitable, they sold their claims and moved on, leaving only their names.