The First Settlers

The first settlers in the Burien area were twenty-one year old Mike Kelly, an Iowa native, his wife Jane and their infant child. In 1873, Kelly hiked westward up the hill from the Duwamish Valley on a footpath through thick forest to try to find a homestead site. He found a place he liked for a cabin in an open area where the sun was shining and he happily spoke the words, "this is truly a sunny dale." The Kellys filed a claim for 160 acres and built their cabin and most of their furniture. Among families homesteading in "Sunnydale" in the 1880s were the John Bissells, the David Elseys and the Alexander McEacherns.

Van Boorian Founds Burien

Sunnydale was a wilderness. There were no roads in the area for the early pioneers only rough-hewn paths and Indian trails. They mostly lived off the land, growing vegetables, raising chickens and hogs, hunting game and catching salmon. In 1887, the Sunnydale School was constructed on property close to where Highline High School is located now. In 1880, Gottlieb Van Boorian arrived from Germany and is credited with founding the town of Burien. He built a cabin at the southeastern corner of the lake and so Lake Burien also bears his name. As land was logged, real estate offices opened to sell lots. In the early 1900s, people came by boat from Seattle and Tacoma to the Three Tree Point dock to hike the trails, picnic, rent tents, and attend concerts. They listened to sales pitches by representatives of the Three Tree Point Developers Company and bought waterfront lots for as little as $75 to $300.

Toonerville Trolley

In 1911, three of the McEacherns' sons started a construction company which merged with General Construction Company in 1929. The firm is well known for its many fine projects in the Northwest and elsewhere. By 1915, local leaders had succeeded in building the Lake Burien Railroad. Residents called it the "Toonerville Trolley." The single trolley car ran on rails from the Duwamish area to Seahurst. In 1916, Jacob Ambaum built a road from White Center to Burien. The trolley line and the road brought more people to settle in the area and the Burien community grew. Dry goods stores, a bakery, a gas station, an auto garage and other businesses sprang up along Ambaum and 152nd.

Three Tree Point, a residential neighborhood on Puget Sound, developed as the summer playground for Seattelites who built cottages there. A fleet of small steamboats affectionately called the "Mosquito Fleet" docked at Three Tree Point en route from Seattle to Olympia.

Books to Read on Burien's History

"The Many Roads to Highline" by Melba Eyler and Evelyn Yeager, "Our Burien" by Esther Balazarini and historical files are available at the Burien Library.