The West Seattle Log House Museum is in the Alki Beach area. The museum is the home of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. The society collects historical records for Southwest Seattle ranging from items gifted by the local Duwamish tribe to current residents.

We would like to acknowledge that Seattle is on the traditional land of the first people of Seattle, the Duwamish People past and present and honor with gratitude the land itself and the Duwamish Tribe.

Activities near the West Seattle Log House Museum

The Log House Museum is a block from Alki Beach. This places it near the many sights on Alki Beach:

• Alki Beach Park
  • Alki Beach is a sand and cobble beach that brings in many people in the summer time. It is a good place to relax and explore tide pools. It also has good views of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains over Puget Sound.
• Denny Party Landing Site
  • The first landing site for the Europeans who founded Seattle was on Alki Beach. It is marked by an obelisk in Alki Beach Park.
• Seattle Statue of Liberty
  • A replica of the Statue of Liberty in Alki Beach Park is a good place to meet people. The statue was donated by the Boy Scouts in 1952. It is one of around 200 replicas of the Statue of Liberty installed by the Boy Scouts.

Seattle’s Founding

Human settlements have been found in Seattle going back 4000 years. The Duwamish people inhabited the Seattle area when the European Denny Party arrived in 1851. The Duwamish tribe still maintains a longhouse and cultural center near the Duwamish river.

The Denny Party lived at Alki Point for a year. They then moved to what is now Downtown Seattle in 1852. They named their settlement Seattle after the chieftain of the Duwamish people at the time.

Style

Rustic architecture uses simple local materials and building methods. It was a popular style in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. It is famous for its use in the United States’ national parks.

The building the Log House Museum is in was built in 1902 as the carriage house for a mansion. It is designed in the rustic style. It used Douglas Fir logs from the local site. It also has a fireplace and chimney built from beach stone.