The first plat for Seattle, Washington is…

The first plat for Seattle, Washington is laid out on May 23, 1853.

Archaeological excavations suggest that Native Americans have inhabited the Seattle area for at least four thousand years.

By the time the first European settlers arrive, the people (subsequently called the Duwamish tribe) occupy at least seventeen villages in the areas around Elliott Bay.

The first European to visit the Seattle area was George Vancouver, in May 1792 during his 1791–95 expedition to chart the Pacific Northwest.

In 1851, a large party led by Luther Collins made a location on land at the mouth of the Duwamish River; they formally claimed it on September 14, 1851.

Thirteen days later, members of the Collins Party on the way to their claim passed three scouts of the Denny Party.

Members of the Denny Party claimed land on Alki Point on September 28, 1851.

The rest of the Denny Party set sail from Portland, Oregon, and landed on Alki point during a rainstorm on November 13, 1851.

After a difficult winter, most of the Denny Party relocated across Elliott Bay and claimed land a second time at the site of present-day Pioneer Square, naming this new settlement Duwamps.

Charles Terry and John Low remain at the original landing location and reestablish their old land claim and call it "New York," but renamed "New York Alki" in April 1853, from a Chinook word meaning, roughly, "by and by" or "someday."

For the next few years, New York Alki and Duwamps will compete for dominance, but in time Alki will be abandoned and its residents will move across the bay to join the rest of the settlers.

David Swinson "Doc" Maynard, one of the founders of Duwamps, is the primary advocate to name the settlement after Chief Seattle ("Seattle") of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes.

The name "Seattle" appears on official Washington Territory papers dated May 23, 1853, when the first plats for the village are filed.