Skid Road: An Informal Portrait of Seattle

by Murray Morgan

This is the story of Seattle during its first hundred years, seen through the lives of the gusty and vigorous personalities of its settlers and early citizens. Along with tales of the gamblers, sawdust women and fancy men who made the first and original Skid Road as famous as San Francisco's Barbary Coast, there are marvelous accounts of Doc Maynard and Chief Sealth (or Seattle), Asa Mercer and John Considine, Judge Thomas Burke, Mayor Gill, and the fabulous Dave Beck.

Informal and picturesque, Skid Road is also a sound history of Seattle: pioneering, Indian warfare, lumber, railroads, the great fire of 1889, the Alaska gold rush, the amusement business, newspapers, the general strike of 1919, and the tumultuous politics of city and state that have made history in the Northwest.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Audiobook, Politics, American, Historical

271 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Murray Cromwell Morgan

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I found parts of Skid Road to be very entertaining. I really liked the treatment of Doc Maynard (a most excellent fellow), I appreciated learning about how Chinese immigrants were demonized in Seattle during the 1880s, and I enjoyed learning that women got the right to vote in Washington (and thus Seattle) in 1883 (lost it in 1888), and regained it again in 1910. Women were not give the right to vote nationally until 1920, so I was amazed that Washington women were enfranchised so early.

I did enjoy big chunks of this book. Unfortunately, those big chunks were all at the beginning of the book. The middle of the book was a slog for me, and I was really disappointed in the treatment of the gold rush, and even the great fire. The book went on interminably about Vaudeville (and then movies) in Seattle, and frankly, I just can't figure out how Vaudeville and theatre should score so much more page time than the gold rush. I know that Alaska gold rush was a crucial point in Seattle's development, so this is a big hurdle for me to overcome. Why theatre and not gold? The end of the book was not very interesting to me either. A ton of time was devoted to labor and politics, and this just couldn't hold my attention.

Skid Road is, apparently, a Seattle classic. And there is good stuff in here. But I can't really say that it's a great introduction to Seattle history for the individual who doesn't already know a lot about it. I'm not a Seattle native. I'm not even a native of Washington State, so my knowledge of Seattle history is slim. While this book did give me more knowledge, I still feel like Seattle's history is jumbled for me. This book gives me some bones from Seattle history, but that's not really much help if I don't know what the assembled skeleton is supposed to look like.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4.5) Great Seattle history read

Goes deep into key periods of Seattle history such as arrival of non-native Americans, establishment of the local industries (in particular timber, railroads, outfitting the Klondike fortune-seekers, sex), the fits and starts of the northern railroad lines (and rivalries among Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Portland), enfranchisement of women, statehood, the big fire, early politics (esp with regard to gambling, liquor, prostitution), organized labor, corruption....

Was pleasantly surprised it was more comprehensive than just focusing on the activities south of Yesler (the skid road itself), though that was certainly a part of early Seattle history...turning the tideflats into sawdust fill into brothels and gambling halls. But there's certainly a lot more to Seattle's history than that. :)

I learned a lot and wish I could remember it all. Will probably want to re-read this before too long. Definitely going on the PNW physical bookshelf!

[Preston Kutney · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of interesting Seattle history, told in a reasonably compelling way. Picked this up because I literally live on “skid road” in Seattle.

However I’m reading Caro’s LBJ series and so my bar for writing that makes history come alive is ridiculously high right now, and Morgan lost my interest a couple times.

[Grant Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The real hero in this book is Tacoma, for making the train-boat schedule between Seattle and Portland include an unavoidable 20 hour layover, just out of pure petty spite.

[Chase Parsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murray Morgan's classic "Skid Row", first published in the 1950s and then updated in the early '80s, narrates the unfiltered and raw history of the city of Seattle. With a focus on case studies in different time periods, there is no doubt that Seattle has a controversial past! Its early days are full of problems with Native American and Chinese populations, gambling, prostitution, gold rush rackets, and more.

It is still a very readable book. I especially found interesting the Chinese expulsion in the late 1800s, the Klondike gold rush boom, the rivarly between the Seattle P-I and Seattle Times, flip-flop mayor Hi Gill, the 1919 strike and mayor Ole Hanson, and the Hooverville slum during the Depression years. The last section went on a bit long (about labor and the Teamsters in the mid 1900s), but it was solid. Seattleites and anyone interested in local history would get a kick out of this book for sure!

PS King County was named after short-lived VP Rufus King, and Pierce County (Tacoma) after President Franklin Pierce...I am 39 and it took me 39 years to learn that! Oddly I never questioned it.

[Larisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

After living in Seattle for 11 years, I figured it was time to learn more about its history then I'd gleaned from taking tours when my parents came to visit. The first few chapters are engaging and enlightening. Morgan's focus on the lives of the people who founded the town (particularly Doc Maynard) really fleshes out the events. I love knowing that the reason the streets still don't match up downtown is because Maynard and Henry Yesler were stubborn and refused to compromise. However, as the book went on and events got more strictly political I confess I lost interest and moved on to more entertaining reading.

[Rachel D · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first third of this book was riveting. Stories of the first non-native settlers and power players were interesting and entertaining - 4 stars for the first section of the book.

The rest of the book was mundane. Details of power struggles between labor, politicians, and newspapermen could not grab nor hold my interest. A slog to finish.

[KT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compelling first half read like a novel. Second half turned into a dense history of minor political figures, union leaders and newspaper editors.

[Ben Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

super interesting history of Seattle.

[Teri Reck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book could be chewy and deliberate to read at times, and at others, delightful and quick to gobble--much like the bust and boom history of the city of Seattle itself. Seattle area is where my mom's family of North Carolina southerners moved and where she grew up-she recently told me at the age of 83 that she remembers the cross country train ride to a new life. I remember a trip to Washington from San Diego as a child, but not much more than that. I knew that my dad was a naval airman stationed on Whidbey Is.--that's how he and mom met. That was about all I knew of Washington---my most vivid memory being that of my brothers and I and Washington relatives of similar ages all catching garter snakes by the oodles and collecting them in jars and watching how they moved and tangled before letting them go at Granny's insistence. But then my artsy daughter and her best friend started to look for places to which to move. They had inclinations to go east, NYC maybe, but Julia didn't care for it enough to move there--and I said that I always saw her as a West coast-er, thinking she might end up in So Cal in the land of her birth. But then the girls decided to look into the Pacific Northwest, and they made their home in Seattle. I have visited Seattle now numerous times, including for the girls' wedding, so in many ways I feel that our family has come full circle. On one visit, I picked up this book at my favorite, Elliot Bay Bookstore, deciding that I should know the history of the place where my grandfather helped build a pontoon bridge. This book is fantastic---it really gets at the history of the commoners, and of the commoners who became no longer common, but definitely a grittier, less glorified (so probably more truthful) way. If you wish to learn the history of the unique people and the place of Seattle, this book is a must read.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Histories are often dry reads, but this one avoids that by focusing on the often outlandish personalities and stranger-than-fiction politics of early Seattle. The result is a book that's absorbing and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Unlike many history books, which tend to end before the reader's living memory, this one has an additional chapter at the end that recounts events up through the early 1980s, albeit in somewhat less detail than the rest of the book. Footnotes are used sparingly and are presented on the same page as the text, so they can be read without interrupting the flow.

My complaints are few. While Morgan's focus on individual personalities keeps the book interesting, it sometimes leads to confusing back-and-forth jumps in the timeline; a few times I found myself flipping back to try to sort out how events fit together. I also felt the section about Doc Maynard's relations with the Indians sometimes veered uncomfortably close to the old "noble savage" stereotype, but that section of the book was written in the 1950s, when attitudes were a bit different. When reading anything written about Native Americans you have to adjust a bit for historical windage.

On the whole this is a well-written, engaging book and I recommend it to anyone who'd like to learn more about the history of Seattle.

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in Seattle's history. Like Mark Twain supposedly said "History may not repeat itself, but it rhymes" A lot of Seattle's current issues map to things that have happened here before. What makes this book different is its approach. Instead of focusing on the big, famous names, The Dennys, Borens, Terrys. Morgan instead tells the tale of Seattle from its founding until the 1960s from the viewpoint of the "lesser" people. People who made a big impact to Seattle but whose name did not become "respectable" this a story of Seattle from the bottom up. After reading this book some of the Seattle weirdness makes sense. One big take away, Seattle has been weird from the start. There have never been "normal" times in this town.
I read it in basically one weekend. It was a page-turner for me. Love it.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

A person centered history of Seattle from 1852 to 1971. In Murray Morgan's words, ""This is the story of Seattle during its first hundred years, seen through the lives of the gutsy and vigorous personalities of its settlers and early citizens."

Provides a good person focused history of the development of Seattle.

[Peter Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a history book, and requires a lot of context in order for it to be enlightening and entertaining. I stopped halfway through when I realized that it was not a history of Seattle, it was an close examination of several illustrative events from different periods of Seattle history.

[Remington Purnell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry, as many historical texts are, but now I smile to myself every time I stroll down Denny Way or Yesler Street. What pricks. A must-read for any Seattle-ite.

[Jason Kinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It turns out Seattle was built, in part, on the backs of prostitutes. Seattle was a wild ass, corrupt, western town. It makes for a good story.

[Ana Sotillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think you have to appreciate Seattle to appreciate this book, but was glad to learn more about the interesting Seattle history.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skid Road tells a history of Seattle interwoven through the stories of several memorable past residents. Each chapter focuses on a central figure and a numerous supporting cast over the span of a few decades, starting in the early- to mid-1800s when Seattle first began to be settled and ending about a century later, after Seattle had firmly established itself as a vibrant city with important industries, such as Boeing, and when the book was first published (1951).

I liked that in the first chapter Morgan addressed the colonial treatment of Native Americans in the area; some of the events described in this book are relevant to politics in Seattle today! On the other hand, I didn't expect Morgan's continued focus on labor unions and journalism wars, but I can understand as both of these forces played a large part in city life in the early part of the twentieth century; no doubt they were important to and affected most readers at the time of the book's publication, too. I missed more coverage of the terraforming efforts and the socioeconomic development in different parts of the city, but the photos sections give some indication. I really wanted to see a map comparing the original city limits and geographical features at the time of publication, but maybe I could find that in Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle's Topography.

After reading this book, I do see Seattle differently: a young city, one that has reinvented itself multiple times, and I can now recognize some of the landmarks from each of those epochs: plaques on masonry buildings, tracks on flattened hills, and the legacy of roads separating neighborhoods, most of all the eponymous Skid Road (Yesler Way). Give a lot of credit to Morgan for contextualizing the history in colorful and painstakingly researched stories. I'd recommend it to any new arrival to get an idea of the spirit and history of Seattle!

[Violet Van Buren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want MORE. All I can want is a longer even more thorough version of this book. I want all the little stories, all the hot gossip, all the arcs of all the less known figures. Vaster, longer descriptions of the land. Of the world.
I want more Seattle. I need to know everything Murray Morgan DON’T YOU GET IT.

The introduction to this book is so me. I’ve never read an introduction that gave me so much peace of mind I felt like crying. Like I had found the very right book to pick up, like she understood completely what I wanted and needed to read for my very first few seconds in Seattle. Show up at Elliott Bay Book Co and find yourself needing Skid Road to tell you what the heck this city is. We “could not make sense of the place.” But then, despite the good job this book does at giving a realistic shortened historical description of time and place, it failed to satiate the need I had coming into it. Murray Morgan give me more.

This book is just a small piece of the puzzle for me. A little bit of history to help me grow my knowledge. A foundation to build upon - of the way things used to look, how things used to be, and the way the land and politics were carved out of the hills.

I’m falling in love with this city hard. To the point where I am starting to adopt the popular philosophy that once you move here, you can’t imagine living anywhere else. I am feeling very integrated already with the community - so many heartwarming moments I’ve lived - and I’m not even two months in. Cannot even imagine how much I’m gonna like it given a couple more months. I don’t think it’ll double, I think it’s exponential.

Thank you for a small piece of history. So much to learn!!

[Matt Nyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A now somewhat dated outstanding history of the first century of Seattle history, with a focus on the characters who built themselves up from the bottom half of society to become city leaders. It's a LOT of inside pool, kind of lacking a critical eye at times, because the author is really focused on the idiosyncracies of individuals. The more dramatic, the better.

I thought the first couple of chapters on the very early history of Seattle were REALLY well done. The details of how Seattle came to be are really fascinating. The balance of the book IS well written and if you are a real Seattle history person this is of course a mandatory read as it covers a lot of the main themes well.

The book is known for capturing the soul of Seattle. In 2025, I'd say it's capturing the past soul of Seattle. There are a few sort of interesting precursors to today's times scattered about, but 1900 Seattle is almost entirely unrelated to what is occurring 125 years later. This is now a character history, interesting, but far too much detail on characters who now seem mostly irrelevant to what is going on today.

The pioneers who built Seattle were really a mix. Kind of random folks who showed up and took charge. This book is about that.

[Dingdong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seattle has, since the very beginning, and through every moment in its history, been a place where good heartful men come to lose all of their money and die. Every influential figure in the city's history has been cringe. It has always been run by corrupt and money-hungry politicians, lying and pocketed police, and corrupt unions which claimed to work for the people but, as always, made a very small number of people extremely rich, and these people in most cases never had to pay up for it. One thing that I did not expect to learn was the history of prostitution in Seattle. When I first moved to the city I was surprised by the brazenness and scale of the street walkers, and then I learned about the dozens/hundreds of not-so-secret brothels. Reading this book showed me that Seattle has always had a very large and public Hooker population/trade. Women being bought and sold is part of the city's history. Literal whores are the bedrock of Seattle culture. I hate the city more now after reading this book. The only based person in the history of Seattle was Marion Zioncheck and he killed himself because the city was so bad.

[Conor · Rating 4 out of 5]

When reading history, it seems like sometime in the late 1800’s and before the first world war everything modern fell into place. Industry began to dictate most people’s lives by making them work for wages, mass media became possible with the telegraph, radio, and magazines, capitalists grew larger than government and tied down state power, racism (although certainly not new) took on its current pseudoscientific form, citizens and immigrants falsely fought against each other when it’s bosses who lower wages, all the while normal people came together and fought to improve democracy (most notably women's suffrage), unionized to make their lives less precarious, and took back some control from the invisible hand.

In “Skid Road” by Murray Morgan these forces are at play in the adolescent emerald city—Seattle. Pioneers and union leaders, mayors and newspaper magnates: it’s familiar, right at the edge of when a contemporary worldview can still be backpropagated without pressing too many futuristic conceptions upon the past.

[Andres Eguiguren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read by Morgan, and I'm sure I'll read others as he wrote more than twenty as a journalist and historian of Puget Sound and the Pacific Northwest. First published in 1951, the book officially covers the years 1852 to 1960 by focusing on some of Seattle's most colorful characters, in chronological order: Doc Maynard, Mary Kenworthy, John Considine, Hiram Gill, and Dave Beck. Of these, the only one that felt more like a sketch is the chapter dedicated to Kenworthy and the railroads (1873-1893), but all five chapters are interesting. In a short appendix that covers the 60s and 70s, there is the joke that Seattle still needed Tacoma (20 miles south) to make fun of: "Tacoma is where you find the Velveeta on the gourmet shelf." Well-researched and witty, this is a well-regarded history of Seattle up to mid-20th Century.

[Kevin Hyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and fun crash course of Seattle's history, focusing on the characters and circumstances that shaped and were shaped by the regions commerce and politics. There are some great anecdotes that give the characters life and overall you get a strong sense of how the challenges of the frontier shaped the Seattle spirit.

In some sections, particularly those dealing with convoluted politics of the turn of the century, the text is pretty bogged down and hard to keep track of all the names of businessmen and politicians, who frankly are one and the same and active across decades. Somewhat skimmable in parts like this.

Overall, a great starting point for anyone looking to bone up on this funky city's history.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - When I visited Seattle last year, I was disappointed by the history walking tour I attended (seemingly all of the information provided was about the poor sewer system or the rise of prostitution). I selected Skid Road from the local area of an independent bookstore. The book succeeded in providing me with a lot more history and context about the development of Seattle as a city. Originally published in 1951, the version I read is an updated 1980s edition. I’d say the focus is really political and economic history - lots of mayors and businessmen - with railroads, fires, and strikes thrown in. I was sad, but not surprised, to find this is a white male history with hardly any other perspectives included.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Murray paints a lively narrative history of Seattle complete with it’s white settlement in the early 1800s through Doc Maynard and his relationship with the native americans of the region, the influence of the railroads on the budding City, the origin of culture and entertainment, and the influence of local labor politics, among other topics. I found tidbits of this book pretty interesting, but it definitely tended to slog down in the back half with all the details about local politics, which I don’t particularly care about.

[Shaughn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every short history book about the Pacific NW lists this book as one of the references. I finally got around to reading it. It's a bit hard to follow at times and too long on details in other areas. Kinda funny to read, but not great writing. I'm glad I read it, having grown up in Seattle and being a history buff. Not worth going to great lengths to find or read, but worth a look if you do run across it.

[Daniel Citron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read. Sad to be leaving the city so soon, but glad that I now know its deep history a little better.

Would love to know what other books to follow up with, which cover the second half of the 20th century in Seattle - the transition to being a Boeing company town, then Microsoft, then Amazon, with the grunge scene mixed in. Also want to know more about the local history of the Asian-American population and the contemporary history of indigenous Americans in the Puget Sound area.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise and insightful local history of the first 100 years of Seattle, with some touches of magic.

Strengths: A concise telling of early Seattle history and some of the key players and events. Some moments harken back to an age of high-quality journalism and even a bit like classical history.

Weakness: A few portions, such as the story of teamster leader Dave Beck, drag on a bit beyond their relevance.

[Steven Krawczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite history books to read for fun. Seattle is a microcosm of the political history of the United States in the 20th century. With wild swings between anarchy, socialism, and conservatism, and emphases on spectacle, deception, and opportunism, the city is practically a petri dish of the forces that dominate public life today. Morgan engages with this history in a brilliantly entertaining and accessible fashion.