Ever wonder how the name of the Seattle neighborhood Belltown came to be? Let’s roll back the clock to the early 1850s for a quick history lesson.

Belltown derives its name from William Nathaniel Bell, an Illinois farmer who went west in 1851 by wagon towards Oregon. There he met Arthur and David Denny. All three headed up to Seattle to claim land under the The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850, which created a powerful incentive for settlement of the Oregon Territory by offering 320 acres at no charge to qualifying adult U.S. citizens.

The Bell family chose land near the bay, while the Denny family claimed the hill overlooking Pioneer Square.