The Sammamish Plateau has been home to indigenous peoples for centuries and new settlers since the 1870s, making the region a vibrant location with a rich history of growth and prosperity. This fact is underscored by recent recognition from the prestigious John D. Spellman Historic Preservation Award for Advocacy which was presented to the Sammamish Heritage Society for their exemplary commitment to preserving the area’s historic resources. The Sammamish Plateau offers captivating sights and sounds from its 150-year history that illuminates its connections to Seattle, Redmond, Issaquah, and the Snoqualmie Valley by way of two intersecting lakes, Lake Sammamish and Pine Lake. Additionally, Sammamish derives its namesake as a corruption of phrases that pay tribute to the Native American tribes who have lived upon this land, calling it their home.
The Sammamish Heritage Society
The Sammamish Heritage Society was recently awarded the prestigious John D. Spellman Historic Preservation Award for Advocacy in recognition of their unwavering commitment to preserving the area’s historic resources despite the pressures of development. Their efforts to disseminate historical information, survey remaining historic properties, and collaborate with the City of Sammamish to develop protective procedures have not gone unnoticed. The Sammamish Plateau has a 150-year history that the Heritage Society is proud to safeguard for future generations.
Sammamish has a proud history of being home to Native American tribes long before the arrival of non-Native settlers in the 1870s and 1880s. The location of Sammamish, situated around 20 miles east of Seattle and about 450 feet above sea level, is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west, Redmond to the north, Issaquah to the south, and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. What’s more, there are two lakes within the boundaries of Sammamish: Pine Lake and Beaver Lake. The Snoqualmie name Sammamish is a corruption of two words: “Sqawx”, the Snoqualmie name for Lake Sammamish, and “abs”, a suffix that refers to people of a certain area.
The beginning of the twentieth century saw Sammamish become a hub for logging operations, and by the 1930s most of the area had been “logged out.” The southern half of the Plateau, particularly the area near Pine Lake and Beaver Lake, developed faster than the northern half, and during the late 1930s three popular resorts had opened up. Even after these resorts closed in the 1970s, development continued to grow steadily until the mid-1980s, when it accelerated dramatically with the building of more homes, schools, and shopping centers. Finally, on November 3, 1998, local voters approved incorporation and Sammamish officially became a city at midnight on August 31, 1999. Today, Sammamish is a proud example of a community that has grown and developed through its rich history and diverse culture.
It is the home of its symphony, and three high schools, and has hosted three major PGA golf tournaments at Sahalee – the 1998 PGA Championship, the 2002 NEC World Golf Championship, and the 2010 US Senior Open.
The Sammamish Plateau has had a prosperous 150-year history made up of both indigenous cultures from before its settlers as well as more recent urban developments. The people who call this beautiful region home care deeply about preserving its rich history and heritage, most explicitly demonstrated by the Sammamish Heritage Society’s commitment that recently earned them the John D. Spellman Historic Preservation Award for Advocacy. With the organization’s untiring and effective efforts dedicated to sustaining its history, the Sammamish Plateau will remain an eminent slice of cultural antiquity in Washington State far into the future.
