Doc Maynard
A mercurial frontier entrepreneur whose land claim, political savvy, and inclusive vision laid the literal groundwork for Seattle.
1808–1873 (age 65)·American doctor, lawyer, and founder of Seattle, Washington·Birthday: March 22
Biography
Dr. David Swinson "Doc" Maynard was Seattle's indispensable founding catalyst. Arriving on Puget Sound in 1852, the physician and sometime lawyer quickly saw potential in the muddy shore of Elliott Bay. He filed the first plats for a town he insisted on naming "Seattle" after his friend, Chief Si'ahl of the Duwamish, against the wishes of others who preferred "New York." Maynard's plat was unusually wide and angled, aligning with the shoreline rather than true north, a quirk that defines Seattle's downtown streets to this day. He operated the settlement's first store and hospital, and his political maneuvering was critical in securing King County's creation and Seattle as its seat. Notably progressive, he advocated for the rights of the Duwamish people and, in a scandal for the time, divorced his first wife to marry Catherine Broshears, a widow whose land claim merged with his to form the city's core.
#1 When Doc Was Born
The biggest hits of 1808
Doc's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1808Born
1813Started school
1821Became a teenager
1824Could drive
1826Could vote
1829Turned 21
1838Turned 30
1848Turned 40
1858Turned 50
1868Turned 60
President: Andrew Johnson
1873Died at 65
President: Ulysses S. Grant
Key Achievements
- Filed the original land claim and plats for the settlement he named Seattle in 1852.
- Successfully lobbied the territorial legislature to create King County with Seattle as its county seat.
- Established the first store and first medical practice in the nascent settlement.
- His angled street grid, following the waterfront, became the foundation of Seattle's downtown layout.
Did You Know?
He traded a pair of boots for the land that would become part of downtown Seattle.
Maynard's divorce was one of the first granted in the Washington Territory.
He was known for his flamboyant dress, often wearing a swallowtail coat and beaver hat on the frontier.
His second wife, Catherine, is considered Seattle's first female business owner, running their store.
“This town will be called Seattle, and it will be a city.”
