File:Henry and Minnie Yesler home, 3rd and James, Seattle, circa 1895 (MOHAI 9518).jpg

In 1884 lumberman and Seattle's first millionaire, Henry L. Yesler (1810-1892), and his wife, Sarah Burgert Yesler (1822-1887) built their mansion on the block between Third and Fourth Avenues at James Street. Sarah died shortly after they moved in, and Yesler married a young cousin, Minnie Gagle Yesler, who lived in the house after his death until about 1892. The property was donated to the City of Seattle in honor of Sarah Yesler, Seattle's first librarian, and served as the main Public Library from 1899 until it was destroyed in a fire on New Year's Day, 1901. Following news of the fire, library philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919) donated $200,000 for the construction of a new main library, a request he had previously declined, prompting loyal supporters of the library to come under suspicion of arson. The cause of the fire was never settled. In this image, the Yesler mansion stands in all its proud late-Victorian glory. Visible on the hill above the mansion is the neoclassical style King County Courthouse on First Hill at Seventh Avenue and Alder Street, completed in 1890.

Caption information source: http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/building/5583 Caption information source: "Seattle Public Library housed in Yesler mansion burns down on January 1, 1901," by Priscilla Long, HistoryLink.org Essay 1923

• Subjects (LCTGM): Mansions--Washington (State)--Seattle; Residential streets--Washington (State)--Seattle