Charlie Terry: The Money Man

Charles C. Terry, born in Waterville, NY, in 1830, originally sailed west to make a fortune in the California Gold Rush. But when he met Arthur Denny in Portland in 1850, the man recruited him to a party that was headed for the Puget Sound, where Denny planned to build a city. There began the story of how Charlie Terry became one of the most important founders of Seattle. Terry was particularly essential to the city's economy and good humor. He was friendly, outgoing, sharp with mathematical calculations, and was an incredibly hard worker whenever there was money to be made. He was the first one to bring in money for the settlement at Alki Point, and continued to find economic success in Seattle up until he died at the early age of thirty-seven.