The Bush family
James Bush was an adventurous man. He was born in Pennsylvania, raised in New York state, and fought in the Mexican War. In 1850, he crossed the country in a covered wagon to search for gold in California. From there, he turned to farming in Oregon where he met and married Martha Stewart.
The young couple and three of their children arrived in Seattle in 1859, but the growing town quickly became too crowded for James’ liking. In 1864, he traded a team of oxen for 160 acres in Squak Valley making his the first white family in the valley. More than 125 years later, members of the Bush family still live on parts of the original homestead which is located on Issaquah Creek across from the Pickering Barn.
Today, there are more than 100 descendents of James and Martha still living in the Issaquah-Fall City area.
