The Darst family
Bachelor Cyrus Darst probably had no idea he was founding a dynasty when he married 16-year-old Emily Bush, just three years after arriving in the Squak Valley. But it turned out to be a partnership that is the trunk for many local family trees.
Darst was born in 1846, and came to this area with his parents from Chickasaw, Iowa in 1873. He was a farmer and a carpenter, and he built the Odd Fellows Hall that still stands on Front Street. He and Emily settled on land just south of the Bush homestead after their marriage, and today that property is immediately north of Zetec.
The couple had six children: Inez Darst Gunderson; Ralph Darst; Clyde Darst; Earl Darst; Emily Darst Walker; and Dallas “Chokes” Darst. Four of the children married and raised their families in Issaquah. Clyde was a dairy farmer. Ralph served as custodian for the school. And the girls ran the Swanee Grocery for many years.
Clyde and his wife Elspith kept the family home, while Ralph and his wife Madie Reynolds Darst had a large house on Sunset Way across from where the post office is today. With six children of their own and Ralph’s connection to the school, the Darst home on Sunset Way was always filled with young people.
Today, there are a countless number of Darsts spanning three generations still living in Issaquah. Over the years, the branches of their family tree have become intertwined with those of many other old Issaquah families.
