McMenamins and the Bothell Historical Museum have resumed the History Pubs at Anderson School in Haynes Hall.

On Tuesday, August 29, 2023, the History Pub program was “Bothell and the Civil War,” presented by Richard Heisler

Two weeks earlier, Richard hosted a dedication ceremony at the Bothell Pioneer Cemetery honoring two Civil War veterans whose graves had been long neglected. Click here to see photos and read about this event.

In 2022, his program at the Bothell Library captivated the audience.

Richard Heisler, founder of Civil War Seattle, gave a presentation about Bothell’s Civil War Legacy on August 3, 2022, at the Bothell Library. The event was co-sponsored by the Bothell Historical Society & Museum and hosted by the King County Library System.

Many Civil War veterans who settled in the 1880s in what became Bothell were originally from Indiana County in western Pennsylvania.
Distinctive banners represented the units in which they served.

The Pennsylvania units to which they belonged had important responsibilities, contributing to the ultimate victory of the Union forces.

After the war, many of the Pennsylvania veterans moved first to western Illinois and eastern Iowa, and subsequently to Washington Territory. The eldest of the veterans was David Bothell, who with his wife Mary Anne opened a boarding house in the new settlement northeast of Seattle, on the Sammamish River. After he had the area platted, the community post office adopted his last name.

Among the other Pennsylvania Civil War veterans in newly-named Bothell were William Johnston, John Keener, George Bothell and William Campbell.

George Bothell, son of David and Mary Ann, experienced the horrors of incarceration in the Andersonville Prisoner of War camp in Georgia. Despite the long-lasting negative effects on his health, he became a community leader in the town named for his parents. With his brothers, he founded a successful lumber and shingle mill. He and his wife Alice took an active part in the leadership of the community’s Methodist church. He served in the Washington legislature in Olympia, and when the town incorporated in 1909, he became its first mayor.

Thanks to Nancy Velando for her photographs of Richard’s August 3, 2022, presentation.

An almost 90-minute online presentation by Richard Heisler covering much of this material can be seen on Facebook. Click on this link to watch it.

YouTube has a 14-minute video of a tour Richard Heisler made in the historic Bothell Pioneer Cemetery, focusing on the graves of the Civil War veterans there. Click on this link to view that video.