Heritage Corner

Heritage Corner is a weekly feature of the Bellevue Reporter. Material is provided by the Eastside Heritage Center.

Today we continue our exploration of local name origins.

Factoria: The focus of a 1910 land speculation scheme, this area was supposed to become a major manufacturing hub. The factories never took off, but the name stuck.

Hunts Point: Hunts Point was named for early landowner Leigh S. J. Hunt. Another early name for the peninsula was “Long Point.”

Kelsey Creek: The creek and the park take their names from Henry E. Kelsey, Bellevue’s second schoolteacher. Records show that he owned 160 acres of land surrounding the creek in 1888.

Larsen Lake: This lake was named for Danish immigrants Ove and Mary Larsen who moved to its shores about 1889. The lake has also been called “Blueberry Lake” because of the blueberry fields nearby.

Meydenbauer Bay: Named for William Meydenbauer, one of the first Caucasian settlers in the Bellevue area.

Medina: This city was named for the holy city in Saudi Arabia, the burial place of the Prophet Mohammed. Mrs. Belote is credited with choosing the name in 1892. She did not care for “Flordeline,” the first name proposed.

Mercer Slough: Named for Ann and Aaron Mercer, who settled along the slough in the 1860s.

Midlake(s): James Godsey chose the name “Midlakes” when the train began to make regular stops near his store at NE 8th St. Presumably he chose the name because of the close proximity of Lake Washington and Lake Bellevue.

To learn more about Bellevue and Eastside history, contact the Eastside Heritage Center at 425-450-1049 or visit www.EastsideHeritageCenter.org.

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