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Extra! Extra! Stop the presses! The mystery of Kellogg Island has been solved!

OK, so you might not remember that a search for 鈥� and the mystery of 鈥� the namesake of Kellogg Island was discussed on an installment of 成人X站 Radio鈥檚 鈥淎ll Over The Map鈥� back in June 2019.

Kellogg Island is one of my favorite spots anywhere. It鈥檚 in the Duwamish River, not far from Elliott Bay. What sets Kellogg Island apart is that it is one of the last remaining natural parts of the river from the thousands of years before European settlers came.

It鈥檚 just a little piece of land, only a few acres, with the main dredged navigation channel on one side, and a nice, curvy little natural channel on the other.

You can see Kellogg Island in person from a Port of Seattle park, and it鈥檚 often visible from the air 鈥� especially if you鈥檙e coming in for a landing at SeaTac and approaching from the north. It鈥檚 just magical.

That area along the river was known for much of the late 20th and early 21st century as Terminal 107 Park. After a recent ambitious effort by the Port of Seattle to more appropriately name its parks to reflect Indigenous place names, it鈥檚 now called h蓹蕯apus Village Park and — pronounced 鈥渉a-ah-poos,鈥� and which, according to the Port of Seattle, is the name 鈥渙f a small stream draining across a flat on the west side of Duwamish River.鈥�

Two years ago, I did some digging and came up with a couple of possibilities for the island鈥檚 namesake 鈥� a landowner and Seattle Fire Department chief named Gardner Kellogg, and a doctor on Whidbey Island named John Coe Kellogg. But there was no paper trail, and nobody I consulted 鈥� from the Port of Seattle to the Duwamish Tribe to a handful of local historians 鈥� could definitively say which, if any, was correct.

Then, a few days ago, my old friend Matt McCauley reached out. He鈥檚 in Kirkland and a friend of this show (who I鈥檝e known since high school).

Matt was doing some research and stumbled across Gardner Kellogg鈥檚 name on some property records for real estate near Seward Park. Matt knew about Gardner Kellogg鈥檚 fire department career, and he remembered the 成人X站 Radio story from two years ago. He started wondering what other property records might reveal. With help from Greg Lange at the King County Archives, Matt got ahold of old plat maps and copies of deeds.

鈥淪eeing that Gardner Kellogg had a claim on the lake down there got me thinking about your old piece,鈥� McCauley鈥檚 email said. 鈥淎t first, I thought the relative nearness of [Gardner] Kellogg’s claim to the Duwamish may have tied into the island’s name in some way, so it occurred to me to check the first person to claim the island itself. … Turns out that lot 11 was purchased via cash sale in 1865 to … *drumroll* … David Kellogg.鈥�

This may seem pedantic, but it鈥檚 worth celebrating when a granular detail about a pretty remarkable place can be nailed down definitively like this.

It鈥檚 also worth noting, McCauley says, that David Kellogg is an interesting character. In Seattle, he and his brother operated the city鈥檚 first drugstore. But before David Kellogg arrived here, his exploits were a tad more lively than simply selling sundries.

鈥淭his guy was like some kind of , American frontier hero archetype,鈥� McCauley wrote. 鈥淗is bio is incredible, growing up on the Illinois frontier, seeking adventure during the 1850s in 鈥楤loody Kansas鈥� as an abolitionist fighting with John Brown, traveling in the Rockies, signing on as a sailor to reach the West Coast — just incredible stuff.鈥�

And David Kellogg鈥檚 interesting bio doesn鈥檛 end there, according to McCauley.

鈥淚n his later years, he seems to have been a go-to source for reporters on Seattle history topics,鈥� McCauley continued. 鈥淭hey sought a quote from him when some remains of Yesler’s wharf were uncovered in Pioneer Square when digging the foundation for a new public restroom. And he had a lighthearted debate with Ezra Meeker over the Mount Rainier/Tahoma/Tacoma name, something we seem to be still debating over in one way or another.鈥�

In later years, McCauley wrote, David Kellogg 鈥渟eemed to have had a lot of irons in the fire in terms of his … professional and civic life. He and his wife, especially his wife, pop up in tons of society-type 1870-1910s newspaper mentions, socializing with Seattle’s A-list of the time.鈥�

Of course, like Terminal 107 Park, Kellogg Island also had an earlier name. James Rasmussen of the Duwamish Tribe two years ago told 成人X站 Radio that it was known in the 19th century as Mud Island or Muddy Island. With the provenance of 鈥淜ellogg鈥� now established, perhaps the Port of Seattle will consider a shift to reflect its pre-settlement name.

BJ Cummings is author of a book about the Duwamish River published in 2020 by UW Press.

鈥淚’m super, super excited for Matt,鈥� Cummings told 成人X站 Radio when told of McCauley鈥檚 discovery. 鈥淚鈥檓 super excited for him because I know from doing my own research that the smallest details 鈥� when you鈥檝e gone down a rabbit hole and then you find the answer 鈥� [inspire] moments of celebration and dancing.鈥�

鈥淚t’s not surprising,鈥� that the namesake was someone like David Kellogg, Cummings continued. 鈥淚 mean, we were pretty certain that there was a settler, but we didn’t know exactly which one.鈥�

And should that settler鈥檚 name be retained?

鈥淚’d love to see people revert to historical names just because I think it helps us understand and recognize our history,鈥� Cummings said. 鈥淎nd maybe now that we know, we can have some way of commemorating Mud Island.鈥�

Whatever the island is called, it鈥檚 an incredible place worth taking time to visit. And thanks to Matt McCauley and Greg Lange, we know just a little bit more about its relatively recent history. Let the moment of celebration and dancing begin.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.