Licton Springs Park, 3:02 pm, 5/15/19,
66° cloudy but warm, barely drizzling
1. Land
Use History: Licton Springs used to be a healing center for the indigenous people
in the area, particularly the Dkhw’Duw’Absh,
People of the Inside and Xacuabš, People of the Large Lake,
Lushootseed (Skagit-Nisqually) Coast Salish native people, now known as the Duwamish.
The springs were used as a spiritual health spa with sweat lodges and mineral
waters. Red mud was drawn out of the springs and used in rituals like marriage ceremonies.
In 1870, pioneer David Denny bought the land and built a cabin near the springs,
drawing in settlers from miles away.
This is a historic image of a woman at the spring. It is not
dated but it must have been taken around the early 1900s.
This is the image of the spring I took today.
It became and infamous spa in 1935 when E.A. Jensen bought
it, creating thermal baths. In 1961, the city bought the park. Historically, there were two springs within the park. The
larger bathing spring at the park's south end was filled with silt when it was
bought by the city but the smaller "iron spring" still exists today. Plans from the 1920s show the springs as the source of
the creek that drained to Green Lake. However, it was capped then
drained to the Metro sewer system after it became contaminated by residential
development. Even though the spring is enclosed, it still has a lot of
importance to the Duwamish people. There is concern that more construction will
lead to the disruption of the flow of mineral waters. Matt Remle, a member of
the Sioux tribe, writes in his notes,
“Le’qtid cannot be re-created, replaced, or re-located. Its
importance is beyond measure and description, and its value is beyond price.
The Duwamish People are the stewards of le’qtid, other holy places and the
natural endowment that dókwibuA (Creator) bestowed upon our ‘ál’altid
(Ancestral Homeland).
At the beginning of time,
le’qtid (“Licton Springs”) was given to us by dókwibuA (Creator) in perpetuity.
It is an inalienable part of our Patrimony, a legacy from our Ancestors, and the
Cultural Heritage of the dxdew’abS (People-of-the-Inside), Chief Seattle’s
Duwamish Tribe.”
Today, Licton Springs looks like a nice neighborhood
park with a decent playground and some “nature”. Nothing really looks like
old-growth, and the spring is really the only indicator of historical land use.
There are many red alder trees, though, which could be a good indicator of disturbance/land
use.
2. Geomorphology:
Licton springs was historically a natural waterway that ran on the surface for
1 mile, approximately from North 97th street to Green lake. There
isn’t much information on the geomorphology of Licton springs so most of my
observations on the geomorphology of the area are speculative. I was walking
through the park and I saw a boulder in a very green area of the park. It was
sitting in water and I could see it from one of the many little bridges. I
thought that it might be an erratic since it didn’t appear to be manually
placed there. It would be an odd location to put one singular large rock.
This is the image of the boulder and potential erratic. It
wasn’t very big, but it wasn’t very round, so it could have been a glacial
deposit.
On my walk to the
park from the bus stop, I feel as if I am walking over a drumlin and I’m
particularly aware of it when I have to walk up the hill on the way back to the
bus stop. It’s very tiring. The view on my walk to the park is fantastic though.
I can see the Olympic mountains in the distance on clear days because my bus
stop is at the top of the hill. As soon as I cross Roosevelt Way NE and walk
towards 8th Ave NE I start walking downhill and it’s downhill all
the way to Licton springs.
This is a general idea of where I think the drumlin is and
how it impacts the land.
I can’t be too sure
about either of these ideas, but it’s still interesting to speculate and think
about what was here before us and what remains.
References:
An abecedary of sacred springs of the world: (United States)
of America: The sacred springs of
Seattle. (2017, January 18). Retrieved
May 14, 2019, from
https://insearchofholywellsandhealingsprings.com/2017/01/19/sacred-springs-of-the-world-united-states-of-america-the-sacred-springs-of-seattle/
Licton Springs. (2018, February 17). Retrieved May 14, 2019,
from
http://www.hiddenhydrology.org/explorations/seattle/seattle-licton-springs/
Licton Springs Park. (n.d.). Retrieved May 14, 2019, from
https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/licton-springs-park
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