author
Orange Jacobs
1827–1914
A frontier lawyer turned public servant, he helped shape early Washington through the courts, Congress, and city government. His life traced the growth of the Pacific Northwest from territorial days into the modern era.
1 Audiobook
Memoirs of Orange Jacobs
by Orange Jacobs
About the author
Born in New York in 1827 and raised in Michigan, Orange Jacobs studied law before heading west in the early 1850s. He lived in Oregon, spent time in California during the Gold Rush years, and eventually settled in Washington Territory, where he built a career as a lawyer, newspaper publisher, and political figure.
Jacobs became one of the best-known public officials in territorial Washington. He served as a delegate to the U.S. Congress for Washington Territory, later worked as chief justice of the territorial supreme court, and also served as mayor of Seattle. Those roles placed him at the center of public life while the region was still developing its political and legal institutions.
He also left behind a firsthand account of his experiences in Memoirs of Orange Jacobs, published in 1908. He died in Seattle in 1914, remembered as one of the many energetic figures who helped guide the Pacific Northwest through its early years of growth.