Duwamish Head

Duwamish Head
sqʷədqs (Lushootseed)
Headland
Duwamish Head seen from Elliott Bay
Duwamish Head seen from Elliott Bay
Duwamish Head is located in Washington (state)
Duwamish Head
Duwamish Head
Coordinates: 47°35′42″N 122°23′10″W / 47.595°N 122.386°W / 47.595; -122.386
LocationWest Seattle, Seattle, King County, Washington, US
Native namesqʷədqs (Lushootseed)
Topo mapUSGS Duwamish Head[1]

Duwamish Head (Lushootseed: sqʷədqs)[2][a] is the northernmost point in West Seattle, Washington, jutting into Elliott Bay.

A large boulder covered with petroglyphs once lay on the beach.[3] The Duwamish tribe was relocated to a reservation here in 1856, which at the time was referred to as Holderness Point.[4] From 1907 to 1913 it was the site of an amusement park, Luna Park. Today, Alki Beach Park extends southwestward from Duwamish Head to Alki Point;[5] the area at the head is sometimes called "Anchor Park" due to the 5,000-pound (2,300 kg) anchor at the site.

On June 19, 2020, two teens utilizing the app Randonautica[6] reported finding a suitcase along the shoreline, emitting a foul odor. The Seattle Police Department was dispatched to the scene, and the contents of the suitcase were confirmed to be human remains. The two teens then uploaded videos of their discovery of the suitcase to the popular social media app TikTok. On June 30, the remains were identified as 35-year-old Jessica Lewis, and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Austin Wenner, both determined to have died of gunshot wounds.[7] On August 19, the former landlord of the pair, Michael Lee Dudley, was arrested. He was then charged with two counts of second-degree murder on August 24.[8]

  1. ^ "Duwamish Head". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2015-01-01. Feature ID 1504603.
  2. ^ Waterman, Thomas T. sdaʔdaʔ gʷəɬ dibəɬ ləšucid ʔacaciɬtalbixʷ - Puget Sound Geography. Lushootseed Press. p. 65.
  3. ^ Thrush, Coll (2007). Native Seattle: Histories from the Crossing-Over Place. University of Washington Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-0-295-98700-2.
  4. ^ "Summary under the Criteria and Evidence for Proposed Finding Against Acknowledgment of the Duwamish Tribal Organization" (PDF). U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Federal Acknowledgement. 1996. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-06-09. Retrieved 2015-01-02.
  5. ^ "Alki Beach Park". Seattle Parks and Recreation. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
  6. ^ "Home". RANDONAUTICA. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  7. ^ "CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUP: Victims found off Duwamish Head were shot to death". West Seattle Blog. Retrieved 2020-07-10.
  8. ^ "Burien landlord charged with murder after couple's bodies are found in luggage on West Seattle beach". The Seattle Times. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2023-04-21.


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