Brothers Wyatt J. Rucker (1857–1931) and Bethel J. Rucker (1862–1945) were pioneering entrepreneurs who helped to found the city of Everett, Washington.
Originally from Noble County, Ohio, in 1888 the Rucker brothers moved to Tacoma, Washington, along with their mother Jane Morris Rucker (1830–1907).[1] The following year they moved 60 miles (97 km) north to the Port Gardner peninsula, the site that would become Everett. The Ruckers purchased most of the land on the peninsula with plans to create a port and city there. They hoped that the site, near the mouth of the Snohomish River, would attract the Great Northern Railway, which was then building track toward Puget Sound.
The Ruckers were soon followed by Tacoma lumberman and investor Henry Hewitt, Jr.[2] who had similar ambitions. Hewitt had lined up a group of wealthy investors, led by Charles Colby and Colgate Hoyt and backed by John D. Rockefeller. With their capital he formed the Everett Land Company, which began investing in land, construction, and other business needed by a new city. The Ruckers became partners in the company, selling about half of their land and retaining the rest.
Speculation in Everett was intense, and the new city was built quickly, but the boom turned to bust when it was announced that the Great Northern would establish its West Coast terminus at Seattle instead of Everett. The Rucker brothers survived the economic downturn, and when Rockefeller and his colleagues were ready to divest themselves of their failed investment, the Ruckers helped arrange the deal by which the Everett Land Company's interests were sold to a new entity, the Everett Improvement Company, controlled by the Great Northern's James J. Hill. Wyatt Rucker became treasurer of the new company.[3]