In the 1850s, prospectors discovered coal in Issaquah. Subsequently, Euro-Americans arrived to mine the region. This activity leads people to explore and eventually settle the nearby Sammamish River valley towards Lake Washington, which ends at present-day Kenmore. The first well-documented white settlers to establish homesteads in the Sammamish River valley were Columbus Greenleaf, George R. Wilson, and Ira Woodin. These and other early residents would have passed through the area that is present-day Kenmore in order to interact with residents of Seattle and other lakeshore communities
