Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Today, Seattle is a UNESCO City of Literature – and it’s been a literary city since its founding. In fact, the first local library was created even before the city was officially incorporated.
Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored this history in a recent episode (cascadepbs.org/show/mossbacks-northwest-2/episode/how-skid-road-birthed-a-literary-city-nkv3og/) of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there are more pages left to turn.
In this episode of Mossback, Berger and co-host Stephen Hegg discuss their own love of libraries, the earliest books on Seattle’s shelves, the lasting literary impact of early pioneers Sarah and Henry Yesler and the unconventional couple’s remarkable connection to author Jack London.
For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org (crosscut.com/mossback?ref=cascadepbs.org) . To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at knute.berger@cascadepbs.org (mailto:knute.berger@cascadepbs.org) . And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member (secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/134265/donate/1?ref=cascadepbs.org) today.
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Credits
Hosts: Stephen Hegg (cascadepbs.org/author/stephenhegg-crosscut-com/) , Knute Berger (cascadepbs.org/author/knute-berger)
Producer: Sara Bernard (cascadepbs.org/author/sara-bernard)
Story editors: Sarah Menzies (cascadepbs.org/author/sarah-menzies) , Adam Brown (cascadepbs.org/author/adam/)
Studio recording: Roger Basquette
Today, Seattle is a UNESCO City of Literature – and it’s been a literary city since its founding. In fact, the first local library was created even before the city was officially incorporated.
Cascade PBS’s resident historian Knute Berger explored this history in a recent episode (cascadepbs.org/show/mossbacks-northwest-2/episode/how-skid-road-birthed-a-literary-city-nkv3og/) of the Mossback’s Northwest video series, but there are more pages left to turn.
In this episode of Mossback, Berger and co-host Stephen Hegg discuss their own love of libraries, the earliest books on Seattle’s shelves, the lasting literary impact of early pioneers Sarah and Henry Yesler and the unconventional couple’s remarkable connection to author Jack London.
For more on all things Mossback, visit CascadePBS.org (crosscut.com/mossback?ref=cascadepbs.org) . To reach Knute Berger directly, drop him a line at knute.berger@cascadepbs.org (mailto:knute.berger@cascadepbs.org) . And if you’d like an exclusive weekly newsletter from Knute, where he offers greater insight into his latest historical discoveries, become a Cascade PBS member (secure.cascadepublicmedia.org/page/134265/donate/1?ref=cascadepbs.org) today.
---
Credits
Hosts: Stephen Hegg (cascadepbs.org/author/stephenhegg-crosscut-com/) , Knute Berger (cascadepbs.org/author/knute-berger)
Producer: Sara Bernard (cascadepbs.org/author/sara-bernard)
Story editors: Sarah Menzies (cascadepbs.org/author/sarah-menzies) , Adam Brown (cascadepbs.org/author/adam/)
Studio recording: Roger Basquette
