Bellevue pioneer Albert Burrows was born in Indiana in 1837. In 1857 he moved to Iowa and married Martha James. They had four children: Calanthia, Lillian, Maud and Albert S. (Selden).

Martha Burrows died in 1876, and soon afterwards Albert and children travelled to the West Coast to start a new life.

After a stop in Sacramento, the Burrows family arrived in Seattle in 1882. Albert was a Civil War veteran, so he could claim 160 acres of land for homesteading. He chose a spot on the east side of Lake Washington in what is now the Killarney area. The cabin he built there in 1883 still exists, although it has been moved to 112th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 12th Street.

In the spring of 1884, he donated land for the first school in Bellevue and helped to build the one-room schoolhouse. The first teacher was his daughter, Calanthia. She received $40 for three months’ work.

In 1894, Albert became a member of the state Legislature. He died just a short time later in 1895 or 1896.

Heritage Corner is a feature in the Bellevue Reporter. Material is provided by the Eastside Heritage Center. For more information call 425-450-1049.