Along Beach Drive SW in West Seattle, an old pioneer homestead has become 20.2 acres of public parkland. This is Me-Kwa-Mooks Park, at 4503 Beach Dr SW in the Alki area, and it turned into a city park in the early 1970s. Its name reaches much further back, borrowed from the Lushootseed word for nearby Alki Point, so even a short stroll here carries a sense of deep history.
The Story in the Name
Me-Kwa-Mooks is an Anglicized form of sbaqʷabqs, the Lushootseed name for Alki Point. Say it roughly as SBAH-kwahb-ks, and know that it translates to "prairie point." Keep that meaning in mind as you explore, because the park sits along the very stretch of shoreline the name describes.
From Pioneer Homestead to City Park
Long before anyone came here for a walk, this land was the homestead of Ferdinand and Emma Schmitz, early pioneers in West Seattle. Once the whole Schmitz family had passed away, the property went to the city, and the Parks Department acquired the site in 1971 to create the park you can visit today.
