'Invisible Histories' Podcast Unearths Forgotten Histories of South Seattle

In their first series, hosts Elke Hautala and Cari Simson tell the story of "lost" Georgetown cemetery Potter's Field.

by Jas Keimig

New Seattle-based podcast Invisible Histories explores the history of Seattle — specifically South Seattle — that might not always be readily apparent or celebrated. Hosted by artists-producers-researchers Elke Hautala and Cari Simson and supported by 4Culture and Friends of Georgetown History, the podcast specifically focuses on the histories of marginalized people in the city, threading their stories from the past all the way to now.

For their first three-part series, which began in January of this year, Hautala and Simson focus on the "lost" Potter's Field (also known as the Duwamish Cemetery), which was founded in 1876 and located in the neighborhood we now know as Georgetown near the old King County Poor Farm and Hospital. Over 30 years, the 2-acre site was the final resting place for 3,260 people who had no money or family and were unceremoniously buried there.

If you go looking for Potter's Field in modern-day Seattle, however, you will not find it. In 1912, Seattle governmental forces had hungry capitalist ambitions and sought to turn the winding Duwamish River into a waterway that better supported trade and industrial efforts. The subsequent dredging and straightening of the Duwamish wrecked the river's ecological habitat, destroyed numerous Indigenous living spaces, and wiped Potter's Field from existence. The human remains buried in the cemetery's soil were exhumed, cremated, and mostly lost to time.

"They totally bungled the operation of taking out the people who were buried there. Some of them didn't even have names or numbers," said Hautala in a recent interview. "They did it in record time, used the wrong size containers for people's ashes. … It's horrifying to think about if you knew these people or were related to them. It really speaks to this idea of remembrance for people on the margins and being able to share their stories."

The idea for the podcast started two years ago when Hautala and Simson first crossed paths. Hautala was finishing up a master's degree in visual anthropology at HMKW Berlin and got connected with Simson, the producer of Friends of Georgetown History's Georgetown Haunted History Tour who regularly cleans up trash along the Duwamish, for a photo project.

They found they shared a deep interest in the history of Seattle and engaging the public with that history. Offhandedly, Simson mentioned seeing a map in her place of work depicting a graveyard in Georgetown she'd never heard of before — Potter's Field. This kicked off years of research into the burial ground that would jump-start this Invisible Histories podcast.

"We thought, what a perfect way to create public engagement surrounding this story of South Seattle's Potter's Field that so many people, even from that area, have never heard of," said Hautala.

Invisible Histories splits their examination of Potter's Field into three different episodes. The first serves as an introduction to both the hosts and project itself, laying out a roadmap for the story and placing Potter's Field in the context of the Duwamish River being radically reshaped. The second episode deals with the land itself and how it evolved from mud flats into the industrial zone it is today.

The final installment tells the stories of people who were buried there, from tuberculosis victims to the likes of Thomas Hamilton Blanck, a prolific criminal who lurked on the mossy streets of the Pacific Northwest. It also includes interviews with Indigenous storytellers Johnny Moses and Pamela SeaMonster, who discuss the Indigenous connection to the area. In every episode, Hautala and Simson get elbow deep into original research, combing resources like the King County Archives. They encourage listeners to follow along too, and always include links and photos on their Instagram page.

Now that their look into Potter's Field is over, Hautala says she and Simson are intent on continuing to explore the history of people on the margins in Seattle. From examining neighborhoods like SoDo and Harbor Island to discussing the Duwamish Bend housing project, there's a lot of history to unearth and voices from the community to bring forward.

"The ground underneath our feet is not as solid as you think. It's changed so much over the years. A lot of people think that Seattle was just like this naturally, but it's been reshaped and regraded and worked on in a way to make it more viable for industry and for the goals of the time," said Hautala. "The big thing to think about is, who is getting a seat at the table to say what dreams, goals, and visions should be realized?"

All three (and a half!) episodes of Invisible Histories' Potter's Field series are available wherever you like to listen to podcasts.

📸 Featured Image: "Invisible Histories" is a new podcast that delves into the often-overlooked, hidden, or obscure histories of marginalized people in South Seattle. (Photo courtesy of Invisible Histories.)