Squak->Gillman->Issaquah and a Flying Goldfish

Back about 1892, Gillman was incorporated in on the site of Squak.  Squak was white man's interpretation of native word isquah, or snake, or possibly small stream.  Gillman, named for a local coal magnate and railroad financier Daniel Gillman.  However there were certain problems with the name Gillman, as it sounded too much like a town in Klickitat County.  And the town's folk didn't much like the name, so 1899 they renamed the town Issaquah.   

Twice Issaquah has celebrated its' incorporated with earthquakes.  The first in 1945 was located near North Bend and second and larger quake was located in Des Moines and caused a great deal more damage than the 1945 quake.  It also caused Howard Peddle's goldfish to go for a wild ride.  On the morning of April 29, 1965, Mr. Peddle's goldfish sat upon a bookshelf in an apartment that it shared with Mr. and Mrs. Peddle.  While the Peddle's were at work, the 1965 earthquake struck.  The force of the quake knocked the goldfish and it's bowl to the floor, four and half feet below.  Lucky for the goldfish, the bowl turned upside down somewhere on the trip and when it landed the mouth of the bowl created a perfect seal with the floor, thus saving Mr. Peddle's goldfish from certain death.  Upon returning home, Mr. Peddle returned the goldfish bowl to its normal perch and life went on as normal.
Fast forward to 2011, Howard Peddle's goldfish is swimming in the great fish bowl in the sky and now Issaquah is a vast network of strip malls, big box retailers and fast food restaurants.