Here Come the Brides

The show was inspired by events in the life of Asa Mercer, first president of the Territorial University of Washington, Washington State Senator, and resident of Seattle. Mercer made three 19th-century ocean voyages that sailed to New England to recruit eligible women to move to the Pacific Northwest, where there was an extreme imbalance in the ratio of men to women. The first group reached Seattle on May 16, 1864. Mercer made two more trips that were less successful but married one of the women, Annie Stephens. This story is portrayed in Mercer Girl (1957).

The pilot establishes Seattle has a totem pole in a prominent location which is depicted throughout the series. Actually the first pole in Seattle wasn't erected until 1899 whereas the series is set shortly after the Civil War.

Featured in 30 for 30: Be Water (2020)