The land around Lake Washington to the east of Seattle was first settled by Native Americans of the Duwamish people also known as the "Tahb-tah-byook".

[7] English settlers arrived in the late 1860s, when the McGregor and Popham families built homesteads in what is now the Houghton neighborhood.

Four miles (6 km) to the north people also settled near what is now called Juanita Bay, a favored campsite of the Natives because a wild potato, "wapato", thrived there.

Gradually, additional people settled in the area, and by the end of the 1880s a small number of logging, farming and boatbuilding communities were established.

[9] In 1886, Peter Kirk, a British-born enterprising businessman seeking to expand the family's Moss Bay steel production company, moved to Washington after hearing that iron deposits had been discovered in the Cascade Range.

Further yet, a small number of coal mines (a required fuel source for steel mills) had recently been established nearby in Newcastle and train lines were already under construction.

Kirk realized that if a town were built near the water it would be a virtual freshwater port to the sea, as well as help support any prospective mill.

After founding the city of Kirkland in 1888, officially one of the earliest on the Eastside at the time, Kirk's vision of a "Pittsburgh of the West" was beginning to take form.

Construction soon commenced on several substantial brick homes and business blocks that would house and serve the steel mill employees.

Nevertheless, the plans continued and the steel mill was eventually completed in late 1892 on Rose Hill (a full 2 miles (3 km) from the lake's shore).

In spite of everything, Kirk was determined not to give up on his namesake town, and Kirkland was finally incorporated in 1905 with a population of approximately 532.

Leschi, first operated on December 27, 1913, was the original wooden ferry to transport automobiles and people between the Eastside and Madison Park until her retirement in 1950.

The construction of the first Lake Washington floating bridge in 1940, however, made ferry service unprofitable and eventually led to its cancellation.

The mill was the primary supplier of wool products for the Alaska Gold Rush prospectors and for the U.S. military during World War I.

[citation needed] By 1917, after the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, the construction of ocean-going vessels had become a major business.

By 1940, the thriving Lake Washington Shipyard had constructed more than 25 warships during World War II for the U.S. Navy, on what is now Carillon Point.

Since the incorporation of Kirkland in 1905, the city has grown to approximately 12 times its original geographic boundaries, nearly doubling in size during the 1940s and 1960s.

On November 3, 2009, responding to a county initiative to encourage cities to annex or incorporate many of the unincorporated areas within the county,[13] as well as a state sales tax incentive intended to ease the process,[14] three previously unincorporated districts north of the city—Finn Hill, North Juanita, and Kingsgate—voted on whether to annex to Kirkland.

[19] Kirkland is bordered to the west by Lake Washington, to the east by Redmond, to the south by Bellevue, and to the north by Kenmore, Woodinville, and Bothell.

[citation needed] The city's downtown lies along Lake Washington's Moss Bay and includes a business district, restaurants, art galleries, and parks.

Seattle, which is across Lake Washington to the west of Kirkland, as well as Redmond to the east, are both accessible through State Route 520.

The Kirkland Arts Center, located in the historic Peter Kirk Building on Market Street, provides classes, workshops and community-oriented gallery space.

The Kirkland Teen Union Building (KTUB) in downtown Peter Kirk Park is supported by the city and a number of nonprofit organizations.

[31] Kirkland FC is an amateur soccer club in the Western Washington Premier League, which began play in 2018.

Kirkland National won the 1982 Little League World Series championship; they defeated a team from Taiwan 6–0 on August 28, 1982.

Since 1999, Kirkland has been the home of the Little League Junior Softball World Series, which is held each August at Everest Park.

As of 2024[update], the mayor is Kelli Curtis[34] and the city manager is former King County Executive Kurt Triplett.

[citation needed] Kirkland passed an Active Transportation Plan in 2009 specifically targeting improvements to pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian facilities.

Originally scheduled to open in 2041,[46] due to projected revenue declines resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sound Transit Board issued a Sound Transit 3 "realignment" plan on August 5, 2021, which delays the Issaquah to South Kirkland light rail line to 2044.

[52] Kirkland is served by EvergreenHealth, a public healthcare system that operates a 318-bed hospital complex near Totem Lake.