COMING TO RENTON: WHEN DID YOUR FAMILY MAKE RENTON THEIR HOME?
- treasurer1408
- Dec 26, 2025
- 2 min read
Submitted by: Carrie Cartwright Bergquist | Board President
The more we learn about our local
history, the more connections we can
make between us and our fellow
residents, their families, and the
development of our community.
Below, Carrie Bergquist shares about
her family.
My grandfather, Dario Bulgarelli, came from
Piandelagotti, Italy, in 1913. He passed through
Renton by train on his way to meet his brother John
Bulgarelli, who was employed by the Renton Denny
Clay Co. The brick factory was located in a company
town of Taylor, WA, just east of Hobart.
My grandfather said the train ride from Renton to Taylor took longer than the train trip from New York to Seattle, due to all of the milk stops along the way. My great-grandfather, Santo Bagnariol, arrived from Zoppola, Italy, in 1912, and also worked at the brick factory. It took seven years before my great-grandmother, Maria Pighin Bagnariol, and their three children could join him due to the cost of travel and WWI. My grandmother, Olive Bagnariol, the oldest of the three, arrived in 1919 and married Dario in 1923.
Dario and Olive had two children, George and Gloria.
In 1943, after graduating from TaHoMa High School, George joined the US Air Force as a ball turret gunner in a B-17. His plane was shot down in October of 1944, over Merseburg, Germany. He was killed after landing in a farmer’s field and was buried in France before his remains were returned to the family in 1948. His final resting place is Greenwood Memorial Park in Renton.
After Gloria graduated from TaHoMa High School, she moved to Renton and worked at Pacific Car and Foundry. When the war ended, most of those jobs were returned to the men, so Gloria and her mother went to work at the Service Laundry in Renton.
In 1946, the City of Seattle shut down the town of Taylor to protect the water, and it became part of the Cedar River Watershed. The brick factory was closed and moved to Renton. Dario worked for the brick factory for a total of 48 years, leaving at the mandatory retirement age of 65. He passed away at the age of 89. I am amazed at how many of our families endured great change, hardship and loss, yet their strength, hope and dreams were passed down to us!
Please reach out to RHS with your stories about how you and your family ended up in Renton to be shared in future newsletters @ info@rentonhistory.org
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