The Jury That Called Out King County’s Corruption
A scathing 1887 report from the Grand Jury exposes the mismanagement, dangerous roads, and broken record-keeping systems of pioneer-era Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Yesterday afternoon, the Grand Jury filed into court and handed the judge a report on the state of the county. The Jury recommended that the sheriff proceed at once to recover King County property—consisting of munitions, firearms, and blankets—from all persons or corporations in whose possession they may be. They urged the County Commissioners to list all outstanding scrip and county warrants to finally ascertain the county’s debt, and to immediately repair the White River and Snohomish public roads due to their extremely dangerous condition. The report also condemned the current county jail as a disgrace to the people of King County and a stain on humanity. Furthermore, they denounced the contract entered into by the last board of county commissioners with S.C. Lambert for indexing records as a misappropriation of county funds and recommended its cancellation. Finally, the Jury advised that experts be employed to examine the records of Kitsap County to ascertain the financial condition of said county and the manner in which the books have been kept, suggesting that the experts already employed by King County would be the proper persons to investigate the mess in Kitsap.
“We also condemn the county jail as a disgrace to the people of King County and a stain on humanity.”
More than 135 years later, the recurring call for 'expert audits' of public records and complaints about the quality of King County’s infrastructure—from bridges to jails—remains a staple of local civic discourse. The 1887 Grand Jury's frustration with 'misappropriation of county funds' reflects a persistent struggle to hold regional governance accountable to the taxpayer.
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