The Rowdiest Port in the Pacific Northwest
An 1872 report describes the brutal realities of the maritime labor market in Port Townsend, where sailors were coerced into service and returned to shore battered and bruised.
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.
PORT TOWNSEND, June 24, 1872. Editor Dispatch—As a port of entry this is a model place. Foreign ships have a great deal of trouble in getting sailors. I formerly thought that soldiers as a class were a hard set of citizens, but they are not to be compared with the sailors of this place. They will, as a general rule, ship for a voyage and after having received the advance, will try to withdraw from their agreement. The shipping masters act honorably in the matter but in many cases force has to be used to get sailors on board after they have shipped. The bark 'Clio,' under Capt. Rea, after much trouble succeeded in getting a crew the other day and a rougher set of men I never saw; hardly one of them but had a black eye or broken nose, or some other injury received in some one of their numerous rows on shore. She sailed today. Business is still very dull and there is but little prospect of better times ahead. Having had no rain for the past eight weeks the farmers are very despondent; for unless we have some rain very soon the hay and Spring grain will not more than pay for cutting.
“Hardly one of them but had a black eye or broken nose, or some other injury received in some one of their numerous rows on shore.”
The 1870s labor struggles in Port Townsend reflect the volatile nature of maritime industries that helped build Washington. While the 'crimping' and violent boarding house culture have vanished, the city’s identity remains inextricably tied to its role as a strategic but gritty gateway for global trade.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.