The Vandalism at the Snohomish Hotel
A real estate dispute in Snohomish turned violent as competing claimants fought over a new building, leading to arrests for property destruction and concealed weapons.
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.
T. Krueger, a real estate agent who not long ago sued the Snohomish Daily Sun and the Seattle Press-Times for libel, and Gus Wohlgethan, proprietor of the Snohomish hotel, claimed possession of a building now in process of erection. Krueger had possession, but about noon today, Wohlgethan, accompanied by his clerk, his son-in-law, and C.C. Wagener, went to the building and 'gutted' it, destroying wallpaper, glass, etc. Krueger appeared on the scene while the vandalism was being committed. All the parties were arrested, and Wagener was fined for carrying a revolver. The rest of the cases will be heard on Monday.
“Wohlgethan, accompanied by his clerk and his son-in-law and C. C. Wagener, went to the building and 'gutted' it, destroying wall paper, glass, etc.”
This 1892 brawl over property possession reflects the high-stakes, sometimes lawless nature of early Washington real estate development. Today, while such conflicts are settled in civil court rather than by 'gutting' buildings with revolvers, the intensity of ownership disputes remains a recurring theme in the Pacific Northwest's rapid development cycle.
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