The Hotel Arson Scandal
A bitter divorce case in Gilman turns into a criminal conspiracy mystery after a wife testifies her husband plotted to burn down their own hotel for insurance money.
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.
The divorce case of Philip Hughes against Mary Hughes took a sensational turn yesterday when, at its conclusion, Judge Lichtenberg ordered the husband held to answer any criminal charge that might be preferred against him, by reason of the wife's testimony to the effect that he had hired a man to burn their hotel at Gilman. The suit was brought by Hughes on the ground of cruelty, and the wife filed a cross-complaint, charging cruelty, neglect and drunkenness. From the evidence, the real cause of the action was the disputed ownership of property. Mrs. Hughes had $4,000 in the bank, and the husband wished to get hold of a share of it. After hearing the case, the court granted the wife a divorce and the custody of a 6-year-old child. She was also awarded $3,500 in cash and all the furniture and other personal property in a boarding-house which she runs in this city. The husband was given $500 in cash and real property at Gilman and Fairhaven, valued at about $2,500. After announcing his decision, Judge Lichtenberg said that he felt compelled to take notice of the testimony of Mrs. Hughes when she had sworn that her husband had hired a man to burn their hotel at Gilman in order to get the insurance on it. He therefore placed Hughes under $1,000 bond. Mrs. Hughes was required to give a $250 bond to appear as a witness. The man to whom Mrs. Hughes alluded as having agreed with her husband to fire the hotel was Arthur Archunbault, alias Jack Linsey, alias 'Smithy.' Last June he was twice strung up to the limb of a tree by a mob at Gilman to make him confess a plot to burn the hotel. He was afterward brought to Seattle and given a hearing before Justice Neagle and discharged. A startling sequel to the proceedings was had last evening when a warrant was issued for the arrest of Mrs. Hughes on the same charge as that made against her husband. The complaint was made by Mrs. Garnell, wife of a brother of Mrs. Hughes, alleging that it was Mrs. Hughes and not Mr. Hughes who plotted with Archunbault to burn the hotel.
“Last June he was twice strung up to the limb of a tree by a mob at Gilman to make him confess a plot to burn the hotel.”
Insurance fraud and domestic litigation were as complex in 1892 as they are today. While 'Gilman' is now the city of Issaquah, the mix of property disputes, accusations of arson, and the involvement of lynch-mob justice reflects a raw, developing legal landscape in Washington during the late 19th century.
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