The Unsung Paradise of Quilcene
An 1888 letter to the editor paints a portrait of a Jefferson County community so healthy, local doctors had nothing to do.
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.
We want more settlers and will do what we can to aid them with claims. We have one of the finest climates in the United States; no extremes of heat or cold, no fevers and agues, and a sick person is seldom heard of. In fact, there has been but one visit to this community by a physician in five years. We have an abundance of springs and creeks and the best of country. This is a grass country, consequently cattle do well here. This would be a good place for a shingle mill or a tub and pail factory, as there is plenty of fine cedar timber.
“There has been but one visit to this community by a physician in five years.”
This 1888 recruitment pitch for Jefferson County highlights the historical framing of Washington as a 'natural' utopia, a theme that persists in modern real estate marketing. Today, the area remains a draw for those seeking to escape the 'fever' of urban centers, though the industry has shifted from clearing cedar to eco-tourism and artisanal agriculture.
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