The Townsite Scandal: Port Angeles Residents Revolt
Settlers on the Port Angeles military reserve hang an appraiser in effigy after discovering their land values were arbitrarily jacked up.
The commissioner of the general land office has ordered Inspector Carmichael to investigate the appraisement of lots in the townsite of Port Angeles, Washington. Many occupants have protested that the appraisement was unequal. The Port Angeles military townsite reserve was appraised by Henry L. Wilson of Spokane, brother of Congressman John L. Wilson; J. Loring Whittington of Seattle; and M. J. Carrigan of Port Angeles. As soon as the appraisement became known, the settlers on the reserve became indignant and not only protested in mass meeting against the inequality of the assessment, but hung the local appraiser, Mr. Carrigan, in effigy. Mr. Whittington then made a statement to the press saying that the ten-acre blocks had been appraised high on account of their great value, but that the residence lots were put at a low figure. This did not satisfy the people of Port Angeles, however, who had a copy of the appraisement and found lots valued from $60 to $100 when they considered $40 high enough for any of them. It now seems that the protest of the residents is to be looked into.
“Not only protested in mass meeting against the inequality of the assessment, but hung the local appraiser, Mr. Carrigan, in effigy.”
This 1893 protest highlights the perennial tension in the Pacific Northwest between local residents and distant, politically connected developers. Much like modern battles over gentrification and high property assessments, the Port Angeles settlers recognized that their homes were being treated as speculative assets by powerful interests rather than stable living spaces.
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