The Woman Who Defended Her Home With a Shotgun
When city laborers arrived to tear down Mrs. Williamson's fence for a road-widening project, she made it clear that some property rights are defended by force.
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.
Yesterday the laborers employed in widening Second Street began tearing down the fence in front of property owned by Mrs. J. Julia Williamson on the east side of Second Street, between Bell and Blanchard Streets. When the crew arrived, Mrs. Williamson appeared armed with a double-barreled shotgun and ordered them to stop. The men, considering discretion the better part of valor—especially when facing an angry woman armed with a gun—promptly halted their work. Watson, the foreman, eventually retreated and replaced the fence. Mrs. Williamson is the owner of the entire block where the street was intended to pass. Chief of Police Mitchell had visited her residence on Wednesday to instruct her to remove all obstructions as provided by municipal ordinance, but he could not find her at the time. While the majority of property owners have consented to the street improvements, two individuals, including Mrs. Williamson and William Hickmann, have strongly protested. Mr. Hickmann has since filed a claim with the city for $1,000 in damages.
“The men considered discretion the better part of valor, especially when there was an angry woman armed with the gun, and promptly stopped work.”
This 1886 standoff over street widening and eminent domain echoes the intense debates in modern Seattle over infrastructure expansion, property rights, and the cost of development. While we no longer settle zoning disputes with double-barreled shotguns, the tension between individual property ownership and civic progress remains a permanent fixture of Seattle city politics.
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