The House of Refuge: A Sanctuary for Seattle’s 'Homeless' Women
In an era when single women often faced destitution or vice, the local Women's Christian Temperance Union launches a new initiative to provide respectable housing at moderate rates.
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 ladies of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, Mrs. T. K. Noble, president, are about to open a house where that class of homeless women and girls who are dependent upon their own exertions for support can be provided with a comfortable and respectable home at moderate charges.
This 1882 effort by the WCTU highlights the precarious economic position of single women in early Seattle. While today we have social services and affordable housing initiatives, the core issue remains: ensuring that working women who fall through the cracks of family support systems have a safe, dignified place to live without being forced into exploitative boarding houses or vice.
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