The Passing of a Seattle Kingpin
John Pinnell, the former proprietor of a notorious 'squaw-dancing' saloon in the city's early days, has died in Ellensburg.
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.
A private letter from Ellensburg mentions the sudden death of John Pinnell, which occurred at that place on the night of February second. For a number of years prior to 1870 John Pinnell was proprietor of a saloon and squaw-dancing establishment over by the gas works, known as the 'Mud House,' which, be it said to the honor of Seattle, has been burned to the ground. He made a great deal of money, and it is said he and a certain reverend divine used to join forces, and for years dictated the policy of the city and county government. Be this as it may, the inroads of civilization and the advent of Judge Lewis on the bench, demonstrated to Mr. Pinnell's satisfaction that the time for his departure from these gay and festive scenes was at hand. So, gathering together the remnant of the fortune he had made, some forty or fifty thousand dollars, he went to Eastern Washington and engaged in the stock-raising business. While John Pinnell had many bad traits, still he was a man of many good qualities, and it is said he never refused to assist a worthy cause.
“For years he and a certain reverend divine used to join forces, and for years dictated the policy of the city and county government.”
Pinnell’s story encapsulates the rapid 'civilizing' of Seattle, where characters who once openly ran vice empires transitioned into respectable capitalists as the frontier closed. The 'Mud House' serves as a reminder that the moral geography of early Seattle was defined by its waterfront dance halls before they were scrubbed from memory by urbanization.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.