A Glowing Report on Seattle's Boom
A Nevada judge visits Seattle in 1883 and finds the town 'peopled' by familiar faces, overflowing with construction, and perfectly suited for the future 'emporium of the North Pacific coast.'
Judge R. R. Parkinson wrote to his paper, the Daily Nevada Tribune, on October 1, 1883: 'I arrived at this thriving town from Astoria late Saturday evening. We had scarcely secured rooms before our arrival was known, and a deputation of Nevadans welcomed us. I can with truth affirm that not half has been told of the immense growth of this wonderful town, or the magnificent bay on whose shores it is growing to metropolitan proportions. Three-story buildings—some of four and five—are going up in every direction. There must be at least 10,000 inhabitants. Seattle is peculiar in that honest labor seems to be respected above high tone. The large coal and lumber interests, the splendid anchorage, and the immense mills mark Seattle as the future emporium of the North Pacific coast.'
“I can with truth affirm that not half has been told of the immense growth of this wonderful town.”
This 1883 observation captures the exact moment Seattle transitioned from a frontier outpost into an urban powerhouse. It is striking to see how quickly the city's reputation for 'high rents' and rapid development—familiar themes to modern residents—was already established 140 years ago.
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