Seattle Boarding House Ad Barred Chinese Cooks
In summer 1876, a Seattle boarding house advertised that no Chinese cooks would be employed and that women would do all cooking and waiting, reflecting racial exclusion in the city’s labor market.
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.
NO CHINAMAN NEED APPLY!
AT THE NEW BOARDING-HOUSE Opposite Hammond’s Ship-yard.
TRAVELERS AND REGULAR Boarders Will be accommodated with GOOD BEDS and GOOD MEALS.
We employ no China Cooks! All Cooking and waiting done by Females.
MEALS 25 cents. BEDS 25 cents.
JOHN THOMLY, Prop'r.
This 1876 advertisement is a stark artifact of the racial exclusion that laid the groundwork for Seattle's later anti-Chinese riots and restrictive covenants. While today we fight against housing discrimination based on race or national origin, this sign represents an era when such bigotry was not just tolerated but advertised as a selling point for 'respectable' white accommodation.
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