The Baptist Mission Boom of 1884
A report on the rapid expansion of Baptist missions, church building, and church membership in Washington Territory.
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 report on home missions adopted at our last annual session recommended the appointment of an executive committee of five members, chosen from different sections of our Association, with the fullest power to act in all matters pertaining to our mission work during the ensuing year. A desire for more direct and independent action and the recognized necessity of more systematic effort to possess the strategic points in our rapidly growing country were the leading motives. As this was the only appointment existing at our last annual session, our treasury has now been distinct since January, 1884. The growth in church edifice work for the past year is wonderful. A good house, with two lots worth $4,500 at Tacoma; a neat property at La Conner worth $1,500; a house and lot at Whatcom worth $1,290; and lumber on the ground for the Chehalis church. The number of members in our Association has increased over 40 per cent during the year, now aggregating 450.
“The growth in church edifice work for the past year is wonderful.”
This reflects the frenetic, booster-led expansion of Washington in the 1880s, where religious institutions served as the primary social infrastructure for new towns. Today's Seattle is defined by the same 'strategic point' development, though the competition now involves tech campuses and housing density rather than mission outposts.
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