Seattle’s 1878 Auction of Delinquent Tax Properties
When the city's growth outpaced its residents' pockets, dozens of Seattle properties were put on the auction block to cover delinquent taxes.
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.
Under and by virtue of an act of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Washington, approved November 9, 1877, I will sell at public auction at the Court House in the city of Seattle, the real estate described in the following list for the delinquent City Taxes for the year 1877, unless the same be sooner redeemed by the owners or their agents. The sale will commence on Monday, April 1st, 1878, at 10 o'clock a.m., and continue from day to day between the hours of 10 o'clock a.m. and 5 o'clock p.m. until all such real estate shall have been sold or twice offered for sale. - George D. Hill, Treasurer of King County and Collector of Delinquent City Taxes.
“Unless the same be sooner redeemed by the owners or their agents.”
Long before the current housing crisis, Seattle residents were struggling with the financial burden of rapid civic development. This 1878 auction notice captures the high-stakes reality of property ownership in a frontier town, where a missed tax payment could lead to the total loss of land—a precariousness that mirrors today's concerns over displacement and property tax burdens.
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