The Rivalry for the Rail: Seattle and Tacoma’s 1880 Tug-of-War
While newspaper editors in 1880 debated the merits of a trans-Cascades rail terminus, their calm professional detachment barely masked the city's existential anxiety over losing out to Tacoma.
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.
We have heretofore inadvertently neglected to make mention of a semi-monthly journal entitled The Northern Pacific Coast, which has now reached its third issue. It is published at New Tacoma by Mr. and Mrs. Money. It is a nicely printed paper of sixteen pages, well filled with matter interesting to all intelligent readers, but more especially to the people of Washington Territory, being mainly devoted to their particular benefit. Terms—$2 a year. It is a strong advocate of a road across the Cascades, uniting Eastern and Western Washington, with its terminus at Tacoma—of course. We will cheerfully cooperate with our neighbor in any and all measures tending to secure such a railroad, let the terminus be where it may; that is a secondary consideration with all who earnestly desire the prosperity of our common Territory. We are not at all afraid that a railroad terminating at New Tacoma for a time will be any detriment to Seattle. The experience of the last four years ought to satisfy any reasonable man to the contrary.
“We are not at all afraid that a railroad terminating at New Tacoma for a time will be any detriment to Seattle. The experience of the last four years ought to satisfy any reasonable man to the contrary.”
The 1880 editorial reflects a classic 'Seattle vs. Tacoma' rivalry that defined the region's development for decades. Today, the debate over infrastructure and regional transit priority continues to shape the Pacific Northwest, proving that even 140 years later, the question of which city serves as the regional hub remains a central point of civic tension.
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