Expulsion of 'Undesirables' Reported in City Council
The City Marshal’s report casually mentions the forced removal of fifty-five people, including Chinese and Black residents, as the council focuses on fire codes.
The story, cleaned up
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The City Marshal’s report to the council noted the appointment of a deputy marshal and a policeman. He further reported that ten arrests had been made and that forty white men, one Chinaman, two negroes, and two women had been forced to leave town. The council also addressed ordinance No. 80 regarding fire limits, strictly prohibiting wooden structures and the storage of combustible materials like hay and straw within designated city blocks.
This routine report reveals the violent undercurrents of early Yakima, where municipal police power was used to systematically purge non-white residents and vulnerable individuals from the city. It highlights how 'civic order' was defined not just through infrastructure, but through active, state-sanctioned exclusion.
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