The Real Estate 'Trip Hammer' of Early Kennewick
A local observer recounts how predatory tactics by a prominent land dealer backfired, costing him a sale and leaving a bitter taste for prospective homesteaders.
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.
I notice a dearth of correspondence in the 'people's column' of last week's issue. If it occurs again, why not use the space to tell a story—especially if it 'points a moral' to adorn it. Once upon a time, some years ago, there came into this valley a seeker after land, who intended to make a home for himself and family. He came from the east at the solicitation of a very prominent real estate operator of that day. The man had made up his mind to buy before he arrived, and the operator really only had to show him the property and close the deal. But human nature is the same the world over. While riding through the valley, the seeker asked questions about different places, and the real estate man thought of some serious objection to each and every place mentioned. He carried a little 'trip hammer' under the seat of his rig to use on property he did not have for sale, for fear it might interest the seeker. On the return trip, the seeker was less enthusiastic and finally told the operator: 'No, I have decided not to buy the property. I do not care to live down there alone.' It is no invention; there are many such cases.
“The little 'trip hammer' he carried under the seat of his rig to use on property he did not happen to have for sale... was kept running overtime as usual.”
This 1916 critique of high-pressure sales tactics and 'bad-mouthing' the competition captures the cutthroat environment of the Tri-Cities' early land boom. Today, the desperation to secure housing in Kennewick has shifted from land speculation to a supply-constrained rental and buyer's market, yet the feeling of being steered by profit-driven 'operators' remains a constant in the local civic conversation.
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