Arson Alleged in Tacoma Barber Shop Feud
A bitter feud between two women leads to an alleged act of arson.
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.
A woman's revenge occurred yesterday in Tacoma. A barber shop at the corner of 14th and Main was set on fire and burned to the ground. A woman who was seen in the vicinity is accused of starting the blaze. The facts as gathered are that the shop was owned by a couple who had recently come to Tacoma from San Francisco. Two women, one of the owners of the barber shop, were said to have had a bitter quarrel during the past week, and it was contended that one had set fire to the shop through vengeance. The chair in which the fire was set was the one used by a woman. A man who saw the women in the vicinity of the shop is positive that he saw her running away just before the fire broke out. The evidence was so strong against the woman that Captain Jones charged her with arson, locked her up, and she will have a preliminary hearing today.
“A woman who was seen in the vicinity is accused of starting the blaze through vengeance.”
This story highlights the volatile social dynamics of boom-town Tacoma in the late 1880s, where personal disputes often escalated into public destruction. Such reporting is typical of the era, focusing on 'scandal' and criminal 'mystery' while often sidelining the actual grievances of the parties involved.
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