The Illegal Swim
Two men face fines for the 'crime' of swimming in Lake Washington, highlighting the strange, hyper-regulated public morals of 1890s Seattle.
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. J. Bailey and A. Lumi were fined $5 each by Judge Rivers yesterday for violating the bathing ordinance by swimming in Lake Washington north of the Madison street wharf. Their attorney, W. H. White, attacked the validity of the ordinance, which declares it unlawful to bathe in Lake Washington, Lake Union, or Elliott Bay except during darkness and while wearing proper bathing suits. Furthermore, even with a suit, one cannot bathe within 150 yards of any building used as a dwelling without the occupant's consent. The men had been bathing near the home of Captain A. E. Lake.
“The ordinance declares it unlawful... to bathe in Lake Bay, Lake Union and Lake Washington, except during darkness.”
This story highlights how turn-of-the-century cities used 'morality ordinances' to control public behavior in ways that seem absurd today. While we still have regulations, the idea that the city would police the 'decency' of swimming in a lake near a private home illustrates the intense social anxiety regarding public space in early Seattle.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.