Seattle's New Methodist Church Debt-Free
A local reporter discovers the secret behind the rapid funding of the city's new Methodist Protestant Church.
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.
Last Sunday the new Seattle Methodist Protestant Church was dedicated, and the Bishop stated there was no debt to be wiped out. A reporter hunted up a gentleman connected with the church, who explained the matter. Mr. Dexter Horton gave over five thousand dollars. Uncle Thomas Mercer gave a block of land in Eden Addition, from which we can realize two thousand five hundred dollars. D.I. Ward gave $300, Mrs. Hammond $100, and Mrs. C.I. Carr $100. Additionally, many friends outside the church subscribed $787.76. The whole cost of the church was $11,619.18, and the parsonage $912.64. Mr. Bagley, who is a great worker, is going to return to Seattle to live and has his eye on a location for a third church; so you see we are not sleeping, but pushing ahead.
“You see, Mr. Dexter Horton is a very good, and very liberal man, but does not care to make much of his generosity.”
This piece highlights the influential role of early Seattle's 'pioneer citizens'—like the Hortons, Mercers, and Dennys—in shaping the city's built environment through private philanthropy. Today, while the specific church building is long gone, the families mentioned remain permanently etched into Seattle's street names and geography.
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