The Sheriff’s Gavel: Two Families Lose Their Homes in Snohomish
In March 1877, the Snohomish County Sheriff seized and scheduled the sale of real estate for two different local families to satisfy court judgments, marking a stark moment in the territory's early legal history.
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.
NOTICE OF SHERIFF'S SALE OF REAL ESTATE.
In and by virtue of an execution issued out of the District Court of Snohomish county, on the 22d day of March, A. D. 1877, in the action of Crawford Harrington vs. Stephen House, to recover the sum of $30 judgment, with costs and increased costs, interest and incurred interest, I have levied upon, seized and taken into execution the following described real property, as follows, to wit: The west half of southwest quarter of section number twenty-three, lots numbered seven and eleven of section number twenty-two, and lot number one of section number twenty-six, township No. 29 north, range 5 east, containing 170 acres, situate in Snohomish county.
Now, therefore, notice is hereby given that I will sell the above described premises on the 21st day of April, A. D. 1877, at the hour of 3 o'clock P. M. of said day, at the door of the Auditor's office of Snohomish county, in Snohomish city, W. T., to the highest bidder for cash, gold coin of the United States of America, to satisfy said judgment and costs of suit, and increased costs.
Dated at Snohomish City, this 20th day of March, A. D. 1877. BENJ. STRETCH, Sheriff. By W. L. WHITFIELD, Dep. McNaught & Leary, Atty's for Plaintiff.
---
NOTICE OF SHERIFF'S SALE OF REAL ESTATE.
In and by virtue of an execution issued out of the Third Judicial District on the 20th day of March, A. D. 1877, in the action of Benton, Hamlin & Co. against P. H. Fields and A. H. Bunnell, for the sum of eight hundred and ninety ($890) dollars, and a further sum of one hundred and ninety-five (195) dollars, as null, and increased costs, I have levied upon, seized and taken into execution the following described real property, as follows, to wit: The improved mill of lot number one, and two, in block number three, Blaine's City, former part.
Now, therefore, notice is hereby given that I will sell the above described premises on the 21st day of April, A. D. 1877, at the hour of 3 o'clock P. M. at said place, at the door of the Auditor's office of Snohomish county, in Snohomish City, W. T., to the highest bidder for cash, gold coin of the United States of America, to satisfy said judgment and costs of suit, and increased costs.
Dated at Snohomish City, this 20th day of March, A. D. 1877. BENJ. STRETCH, Sheriff of Snohomish County. By W. L. WHITFIELD, Deputy. McNaught & Leary, Atty's for Plaintiffs.
These notices from March 1877 reveal the precarious nature of property ownership in early Washington Territory, where a single debt could lead to the public auction of one's home or business. The sale of P.H. Fields' 'improved mill' in Blaine's City (now part of downtown Snohomish) highlights how quickly economic shifts could strip local entrepreneurs of their livelihoods, a struggle that echoes modern concerns about housing affordability and foreclosure.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.