The Price of Staying Fed and Housed in 1877 Snohomish
A local lawsuit reveals the mounting cost of room and board in the early days of Snohomish County.
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.
SUMMONS. IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY, WASHINGTON TERRITORY. H.W. Light, vs. plaintiff, Daniel McDonald, defendant. Complaint filed in the County of Snohomish, in the office of the Clerk of said District Court. To Daniel McDonald, Defendant: You are hereby required to appear in an action brought against you by the above named plaintiff, in the District Court of Snohomish County, holding terms at Snohomish City, in and for said County of Snohomish, Washington Territory, and to answer the complaint filed therein, within twenty days (exclusive of the day of service), after the service on you of this summons. The said action is brought to recover a judgment for Two Hundred and Thirty-six dollars and forty-eight cents on the following grounds to wit: For board and lodging, and goods, wares, and merchandise furnished you and for money due and payable to said plaintiff on unsettled accounts.
“The said action is brought to recover a judgment for Two Hundred and Thirty-six dollars and forty-eight cents... For board and lodging.”
This legal notice highlights a struggle that echoes through centuries of Snohomish history: the precarious nature of basic survival. Just as this 1877 suit over 'board and lodging' debts feels startlingly familiar to modern renters facing rising costs, it reminds us that the fundamental need for shelter has always been at the heart of our civic disputes.
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