The Price of Ownership: 1877 Snohomish Tax Delinquencies
A rare window into the early land-holding patterns of the Snohomish valley, listing the citizens, acres, and pennies owed to the county treasury during the formative years of the settlement.
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.
Treasurer of Snohomish County, H. T. Adams, provides public notice of the list of real estate upon which taxes have been levied and are delinquent for the years 1873 through 1877. The list details hundreds of parcels across multiple townships, including specific entries for Snohomish City and the Fontall development. Included are various land holders such as A. A. Blackman, Murray Barrett, Robert Barrett, George Cadwell, and dozens of others. The amounts range from minor balances of 53 cents for small parcels to substantial sums owed by larger landholders like Benj. Hackney, who owed $129.70, and J.L. Rogers, who owed $202.08. These figures represent the foundational struggle of settlers to secure and maintain ownership of wilderness tracts and town lots in the late 19th century.
“Treasurer of Snohomish County, H. T. Adams, provides public notice of the list of real estate upon which taxes have been levied and are delinquent.”
This list reads as a map of the original land-clearing efforts in Snohomish. While today’s housing crises are defined by high-density competition and corporate acquisition, these 1870s figures capture a time when land was abundant but cash was incredibly scarce—a reminder that in the PNW, the struggle for control of the soil has always been a fundamental part of the local economy.
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