The Maryland House Offers a Temperance Haven
An early advertisement for a boarding house in La Conner promises 'No Liquor Sold,' marking a firm stance against the rowdier trade of the era.
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.
MARYLAND HOUSE, La Connor, W. T. The undersigned has opened the above-named house for the accommodation of the traveling public and locals. Good board and lodgings are provided. NO LIQUOR SOLD. There being no other house in town that can provide this comfort, we invite the public to call and see us. All board and lodging in the house is strictly orderly, and we ensure the comfort of our guests. John McMillan, Proprietor.
“There being no other house in town that can provide this comfort, we invite the public to call and see us.”
In the 1870s, establishing a 'temperance' hotel was a significant civic statement in the booming, rough-and-tumble logging towns of the Skagit Valley. Today, the focus has shifted from morality to the housing crisis, yet the tension between quiet, regulated spaces and the volatile nature of frontier-style economic development remains a familiar struggle in Snohomish County.
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