Sheriff to Sell Snohomish Land to Settle $75 Debt
A local property seizure in 1878 reveals the precarious nature of land ownership during the Snohomish County settlement 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.
Notice is hereby given that by virtue of an execution issued out of the District Court of Snohomish County, Washington Territory, on the 30th day of November, A.D. 1878, in the case where W. H. Peerce is plaintiff and S. H. McLean is defendant, I am commanded to make out of the personal property of the said S. H. McLean the judgment amounting to fifty-nine dollars and costs taxed at sixteen dollars. If sufficient personal property could not be found to satisfy the said judgment, I am to levy upon the real estate of the defendant.
Now, therefore, in pursuance of said writ, I have levied upon and taken into execution the following described property: the north half of the southeast quarter, the northeast quarter of the southwest quarter, and lot No. 1, Section No. 11, Township No. 29, containing 180 acres, situated in Snohomish County. I will sell all the right, title, and interest of the said S. H. McLean in and to the above-described property at public auction, on Saturday, the 28th day of December 1878, between the hours of 9 A. M. and 4 P. M., in front of the court-house door, Snohomish City, Snohomish County, to satisfy said judgment, costs, and interest.
Dan Stroud, Sheriff of Snohomish Co. by Wm. Whitfield, Deputy.
“I will sell all the right, title, and interest of the said S. H. McLean in and to the above-described property at public auction.”
This notice serves as a stark reminder of how property rights were enforced in the 1870s, where a relatively modest debt could lead to the forced auction of 180 acres of land. Today, while legal protections have evolved, the anxiety surrounding property ownership and financial instability remains a central, recurring theme in the growth and development of the Snohomish region.
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