The Fatal Lock: A Mother’s Visit, a Father’s Work, and Two Children Burned Alive
In January 1893, a house fire at the Kinyon mills in Tacoma claimed the lives of two young children left alone inside. The tragedy highlights a grim era where child safety was often secondary to labor demands.
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.
TACOMA, Jan. 22.—A Tacoma special to the Press this evening says: This morning a terrible accident occurred at Kinyon mills, resulting in the total destruction of the residence of Mr. Kinyon and the burning to death of his two children, who were alone in the building. Mr. Kinyon was in the woods at work, and Mrs. Kinyon was at some neighbor's house visiting, having locked the house when she left. Frank Eaton was the first to discover the fire, and broke in the house to rescue the children, but was driven back by the flames. The charred remains of both children were found in the ruins. The origin of the fire is unknown, but it is supposed to have started in a box of shavings behind the cooking stove.
It is the same old story of children being locked in buildings to meet their death by fire.
This 1893 tragedy underscores the precariousness of family life during the industrial boom, where parents were often separated by work schedules or social obligations. While modern child safety laws and technology have drastically reduced such incidents, the story serves as a stark reminder of the historical reality that 'latchkey' children were once a common, albeit deadly, feature of working-class existence in Washington's mill towns.
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