The Last Stand of the Payallup Valley
As Seattle’s building boom explodes and land prices skyrocket, a quiet corner of King County faces its own real estate frenzy—where lots vanish before deeds are even signed.
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.
Puyallup, March 7.—Contractors are about to begin the construction of a beautiful residence at the west end for R. C. Allen.
O. O. England is having his lots on the west side of Avenue D cleared, preparatory to building.
In Justice Ferguson's court yesterday, Peter Howardson was found to be insane and will be sent to the asylum.
C. K. Paul was appointed city marshal by the Council at its last meeting, vice J. Horton.
The several county officers elected last November donned the robe of office with much grace and satisfaction on Monday. Principal among the newly elected officers were: F. H. Lysors, auditor; R. V. Tompkins, sheriff; Charles Lawry, treasurer; J. W. Heffner, school superintendent; J. O. Hayward, probate judge; P. Deque, assessor; V. Binson, coroner.
Work on the stone foundation for the new brick drug store of L. Wilbur has begun, much of the stone being already on the ground.
There are at present good chances of a Board of Trade being organized at this place. The committee on organization appointed at the late mass meeting are R. C. Ferguson, H. Blackman and J. C. Penny.
While Seattle’s 1889 fire and subsequent boom dominate the history books, neighboring towns like Puyallup were experiencing their own intense real estate frenzies. The note that 'there are very few lots, if any, remaining' in the broader valley context mirrors today’s housing crises where inventory dries up faster than developers can build, turning local communities into speculative markets.
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