The First Wedding in Franklin
A historic ceremony marks the beginning of a local tradition for the growing industrial 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.
The first marriage that ever occurred in Franklin was solemnized last Monday evening, Mr. Thomas Hood and Miss Catherine A. Lewis being the persons wedded. The ceremony was performed at 8 o'clock in the evening by Robert Bridges, justice of the peace, at the residence of the bride's parents in the presence of fully 100 of the friends of the couple. After the ceremony the guests adjourned to the dining-room where a fine supper was served. When supper was over dancing began and was kept up until midnight. The different dances were interspersed with vocal selections and music by the Franklin brass band, which was in attendance for the occasion. The bride was presented during the evening with many handsome and valuable gifts, all selected by the donors with rare taste. The bride and groom are both residents of Franklin, and will continue to live there. It has been the custom in the past for Franklin parties desiring to wed to come in to Seattle to have the ceremony performed, but the success of this, the first wedding event solemnized at Franklin, will lead to having at least a large part of local marriages take place there in the future.
“It has been the custom in the past for Franklin parties desiring to wed to come in to Seattle to have the ceremony performed, but the success of this... will lead to having at least a large part of local marriages take place there in the future.”
This 1889 report captures the exact moment a frontier industrial camp transformed into a community. Today, as those old company towns have evolved into residential neighborhoods, the struggle remains to maintain local identity and services against the gravity of the big city center.
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