The Great Courthouse Turf War
A boisterous public meeting pits North Seattle against the old guard over where to build the county's new courthouse.
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.
A heated meeting of citizens was held at the courthouse to decide on the courthouse project. Judge T. H. Cann was chairman. Sheriff J. H. McGraw stated the objective. C. W. Lawton argued for the Seventh Street hill site, purchased years ago, noting its accessibility by cable car. Roswell Scott countered that three-fourths of the city’s population and wealth were now north of that site, preferring Eighth and Seneca. A ripple of laughter went through the room when Matt Carrigan asked Scott, 'What do you want a jail for in North Seattle, when all the crime is committed in South Seattle?' Others argued that the First Ward, being the top taxpayer, should have the final say. Ultimately, the assembly passed a resolution favoring the original Seventh Street site, as the county had no legal authority to divert funds to purchase a new site in Boren’s addition.
“What do you want a jail for in North Seattle, when all the crime is committed in South Seattle?”
The fierce debate over the location of public infrastructure in 1889—balancing convenience, land value, and tax equity—perfectly mirrors contemporary Seattle debates over where to site essential services and affordable housing today.
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