The Fence That Stopped the Railway
A Seattle property owner and his neighbors took matters into their own hands, blocking a streetcar line with a barricade to force a payout for damages.
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 property owner named Bloomquist, along with four other men, blocked the route of the Seattle Railway and Power Company near South Third Street on Friday night. They were attempting to stop the streetcar line from operating across a lot until the company compensated them for damages. The dispute began when the railway laid track across a lot in the A.A. Denny addition. The company officials claimed the track was placed by mistake of the surveyor, yet refused to pay the $500 in damages Bloomquist demanded. On Thursday, Attorney Soderberg notified the company that if the damages were not paid immediately, a fence would be built over the track. When the company ignored the ultimatum, the fence was erected. When the 2 o'clock car reached the disputed ground, the railway superintendent ordered an officer to arrest the five men. The men were taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct, but a jury trial was scheduled. Meanwhile, the railway company secured a temporary injunction to stop the fence from being rebuilt pending a hearing.
“The men had about $10 of the stolen money in their pockets... The company refused to accede to this ultimatum, and by advice of Attorney Soderberg, Bloomquist proceeded to build the fence.”
This 1888 confrontation over track placement and property rights mirrors the long-standing tension in Seattle between transit infrastructure development and private land usage. It serves as a reminder that the city's growth has always been a contested space where local residents and corporate entities clash over who owns the 'public' right-of-way.
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