The Great Incorporation Boom of 1890
A look back at the corporate frenzy that defined Washington's frontier economy at the dawn of 1891.
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 number and character of incorporations filed in the office of the secretary of state is an excellent indication of the manner new capital is employed for investment and for the development of the resources of the state. The record for the year 1890 is very creditable, the aggregate of incorporations being greater than any previous year. The total is 776 as against 418 for 1889. The total capitalization is $188,028,950, of which doubtless a very large fraction is already actively employed. The purposes of these incorporations vary from a board of trade to a great railway enterprise, like the Seattle & Montana, with a capitalization of $10,000,000; from a library association to a mining company. Transit investment, improvement, abstract, printing, manufacturing, trade, insurance, and every variety of enterprise is represented.
“The number and character of incorporations... is an excellent indication of the manner new capital is employed for investment and for the development of the resources of the state.”
The 1890 report shows a landscape where speculative railway lines, land improvement companies, and urban boosters dominated the economy—a precursor to the boom-and-bust development cycles that have characterized Seattle's growth for over a century. Just as in 1891, the push to turn raw land into 'additions' and transit-adjacent real estate remains the primary engine of the city's identity.
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