The Shack Clearers of the Waterfront
A laborer finds himself in jail after being ordered by a railway company to tear down the homes of squatters living on the Seattle tideflats.
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. Lindberg, employed by the Columbia & Puget Sound Railway Company, was arrested yesterday on a warrant charging him with forcible entry of a dwelling. There are a number of shacks on the waterfront, on property belonging to the railroad company. The squatters have been given notice to vacate the premises but have ignored the order. Yesterday Lindberg was sent out to tear down the shacks, and a police officer soon had him under arrest. Andrew Dahl, a laborer, who happened to be passing and saw Lindberg tearing down a shack, was also taken to police headquarters and held as a witness. The two men lay in jail all afternoon and it was evening before an effort was made to secure their release. About dark the men got attorneys and both were taken before Justice Von Tobel to give bonds. Lindberg gave $100 bonds and Dahl was released on recognizances in the sum of $25. The case will come up for hearing at 3 o'clock this afternoon.
“There are a number of shacks on the waterfront, on property belonging to the railroad company. The squatters have been given notice to vacate the premises but have ignored the order.”
This 1891 incident highlights the historical tension between private property developers and those living in precarious waterfront settlements, a conflict that echoes through today’s debates over encampment removals and the privatization of Seattle’s public shoreline.
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