The Boomtown Ledger: 43 Property Deals in One Day
A deep dive into Seattle's 1891 real estate frenzy reveals a city rapidly carving itself into existence, from the Lake Washington shoreline to new suburban additions.
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.
Real estate transactions from January 1, 1891, to date, are $1,282,301. There were filed for record yesterday 43 deeds, the considerations aggregating $30,844, an average of $717.19 per transaction. Notable transfers included W.P. Stephenson to W.J. Shinn for 4 blocks in Shinn's Valley Home for $4,000, and E.W. Denton to A.H. Harrison for lots in Salmon Bay Park for $5,000. Additionally, J.R. Kirkpatrick sold land in the Ravenna Springs district to F.D. DeWolfe for $1,400. Other activity involved property in the Kirkland, Woodlawn, and West Seattle districts, showing the frantic pace of the city's geographical expansion as it moved toward the turn of the century.
“There were filed for record yesterday 43 deeds, the considerations aggregating $30,844.”
In 1891, Seattle’s real estate market was a fever dream of platting and speculation, with 43 deeds recorded in a single day as the city pushed its boundaries outward. Today, while the mechanism has moved from the auditor’s office to digital databases, the relentless pace of development and the high-stakes trade in land remain the defining, often volatile, engine of Seattle life.
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