The Price of Industrial Burnout in 1878
A pioneer farmer puts his Snoqualmie Valley homestead on the market, citing 'weak lungs' and the relentless pace of frontier survival.
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.
Farm for Sale: The undersigned offers his farm for sale. It contains 130 acres of bottom land and 40 acres of timbered land, sloping gently to the river. It is 12 miles from Snoqualmie City, at the river crossing near from Lake Washington, and 24 from Seattle. Fifty acres slashed, 20 acres in grass, 4 acres of orchard of choice fruit trees, 4 acres of hay. Half a mile frontage on the river, is 15 feet from overflow, and has a clear stream of water running through which can be brought into the house, barn, or milk house. It is valuable for lumbering, having a good deal of timber on it, and is the first key point for getting out the timber on the adjacent six or eight sections, and has a bay for booming. The location is 1/2 mile from the steamboat landing. A hotel and store would do well there at the present time, and it is convenient to all logging camps now in operation. House and tools on the place. Cause of selling: weak lungs. For further particulars, inquire of George White, Snoqualmie River, W. T.
“Cause of selling: weak lungs.”
The transition from pioneer homesteading to the industrial logging economy is captured in this listing, where a small-scale farm is marketed primarily as a 'key point' for timber extraction. Today, as Snoqualmie Valley continues to navigate the tension between agricultural preservation and the pressure of regional development, this 1878 advertisement serves as a reminder that the land has been commodified for industry for over a century.
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