The Pioneer’s Burden: Selling the Snoqualmie Homestead
In 1878, a settler’s failing health offers a rare glimpse into the back-breaking labor of carving a farm from the wilderness.
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 undersigned offers his place in the Snoqualmie for sale. It contains 120 acres of bottom land and 40 acres of timbered upland, sloping gently to the river. It is 12 miles from Snoqualmie City, at the river crossing, 9 miles from Lake Washington, and 20 miles from Seattle. Fifty acres have been slashed, 20 acres are in grass, and 4 acres of upland have been grubbed for an orchard. There are 20 tons of hay on hand. The place has three-quarters of a mile of frontage on the river, is safe 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, with a good bay for booming. The location is central and affords a good steamboat landing. A hotel and store would do well there at the present time, and it is convenient to six logging camps now in operation. House and tools are on the place. Cause of selling, weak lungs. For further particulars, inquire of George White, Snoqualmie River, W.T.
“The place has three-quarters of a mile frontage on the river, is safe from overflow, and has a clear stream of water... Cause of selling, weak lungs.”
George White’s ad captures the dual identity of early Seattle: a place where land speculation met the brutal physical toll of clearing forests. While today’s real estate listings focus on 'walkability' and 'modern amenities,' White’s 1878 advertisement centers on 'slashed' land and 'booming' timber—a reminder that the city’s footprint was bought with the health and lungs of those who labored to clear it.
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