Tragedy Across the River
A Snohomish family loses everything to a fire while attending a funeral.
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.
On Monday, Nov. 22, 1880, the house of Mr. Peter Hovardson, who lives just across the river from Snohomish City, was totally destroyed by fire. Mr. Hovardson and his wife were across the river attending the funeral of Mrs. D. E. Bartlett. On starting home, they were horrified to see their home in flames. They came home as soon as possible, but too late to save anything. The house with all its furniture and outbuildings was totally destroyed. The loss is estimated at from $1000 to $1200, and not insured. Mr. Hovardson went to Snohomish about a year ago. He was lately elected superintendent of the mining company. His friends in Snohomish have started a subscription paper for his relief. He is a man much thought of in the community considering the short time he has lived there, and a great deal of sympathy is expressed for him on account of his loss.
“He is a man much thought of in the community considering the short time he has lived there, and a great deal of sympathy is expressed for him.”
Housing security remains a precarious reality in the Pacific Northwest. Just as the neighbors of the 1880s organized a subscription list to aid a family displaced by fire, modern Seattleites often rely on mutual aid and GoFundMe campaigns to fill the gaps left by a lack of insurance and the high cost of rebuilding.
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