The Governor’s Vision: Washington Territory in 1885
A wide-ranging interview with Governor Watson Squire details the rise of the Cascade division of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the economic optimism of a growing frontier.
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.
Yesterday an interviewer found Governor Squire. The Governor spoke freely of the conditions of the Territory, saying 'Washington is prosperous; money is abundant and brings good rates.' With the completion of the Cascade division of the N.P. Railroad, connecting Eastern and Western Washington by crossing the Cascade range of mountains, Washington territory will be benefited, as commerce from Eastern Washington can find an ocean outlet without going to Portland and coming over the Columbia bar. This will help greatly to develop Western Washington, creating new business all along the Sound. Rents in Seattle have decreased about 20 per cent this year, but real estate has not lost in value. Nearly all property owners have faith in the future of the country, and seem able and willing to hold for easier times. Now is a good time for investors to go into Washington Territory. The country is immensely rich in iron, coal and other minerals. The Cascade region is full of minerals, with quarries of the finest marble. The total population is estimated at 117,733. The tax roll of 1884 foots up $38,001,481, an increase from $15,220,076 in 1877.
“Nearly all property owners have faith in the future of the country, and seem able and willing to hold for easier times. Now is a good time for investors to go into Washington Territory.”
Governor Squire's 1885 remarks on real estate holding patterns—where owners choose to 'hold' rather than drop prices during a minor downturn—echo the persistent real estate speculation and housing affordability debates that continue to define the Seattle market 140 years later.
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