The Great Tax Sale of 1885
Hundreds of property owners face dispossession as Seattle lists delinquent lands for auction to cover city debts.
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.
Notice is hereby given that, in pursuance of an act of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Washington, I, as City Treasurer of the City of Seattle, shall, on the 11th day of April, 1885, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 o'clock p.m., offer at public auction at the Treasurer's office, all lots, blocks, and lands upon which the taxes for the year 1884, with penalty and costs, have not been paid. Owners of said lands are hereby notified to make payment, or their lands will be confiscated.
“Owners of said lands are hereby notified to make payment, or their lands will be confiscated.”
This 1885 notice of mass tax foreclosure offers a stark look at the instability of early Seattle's real estate market. Just as in today's housing climate, the threat of property seizure was a constant pressure on residents, showing that the struggle for secure land tenure has been a foundational element of the city since its incorporation.
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