The Seattle Boom of 1882
An economic report reveals that property assessments in Seattle have jumped 150 percent in just three months, cementing the city's status as the wealthiest on the Pacific coast north of California.
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.
It is a gratifying statement indeed that comes from the City Council. It puts the total value of taxable property in Seattle in 1882 at $2,500,000. The assessment last year, which was considerably greater than any previous year, showed property to the amount of only $1,000,000. The increase of the past three months, therefore, has been one hundred and fifty per cent. We doubt if there ever before was in any old, established town, like this, a greater ratio of gain in a like period of time. Seattle is now assessed more highly than any other place on the coast north of California, except Portland, while its population, comparing its census with its assessment roll, is the wealthiest in proportion without any exception. And yet, property here is not assessed anything approaching its actual value.
“We doubt if there ever before was in any old, established town, like this, a greater ratio of gain in a like period of time.”
In 1882, Seattle was grappling with its first major transition from a mill town to a regional trade hub, experiencing a 150% valuation surge that felt like an 'impossible' boom. Today, that same anxiety about skyrocketing property values and the disconnect between assessed worth and market reality remains the defining narrative of Seattle's housing landscape.
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