The Tragic Cost of the Shingle Boom
A horrific workplace accident in a local mill underscores the lethal danger facing Washington’s labor force at the height of the timber expansion.
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.
Arthur Hernia, employed in Robbins' shingle mill, near Ladle Rock, W. T., lost his life in a singular manner last Tuesday morning. He was working with a cut-off saw when it burst in half, striking him in the breast and stomach, almost disemboweling him. Death ensued half an hour afterwards. Hernia leaves a wife and five or six children, who are in destitute circumstances.
“Death ensued half an hour afterwards. Hernia leaves a wife and five or six children, who are in destitute circumstances.”
This 1885 tragedy at a local shingle mill reflects a recurring reality in Washington history: the immense human cost extracted by the timber industry. Today, while workplace safety standards have evolved, the precariousness of working-class families in high-cost-of-living regions like Seattle remains a persistent, unresolved struggle.
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