The Boss’s Iron Rule at Port Madison
At the isolated timber colony of Port Madison, the mill owner maintains total control over his workers' lives—and is preparing to banish any employee who dares frequent a new saloon.
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.
Port Madison is a mill town originally built by three men, Meigs and Wilson, and the following season it was moved to Port Madison. In 1856, Mr. Meigs bought the property and has been with it ever since. Port Madison is prettily situated and has some fifty families, all of them living in houses rented from the mill company at $16 a month. The place has not and never has had a saloon, it not being allowed by the proprietors. A grogshop is about to be opened a mile away, and Mr. Meigs has given notice that any employee of the mill company who patronizes or even frequents the place will be paid off and allowed to seek employment elsewhere.
“A grogshop is about to be opened a mile away, and Mr. Meigs has given notice that any employee of the mill company who patronizes or even frequents the place will be paid off and allowed to seek employment elsewhere.”
This 1885 report on company towns illustrates a recurring struggle in the Pacific Northwest: the tension between corporate paternalism and worker autonomy. Much like the modern debates over 'live-work' housing and employee surveillance, the residents of Port Madison were forced to balance the stability of company-owned housing against the oppressive social oversight of their employer.
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