The Stinking Gutters of 1876
While Seattle promoters bragged of a salubrious climate, a local newspaper editorial exposed the reality of deadly, stagnant cesspools lining the streets.
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.
Several British scientists who have made the matter a subject of study have published as the result of their investigations that a great deal of the typhus and disorders of children in cities is due to imperfect drainage. We have heard the assertion made that Seattle, in proportion to its size, was the most unhealthy town on the coast. This we believe is an exaggeration. Still, it is true that there has been a much greater mortality of late than can be explained consistently with the well-known salubrity of our climate. A part explanation of this circumstance will be apparent to a casual observer who strolls along almost any of our thoroughfares, in the stagnant oozes that flank the sidewalks. The sewerage from kitchens and stables collects in the obstructed gutters and there forms cesspools that reek in the sun and exhale poison into the air. Considering the sandy and porous nature of the soil under our town site, and the declining grades, the drainage of the city is not a problem of insuperable difficulty. The matter should receive attention if possible before the hottest weather comes on to aggravate the evil. As a measure of public importance, the cleaning out of the street-gutters is not secondary at present even to a new water system or improved street grades.
“The sewerage from kitchens and stables collects in the obstructed gutters and there forms cesspools that reek in the sun and exhale poison into the air.”
Public health infrastructure has always been a point of contention in Seattle's growth. Just as 19th-century residents grappled with the 'stagnant oozes' of primitive drainage to combat disease, modern Seattle faces ongoing challenges in managing aging wastewater systems and the health impacts of urban runoff.
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