The Day Seattle Turned Against its Neighbors
A look inside the 1886 trial records as civic leaders and residents testified about the forced expulsion of Seattle's Chinese community.
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.
During the trial regarding the anti-Chinese riots in Seattle, witnesses recounted the events of February 7, 1886. D. K. H. Munro, a member of the Home Guards, testified that while attempting to escort Chinese residents to safety, a mob blocked their path. 'A man in the crowd shouted for us to stop. He grabbed my musket by the butt, two other men grabbed my bayonet. Scuffling commenced, after which firing took place.'
Witnesses described how organized committees of white residents went house to house on Mill Street, forcing Chinese inhabitants to pack their belongings. The proprietor of the Wisconsin House noted that men arrived, 'threw clothes on the floor, tied up blankets, and packed everything into wagons.'
Assistant U.S. Attorney McGraw testified to the scene on the steamer Queen, describing how leaders like McMillan and Keane insisted the Chinese were leaving 'voluntarily' while physically nudging and shouting at them. McGraw stated, 'I saw a young Chinaman surrounded by McMillan, Kidd and others. He said he wanted to stay, and they were jostling and nudging him.'
By the end of the hearings, the Commissioner concluded that while some individuals, like John Keane, appeared to have acted with the intent of keeping the peace, others like McMillan, Metcalf, and Kidd were guilty of organizing the forced removal. The court set bail for the defendants, marking a dark chapter in the city's early history.
“The Chinamen were scared, having been headed off by the mob. I saw McMillan and Keane there. Heard Keane speak.”
The 1886 expulsion of Seattle's Chinese population was a profound failure of the city's civic institutions to protect its most vulnerable residents. Today, the site of the wharf and the nearby Mill Street corridor remain focal points for conversations about who belongs in Seattle and how the city treats those it deems 'other' during times of economic and social anxiety.
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