A Fiery Protest Over Local Schooling
A schoolhouse in Lakenew was destroyed by an act of suspected arson, following heated community disputes over moving the building into town.
The schoolhouse in Lakenew, in Pierce County, was destroyed by fire last Saturday night. The loss of the building and its contents, including a Sunday school library, furniture and an organ, was about $1,200. There was an insurance of $300 on the building. Lately, there has been much discussion and bad feeling in the school district over the question of moving the schoolhouse into the town of Lakenew. The fire was undoubtedly of incendiary origin. School had been held there up to Friday night, when the school had closed for a two weeks' vacation. The question of whether this relocation should take place or not had been a bone of contention, and some, it is suspected, thought to restore the disturbing element of the body politic in that district by fire, and they did it.
“The question of whether this relocation should take place or not had been a bone of contention, and some, it is suspected, thought to restore the disturbing element of the body politic in that district by fire, and they did it.”
Conflicts over school district boundaries and town expansion remain perennial flashpoints in regional politics. This 1886 incident highlights how deeply personal and physical these disputes could turn when local resources and neighborhood identity are at stake.
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