The Centennial Lottery Gamble
In 1876, the Washington Territorial Legislature authorized a public lottery to fund a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains, marking a desperate and creative approach to frontier infrastructure.
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.
Authorized by an Act of the Legislature of Washington Territory. Val. Wildman, place of business at the Old Auditor's Office. Drawing of prizes takes place every day. Particulars as to the scheme will be fully explained at their place of business. By authority of an Act of the Legislative Assembly of Washington Territory, entitled, 'An act to facilitate the construction of a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains,' approved December 12th, 1875, and by order of the Board of County Commissioners of King County, Washington Territory, dated February 14th, 1876, Val. Wildman and Bernard Crosson having filed their declarations and bond in conformity with said Act, and the said Board of Commissioners having approved said declaration and bond, said Val. Wildman and Bernard Crosson are hereby licensed to carry on their lottery scheme under the provisions of said Act. Witness my hand and the seal of said Commissioner Court, this 14th day of February, A. D., 1876. M. S. Booth, Auditor of said County.
“Said Val. Wildman and Bernard Crosson are hereby licensed to carry on their lottery scheme under the provisions of said Act.”
Long before state-run lotteries were ubiquitous, Washington Territory gambled on private-public partnerships to fund critical transportation links. Today, the debate over how to finance massive regional infrastructure projects—like the modern transit and mountain pass improvements—remains just as contentious, if slightly less reliant on daily drawings.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.