A Dangerous Labor in the Sawmills of 1876
A worker suffers a debilitating injury at a local wharf, highlighting the routine hazards faced by laborers in Seattle’s industrial infancy.
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.
Mr. John Whaley, while at the coal wharf, met with a distressing mishap. A heavy piece of timber fell upon his leg, crushing the bones and limb nearly down to the ankle. Dr. H. Hagley, who dressed the wound, thinks that it will not be necessary to remove the limb, but that he will probably be laid up for a considerable length of time. In this connection, we are reminded of the saying that 'troubles never come singly.' Only a short time has elapsed since Mr. Whaley buried four of his children and himself was disabled by an accident, and this unfortunate occurrence now completes the melancholy disaster of the family.
“Only a short time has elapsed since Mr. Whaley buried four of his children and himself was disabled by an accident, and this unfortunate occurrence now completes the melancholy disaster of the family.”
This 1876 account captures the precarious nature of early Seattle labor, where a single workplace injury could ruin an entire family. Today, while workplace safety is vastly improved, the city’s economic foundation remains tied to the physical vulnerability of its workers in an increasingly high-cost environment.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.