Fire Ravages Port Townsend's 'Chinatown'
A morning fire levels several properties in the Chinese quarter, leaving the community to count their losses.
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.
A fire broke out this morning at Port Townsend in the lower part of town in some Chinese quarters. The alarm was given at once and the fire brigade arrived promptly. Water was turned on from three hydrants and most of the property was saved. Five wooden houses, valued at about $500, were burned or torn down to save other property. The new water works were used today for the first time and proved very effective. Most of the furniture and fixtures in the buildings burned were destroyed. The iron foundry and the Franklin Hotel were in flames many times, but were saved after exertion. The total loss is estimated at about $300. There was no insurance. The fire broke out about 4:00 a.m. in the block in which Hill's drug store was situated. Streams of water were playing on the flames in a very short time. The origin of the fire is not known, but it was probably caused by an exploding oil lamp. Two small buildings next to the fire, belonging to Dr. N. D. Hill, were saved, but are completely gutted. All the buildings burned except the Arcade saloon were mere rookeries, but they were bringing high rents.
“All the buildings burned except the Arcade saloon were mere rookeries, but they were bringing high rents.”
Port Townsend's historic downtown is now a National Historic Landmark District, but the 'Chinese quarter' described here was systematically displaced and erased by fire and economic pressure, reflecting a common pattern of racialized exclusion in 19th-century Washington.
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