After My Edmonds News published an article regarding Edmonds being essentially two cities in 1890, which you can read here, readers inquired as to why there weren’t laws in place to prevent some of the rough and rowdy behavior along the waterfront and to protect the citizenry from harm. This article will look at the first eight ordinances that were put in place by the mayor and city council within two-and-a-half months of the city’s incorporation, to see what the city’s priorities regarding laws that would govern Edmonds’ activities.

When Edmonds was incorporated on Aug. 14, 1890, it was comprised of approximately 300 residents. As outlined in the aforementioned article, the city was basically two cities. One comprised the area from the waterfront up through Second Ave.  The second city started near 3rd Avenue and ran eastward up the hill to where farms, families and businesses were being established.

As the city fathers looked at the newly incorporated city and its challenges, they established Edmonds’ first ordinances. The first three were directed towards serious social challenges the town faced in its earliest days.

Author’s note: An ordinance is a piece of legislation or law enacted by a city under which the citizenry will be governed.

Ordinance #1. Provisions for the distribution of alcohol.

Enacted: Sept. 22, 1890.

Section 1. Be it ordained by the council of the town of Edmonds, that every person desiring to sell, supply, dispose of or offer for exchange any liquor, wine, beer, or any intoxicating beverage, within the incorporated limits of the town of Edmonds, shall make a written application to the town board for a license so to do, and if the same be satisfactory, said board shall grant a license to such applicant, and which license shall be signed by the mayor and clerk of said board, and attested by the town seal.

Section 2: Be it ordained by the council of the town of Edmonds, that the license for selling, supplying, or offering for exchange, any liquor, wine, beer or intoxicating drinks, shall be the sum of five hundred dollars ($500) to be paid to the town clerk, who will issue the same if ordered by the council to do so.

Note: $500 in 1890 is equivalent to $17,500 today

The ordinance further stated that if any person violated any provisions of the ordinance, they would be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and if convicted, they would be punished by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100) or by imprisonment in the town or county jail for not more than three months, or both.

Author’s note: Four liquor licenses were issued within the following week.

Ordinance # 2: Provisions prohibiting prostitution and lewdness.

Enacted: Oct. 20, 1890.

An ordinance to prevent the keeping or maintaining within the corporate limits of the town of Edmonds, of any boarding house, house of ill-fame or any place for the practice of prostitution or lewdness. Be it ordained by the council of the town of Edmonds.

Section 1: Whosoever shall keep or maintain within the corporate limits of the town of Edmonds any boarding house, house of ill-fame or any place for the practice of prostitution or lewdness, or shall knowingly permit  any building or place owned by him or her, or under his or her control, to be used for that purpose shall, upon conviction thereof be fined not less than twenty dollars nor more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding thirty days or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Section 2: Whoever shall be an inmate of any bawdy house, house of ill-fame or of any place for the practice of prostitution, or lewdness, or shall in any way contribute to support thereof or be connected therewith, or whoever shall be found therein, shall for each offense be fined not less than five or more than fifty dollars.

Note: Under section two both the prostitute and the client were subject to possible fines.  Lewdness within the ordinance was not clearly defined.

Ordinance #3: An ordinance to prevent and punish gambling within the town of Edmonds.

Enacted: Oct. 20, 1890.

Section 1. Whoever deals, plays at, wages anything of value on or in any manner takes part in, or whoever carries on, or causes to be opened or who conducts, sets up, keeps or exhibits any game of faro, monte,  roulette, lansquenet, rouge et noir, rondo, poker, draw poker, keno or E.O., or roulette table or shuffle board, or any gaming table whatever for the purpose of gambling, or any game played with cards, dice or any device of income, checks, credit or any representative of value, or whoever shall have in his possession to be used for such purpose any gaming device whatsoever, shall be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars or less than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three months or by such fine and imprisonment.

Section 2. Whoever shall keep or maintain any gambling houses or room or any place where betting is done within the town of Edmonds, or shall knowingly permit any such room or  place to be so kept in or upon any building, premises, steamboat, raft or other water craft known to be controlled by him or her, or whoever shall procure or permit any persons to come together in any house, premises or places occupied or owned by him or her or under his or her control for the purpose of gaming, or whoever shall for the purpose of gaming keep or permit to be used therein any keno table, faro bank, shuffle boards, cards, or other instrument, device or thing commonly used for the purpose of gaming to be used for that purpose, shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars, and not less than fifty dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding three months or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Summary: Ordinance 3, Section 1 was written to fine and/or punish operators of various gaming devices or card games within the city.  Section 2 was written to fine and/or punish property owners that allowed gaming to exist on their premises.

Ordinance #4: Ordinance in relation to dogs and bitches.

Enacted: Oct. 20, 1890.

Section 1: The keeping of dogs or bitches within the limits of the town of Edmonds is hereby forbidden unless the owners or keepers thereof shall procure a license for each dog or bitch as hereinafter provided for and every person violating any of the provisions of this shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall, on conviction thereof,  for each and every such offense, be fined in any sum not exceeding twenty five dollars.

Section 2: The annual license tax on dogs and bitches is hereby fixed at two dollars.

The ordinance’s sections 3 through 7 outlined the fact that tags would be issued for each dog or bitch once the license fee was paid. If dogs or bitches however were found to be still roaming freely, they were to be impounded by the city’s marshal, as they were then considered a nuisance.

If a dog or bitch was impounded, the fine was $1.50 per day. The dogs were not to be kept for more than 48 hours.  After that the dog would be put up for sale. If no buyer came forward, it was the responsibility of the city marshal or an appointee to destroy the dog.

Ordinance #5: An ordinance enumerating and providing for the punishment and abatement of nuisances as ordained by the city council of Edmonds.

Enacted: Oct. 20, 1890.

Ordinance #5 listed nine nuisances as defined by the city council. The first five nuisances included the slaughter of any animal within the city limits for the purpose of the sale of the meat; the sale of spoiled or tainted meat; possession of bones or refuse of an animal that became putrid; causing offensive odors by any means; or the discharge of nauseous liquids or putrid matters that flowed off the offender’s property.

Items six through nine identified nuisances as any obstruction to a street or sidewalk including excavations in or under the same; awning posts that were not placed at the extreme outside of sidewalks; rubbish that was either dumped or burnt on the city’s streets or alleyways; and anyone who had pens or stables within the city limit for hogs, horses or cows that caused offensive, nauseous or foul odors.

The ordinances stated that if a judgment was brought against a citizen for any of these nine nuisances, they must immediately abate and remove the nuisance within 24 hours. If the abatement was not met, fines would be levied as outlined in the ordinance. Furthermore, if the abatement was not forthcoming, the city marshal had the duty to remove the nuisance while exercising due care not to damage the defendant’s property.

The ordinance further stated that once the nuisance had been abated, the defendant or defendants would be responsible for all costs and expenses related to the abatement.

Ordinance #6: An ordinance to license, tax and regulate theaters, shows, exhibitions and public amusements.

Enacted: Oct. 20, 1890. 

Section 1: All theaters, operas, concerts, shows, exhibitions and other public amusements hereafter conducted in the town of Edmonds, shall be licensed and taxed at the following rates, namely:

For circuses: (exclusive of side shows) $50.00 per day

For side shows connected with the circus, $10.00 per day

For skating rink: $10.00 per month

For theater, opera, concert show, exhibition and other public amusements, except as otherwise provided, $2.50 per day or $40.00 per month.

Author’s note: Besides a few early films (non-talkies) that were played at small venues in town, individual performers from circuses in Seattle occasionally rode the ferries up to Edmonds and Everett on weekends. These included jugglers, clowns and sideshow oddities. There is one mention in the late 1890s’ historical records that a small circus troupe traveled over rough roads to Edmonds and set up playground merry-go-rounds, teeter-totters and swing sets for the town’s children to enjoy. Clara Strance in her memoir stated, “when I rode the merry-go-round it was the best day of my life.”

Ordinance 7: An ordinance to license, tax and regulate auctioneers, hawkers and peddlers.

Enacted: Oct. 20, 1890.

This ordinance was largely enacted to require traveling salesmen (i.e. hawkers and peddlers) to pay a license fee to do business in Edmonds, and to protect the local businesses from outside competition.

The ordinance’s main section read: Every peddler and hawker within the town of Edmonds shall prior to engaging in that occupation obtain a license in the manner and pay therefore at the rate prescribed in this ordinance, and every person who shall solicit, canvas or take orders for, or sell, or offer for sale any kinds of goods, articles or property on the streets of The Town of Edmonds or by going from house to house, shall be deemed a peddler within the meaning of  this ordinance; provided, however, that vendors of newspapers, magazines and regular commercial travelers employed by wholesale dealers, and selling staple articles and merchandise to the merchants and traders of the town shall be, and they are hereby exempted from the provisions of this ordinance.   

Further the chairman of the license and revenue committee of said town may grant a permit to any person or persons to sell or dispose of any article or product entirely manufactured or produced within the town of Edmonds without being licensed as herein provided.

The ordinance further stated the licensing fee for various products sold by peddlers or hawkers.

• sales of jewelry – $5 per day
• liniments, salve, drugs, medicines, cloth, silks, cassimere, dress goods, shawls or tablecloths – $5 per week
• statuary, pictures, books, maps or publications other than newspapers, magazines or taking orders for them -$5 for three months with a $5 minimum
• fish, shellfish or game – $1 per week
• fruit, vegetables, butter, eggs or other farm or dairy produce sold by a person other than the producer – $10 for 3 months with a $10 minimum
• fruits, vegetables, butter, eggs or other farm or dairy produce sold by the producer – $1 for 3 months
• Any article or class of goods not herein enumerated – $10 per week with a $10 minimum

The penalty outlined in the ordinance for peddling or hawking goods without a license was a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars or an imprisonment of not more than 30 days or both.

At the end of the Ordinance 7, Section 8 stated “All Indians are hereby exempt from the provisions of this ordinance.”

Ordinance #8. An ordinance to prevent animals from running at large within certain limits of the town of Edmonds.

Enacted: Nov. 1, 1890.

The ordinance read: Cattle, horses, mules, swine, sheep, goats and other animals of such species shall not be permitted to run at large within the limits of the town of Edmonds.

The ordinance stated that the town marshal or police officer will impound the animal, and the owner can reclaim the animal after paying a $.50 per day care fee plus a $2.50 impounding fee.

If the animal was not claimed within two days, the marshal was to put an announcement in the newspaper for five days that the animal will be put up for sale by public auction. The animal was to be described in detail and if the owner was known by the marshal, the announcement was to contain the owner’s name.

The owner could claim the animal before the sale after paying all the necessary fees. If a sale was made at auction, the proceeds from the sale were to go to the town treasurer after the fees for care and impoundment were deducted and sent to the town marshal. 

Reflections on Edmonds 1890 and its early ordinances:

In reviewing the early ordinances, it appears the first three ordinances were directed primarily to the lower city and the people who worked and lived in that section of the city. Saloon license fees were extremely high, but that did not deter over a half dozen business owners from quickly opening them. There was an obvious demand for their products and services.

The later ordinances appear to be directed toward activities and potential problems in the upper portion of the city.

It should be noted that Edmonds had only one law enforcement officer and was responsible for enforcing the ordinances in both sections of the city. In the lower section of town that meant he was to oversee activities in seven to eight saloons (several of which had card games), multiple hotels and boarding houses where women and men were potentially involved in deeds of ill-fame, and he was to quell ruckus activities of 400 to 500 mill workers and loggers who often frequented the area on weekends.

In the upper part of the city, he was the dogcatcher, impounder of roaming livestock, enforcer of the ordinances regarding cleanliness including burning of trash and odorous smells related to farm activities. He was also responsible for ensuring that peddlers and hawkers were not selling goods without a license or permit within the city limits.

There are no clear records as to how many hours a week he was supposed to work or what his salary was. Regardless, the job would have been overwhelming and dangerous.

We do however get a sense of what the city was like from multiple newspaper articles regarding “drunken willies” sleeping on the streets and in the doorways of businesses in the upper part of town. Altercations and fights in the lower portion of town were also well documented in newspaper articles.

Additionally, multiple oral and written histories relate the fact that children were forbidden to travel west of 2nd Avenue unless they were accompanied by a parent or adult. Even as late as 1910 — 20 years after the first ordinances were written — multiple accounts reference the fact that the area near the waterfront was an unsafe place.

The ordinances clearly stated what the penalties would be. Enforcement, however, proved to be difficult or ignored. It wasn’t until 1910-11, when the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and numerous wives put extreme pressure on the city’s leaders, that the ordinances were more rigorously enforced.

This article was researched and written by Byron Wilkes. Thanks go to the City of Edmonds and its records regarding early ordinances and the Edmonds Historical Museum for their assistance.