On September 28, 1877, in the town of Renton at the south end of Lake Washington, John Thompson is hanged. A jury has convicted Thompson of murder. This is the first legal hanging in King County and the first execution of a white man in Washington Territory.
Barroom Brawl
On February 4, 1877, at Agnew's Saloon on Renton's Walla Walla Avenue, John Thompson got into a barroom fight. The brawl moved out onto the street. A man named Solomon Baxter tried to break up the fight, and Thompson stabbed him in the stomach. Baxter died the next day. A jury found Thompson guilty of murder. The King County sheriff carried out the hanging.
Sources:
David M. Buerge, Renton: Where the Water Took Wing: An Illustrated History (Chatsworth, California: Windor Publications, 1989), 29-30. Also see University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, "Pacific Northwest Index."
Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that
encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both
HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any
reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this
Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For
more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact
the source noted in the image credit.
Major Support for HistoryLink.org Provided
By:
The State of Washington | Patsy Bullitt Collins
| Paul G. Allen Family Foundation | Museum Of History & Industry
| 4Culture (King County Lodging Tax Revenue) | City of Seattle
| City of Bellevue | City of Tacoma | King County | The Peach
Foundation | Microsoft Corporation, Other Public and Private
Sponsors and Visitors Like You