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A landmark bill passes in Olympia, allowing smaller towns to incorporate and manage their own debts, fueling the boom of the 1890s.
“Its effect, if it be valid, would be to validate all obligations incurred by towns disallowed by supreme court decision.”
Prominent developer Nelson Bennett pledges a steam fire engine to Fairhaven, sparking a massive community fundraising effort.
“I have no hesitancy in saying to you that I fully and sincerely believe that inside of five years you will have a city of 25,000 or 50,000 population.”
A domestic dispute over custody ends with an arrest and a forced surrender of a child in Fairhaven.
“He evidently thought that when the divorce case came into court the wife would obtain her divorce and to her would be awarded the custody of the child, and so he did not propose to be confined in the jail.”
Citizens rally to establish a formal municipal government to manage growth, improve infrastructure, and address the presence of transients.
“The people are rapidly losing patience and there is talk of an organized escort to attend the unpleasant gentry over the border.”
A smooth-talking accountant gambles away his reputation and his wife's dignity with a string of bad checks and a faked suicide attempt.
“He went home and that night while his wife was in another room, took a small dose of morphine, and rolling up his sleeve he pricked his arm with a knife, and then pinned a card on his vest telling his wife that he had killed himself.”
A worker for the Fairhaven Land Company is found dead after a final, downward spiral triggered by isolation and heavy drinking.
“The body was followed to the grave by a large number of those with whom he had been employed, all of whom spoke kindly of him, adding that his worst enemy had been himself.”
Fairhaven positions itself as the primary maritime gateway for Bellingham Bay to bypass shipping delays in Seattle and Tacoma.
“Commerce always means competition with other points, and in these times and in our situation, commercial competition means freights.”
Passengers describe the Tacoma-Fairhaven steamers as ‘tubs’ that are unseaworthy, unreliable, and an insult to the traveling public.
“The boats which carry the mail are tubs, which are uncapable of breasting an ordinary eddy much less a current.”
After months of construction, the Fairhaven Electric Light Company successfully powers the city's streets and businesses for the first time.
“The lighted streets and stores were prima facie evidence of success.”
A passenger fare hike between Fairhaven and Seattle has riders and business leaders accusing steamboat companies of price-fixing.
“The companies say they should be put on an equal basis with the railroads, and that is foolishness. They have no road to build and keep up at a great expense.”
A landmark petition to the Whatcom County Commissioners officially outlines the boundaries for the incorporation of the City of Fairhaven.
“Wherefore, your petitioners pray that the said city of Fairhaven may be incorporated and that due legal notice as required by law shall be given thereof.”
After a perilous journey around Cape Horn, the City of Kingston makes her debut in Bellingham Bay.
“She steamed up to the wharf with a long whistle and flags and streamers floating from her rigging.”
A scathing editorial laments the bureaucratic inefficiency of sending mail across Puget Sound only to have it return to a destination a half-mile away.
“Mail to Bellingham mailed here in Fairhaven must go to Seattle... taking generally about 36 hours before it can get to its destination, not more than half a mile from the post office.”
A teamster faces disaster when his horses become trapped in treacherous, shifting sands on the Fairhaven waterfront.
“Both horses were soon exhausted and commenced to sink... it was a close call for the team.”
E. A. Turner accepts the mayoral nomination for the newly incorporated Fairhaven, promising a progressive administration.
“We are first to make a system of government and then to administer it.”
A scathing editorial critique of the 1890 Census, calling government inquiries into property and health a 'meddling' breach of private life.
“It is part and parcel of that nosey, prying, peeking-into-other-peoples-business disposition which is so characteristic of the aggravating Paul Pry element.”
Amid a crime wave and an influx of transient workers, a local deputy falls victim to a daylight home robbery, sparking frustration over the town's inability to police itself.
“The town is now in just that condition when nothing can be done to prevent this kind of work.”
An old veteran mistakes the sound of land clearing for the roar of cannon fire.
“The noise you heard was workmen, on the hill, Blowing up stumps with dynamite.”
Tensions between two cooks at a Tenth Street boarding house boiled over into a full-blown street fight.
“The victor and smaller man was hardly injured, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the appearance and discomfiture of his burly antagonist.”
The local Knights of Pythias chapter officially forms as the largest lodge of its kind in Washington state, complete with an all-night induction ceremony.
“After a hard all-night session, initiating the new members, and allowing them the privilege of 'riding the goat' to their hearts content, the installation of officers was held.”
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