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Old newspapers, pinned to the places they wrote about — the streets you can still walk today.
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How a corrupt water monopoly swindled the city out of nearly $1.5 million for a tainted water supply, leaving residents with a decade of filth.
“The story of this purchase is the one great scar upon the fair name of the city.”
While city leaders in Seattle urged calm, residents in Tacoma forcibly expelled the Chinese community, marking a dark escalation in the regional movement to purge Asian workers.
“The committee of ten appointed by the first anti-Chinese Congress hereby calls a second anti-Chinese congress to be held at Olympia... to adopt a thorough system for further action towards excluding the Chinese from the Territory.”
A devastating fire levels the Chinese quarter in Tacoma, leaving the community in ruins and stoking the fires of anti-Chinese agitation.
“Chinatown a mass of smoking ruins, and this city, it is hoped, will know such a place no more.”
In a pre-planned act of collective expulsion, hundreds of residents marched through the rain to force the city's Chinese population to flee to Lakeview, marking a dark chapter in Pacific Northwest history.
“Everything was orderly, no violence occurring. At 4:30 p.m., a long string of Chinese commenced to move, drays carrying their luggage.”
An archival look at the exclusionary 1886 resolution that fueled the violent campaign to purge Chinese residents from Tacoma.
“Tacoma's soil is too sacred to be ever trodden by the slave-ridden.”
A Chinese man, caught in the crosshairs of local unrest, seeks refuge and dignity by claiming a past as a decorated American soldier.
“The fact of his being less than forty years of age when he was a brave soldier, and of the changes in his facial features, does not bother him at all.”
Tacoma’s Commercial Club maneuvers to open reservation lands to development, sparking local controversy.
“Frank C. Ross... stated recently that trouble would result if congress did not give the three or four roads now desiring a right-of-way the privileges they desire.”
While Seattleites marched through the rain to condemn Chinese residents, the city of Tacoma mobilized into an organized, exclusionary force that would soon see the forced removal of hundreds.
“The sentiment manifested plainly showed that a period had been reached when united action would have to be taken against further Chinese intrusion.”
When federal troops tried to stop construction on the Puyallup reservation, Indigenous laborers and their allies literally rolled the government's attempts out of the way.
“Mrs. James Coates, the wife of an ex-chief, wielded an ax and defied the government to interfere with the Indians while at work on their own patented lands.”
Salvador Pecani, once sentenced to hang for a brutal crime, is set free after the Supreme Court rules the evidence against him purely circumstantial.
“The only theory upon which the verdict of the jury can be accounted for is the great excitement at the time of the murder, together with the fact that the accused was a foreigner and believed to be of an inferior race.”
In a landmark 1883 ruling, the General Land Office denied the Northern Pacific Railroad's claim to homestead land within Tacoma, protecting a local settler's right to his property.
“The Commissioner decides in favor of the homestead claim of Donald McRae, and against the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, and he further decides that said company has neither earned nor is entitled to any lands.”
Agent Eells defends his role in the controversial sale of tribal lands, claiming the Puyallup people are being manipulated by real estate speculators.
“The Indians are laughing in their sleeves because they have got ahead of the white man for once.”
Twenty-five buildings consumed in a massive fire; arson suspected in the downtown quarter.
“Before the flames could be checked, twenty-five buildings were consumed... supposed to be incendiary.”
While Seattle officials debated the law, a vigilante mob in Tacoma took matters into their own hands, forcibly ejecting Chinese residents from the city.
“Instead of going about shouting that the Chinese must go, they tenderly but firmly take them up bodily and set them down out of town.”
A legal war unfolds over railroad rights-of-way through the Puyallup Reservation, pitting federal troops against private developers as Indigenous residents face displacement.
“The people of Tacoma are interested from a business standpoint in seeing the Puyallup reservation opened up, and every Christian ought to be interested from a humane standpoint.”
A landmark judicial ruling clears the way for industrial development by stripping the Puyallup Tribe of their claims to Tacoma’s valuable tidelands.
“The complainants are not entitled to prevail for they set forth no deed, grant, law, treaty, record or prescriptive right evincing any color of title in the Puyallup tribe of Indians as a community.”
Despite assurances from local business leaders and the Mayor, Chinese merchants hesitate to return to Tacoma following previous expulsion efforts.
“The best class of people could not stand outside of the Chinese stores all day and all night to prevent trouble from the bad classes.”
A massive, chaotic anti-Chinese protest in Tacoma turns violent, drowning out local leaders who argue for the legal rights of Chinese merchants.
“Parsons especially was subjected to indignity by the hooting of the anti-Chinese crowd.”
A witness recounts the inhumane treatment of Chinese merchants who were brought back to Tacoma to testify after being violently displaced.
A railroad-backed land company attempted to seize 18,000 acres of tribal land, painting it as 'waste' to displace the indigenous population.
“The Land Company has long had greedy eyes upon its 18,000 broad and attractive acres.”
A federal judge rules that the United States government no longer has absolute control over allotted Indian lands, clearing the way for a railroad to cross the Puyallup reservation.
“No estate or reversionary interest in the patented lands is reserved or now held by the United States.”
While U.S. regulars and the Puyallup people clashed on the ground, a high-stakes legal battle was simultaneously waged in the courts over land rights.
“They stood up lustily for what they considered their property rights.”
Pilot Gatter recounts the terrifying moments when the steamer Glenogle collided with the passenger liner Kingston in Puget Sound, sending hundreds of feet of steel into the water.
Tensions boil over in Tacoma as federal inspectors clash with ship officers while attempting to enforce strict Chinese exclusion policies.
“Inspector Coblentz, who held the gun, did not pull the trigger, so no one was shot. But Coblentz, while in a passion... notified the captain... that he would pull his gun and use it on any one of them who interfered with him.”
A Washington state militia company refuses to man a non-union train, sparking a tense standoff over labor loyalty and the role of the National Guard.
“I disarmed them and placed them under arrest. That was in my opinion the only soldierly thing to do.”
A committee of twelve Puyallup tribal leaders issued an ultimatum to land commissioners they claim are avoiding open discussion of reservation rights.
“They don't seem to want to meet us, but rather try to go around the back way and catch our people one at a time.”
A lonely figure in Tacoma navigates a hostile city after a systemic campaign of expulsion drove his neighbors into exile.
“He would look over toward the great mountain rising far above his fellows in the east and seemed to compare notes as to which was the most lonesome.”
A local capitalist claims the Northern Pacific railroad holds legal rights to odd-numbered land sections within the Puyallup Indian Reservation.
“The Northern Pacific would claim the odd sections of the Puyallup Indian reservation under its land grant.”
A band of robbers broke into the Tacoma Steam Laundry, held two employees at gunpoint, and used nitroglycerine to blast open the safe.
“Just as I raised up on my elbow the light from a bullseye lantern was flashed in my face and someone said, 'There's the bed over there, watch it.'”
An 18-year-old stenographer is critically injured after stepping into an open elevator shaft in downtown Tacoma, highlighting a pattern of mechanical neglect.
“The elevator, one of the Kieckhefer hydraulic style, has been out of repair for six months. The elevator people, I am told, promised to repair it, but did not.”
Interior Secretary John W. Noble met 200 Puyallup people on the reservation and promised to carry their wish to sell to President Harrison — after satisfying himself that they could be trusted with the money.
“Among those who pressed the desire to sell strongly was Charles Satiacum, who said he was getting old and wanted his money before he died.”
A young woman collapsed from labor pains while climbing a steep Tacoma hill, forcing a druggist to assist in an unexpected roadside delivery.
“She had labor pains while walking up the steep hill from Pacific Avenue to Tacoma Avenue.”
Mayor Wright’s new municipal policy involves collecting fines from the city's 'fallen women' to cover routine operating expenses.
“The running expenses of the city of Tacoma are now being paid in part by the earnings of fallen women.”
A young worker targeted by a spurned admirer survives the shooting while the assailant commits suicide outside her home.
“Well, if we can't live together, we can die together.”
A local judge intervenes to stop the deportation of Chinese merchants aboard the SS Victoria in Tacoma harbor.
“If they can land three Chinamen, then they can land the entire batch.”
Lawyers prepare to sue the city over the deaths of two men who were killed while turning on electric lights.
“It is stated by responsible electrical engineers that in all other cities, where there exists the menacing of a grounded wire, devices are in use that will detect the trouble.”
A man is tarred and feathered by a mob of 'beachcombers' in a brutal display of frontier lawlessness.
City council members launch a blistering investigation into a protected 'vice syndicate' they allege is forcing hundreds of women into a restricted district.
“The whole police department of the city is being used to herd the women into Sandberg's hole and compel them to pay the outrageous tribute demanded by the owners.”
An Indian man faces the potential loss of his property after signing a document he believed was a loan mortgage, but which turned out to be a deed.
“Not satisfied with Smokalem's promise to pay interest... Sundberg, by some means, induced the Indian to sign what the latter supposed was a mortgage.”
While typhoid fever rages in Tacoma, the city council struggles to address public panic over rumors of bodies dumped in the water supply.
A franchise promoter vanishes before a bribery investigation, leaving behind a locked room and a trail of conflicting telegrams.
“Things looked decidedly black for Mr. Mortimer, who had left the state between suns, just before an investigation was to take place.”
As the Pullman strike brings regional rail service to a halt, Seattle residents look to Tacoma, where the labor struggle has turned violent and service is at a standstill.
“I do not like the idea of running an engine under mob law, with rifles in the hands of marshals, and a man's life being in danger.”
Herman L. Chase—already accused of assaulting his servant girl—is arrested in Tacoma after a silk robe and gold watch vanish from a hotel. His friends cry blackmail.
“He escaped on account of his former social position. It was said that a man of Mr. Chase’s good repute would not try to ruin a poor, unsophisticated child.”
A daughter is murdered by her own father in Tacoma, exposing a twisted history of obsession, jealousy, and fatal control.
“She said she would rather cut off her arm than do him harm.”
A prominent Tacoma linguist and ordained minister is kidnapped by a group of men following allegations of 'unnatural conduct' with his students.
“His accusers say Willers will be hounded out of the United States.”
Albert McAchren shot his wife and himself in a Tacoma lodging house after a year without steady work; his young daughter survived to tell the story.
“Because he loved me and couldn't support me.”
A brutal confrontation in a Tacoma hotel lobby leaves a well-known detective dead from a heart failure.
“I had never met Sullivan before, and was not looking for him, but he insulted me and my family, and my family is dearer to me than my life.”
A Tacoma councilman reveals a $132,000 bribery attempt, blowing up a major deal to challenge the local telephone monopoly.
“There have been altogether too many hints thrown out. If there is a coon in the woodpile, let us smoke him out.”
A rival phone company manager staged a bizarre arrest of his competitor to derail a franchise bid—only for the plot to unravel at the police station.
“Am I going to be turned loose? Can Mr. Sands have men arrested and held in $1,000 bail or turned free, just as he chooses?”
Federal authorities prepare to investigate claims of forged entry certificates amid the looming deadline of the Geary Exclusion Act.
“Several Chinese who are anxious to comply with the provisions of the act are apprehensive lest May 6 passes before they are afforded an opportunity to register.”
A group of Chinese travelers is forcibly escorted out of Tacoma by local longshoremen, confirming the city's rigid policy of exclusion.
“The men were informed as soon as they landed that they could not remain in the city.”
A federal ruling stripped the Puyallup Tribe of their status as wards, opening reservation lands to unrestricted sale and private development.
“The Puyallup allotees have power to lease, encumber, grant and alienate their lands in like manner and like effect, as any other person may do.”
A look back at the 1890 council scandal that left the city with a mountain of debt and a useless water system.
“The story reads like a gold brick tale in which the city was the victim.”
How the Northern Pacific Railroad maneuvered the city council to seize prime tide-flat property, effectively bottling up Tacoma's harbor and blocking competition.
“It is high time that this policy be stopped! The next time that the Northern Pacific applies to the city council for streets, IT SHOULD BE MADE TO GIVE A FULL EQUIVALENT TO THE PEOPLE.”
A landmark federal court decision affirms that Indigenous citizens holding land in severalty are not subject to the same liquor restrictions as those on reservations.
“An Indian who has taken land has a right to establish a home and invite his friends there and treat them like white men and eat and drink what he pleases.”
Tacoma reels from the loss of five residents in a deadly steamboat sinking as questions of seaworthiness arise.
“At the Congregational church yesterday the organist from which Professor Gibbons had so long drawn music that attracted people from far and near was draped in mourning.”
In 1885, a newly formed committee of Seattle citizens launched an aggressive effort to purge Chinese labor from the city, circulating petitions to prevent property owners from leasing to Chinese residents.
“They will ask the City Council to pass stringent ordinances to rid the city of the nuisance.”
A brutal manifesto circulates in Tacoma, signaling the escalation of the anti-Chinese exclusion campaign.
“We will dictate who you shall hire, how you shall treat them, and if you do not comply... we will destroy your property.”
Jonas Stannup warns against the theft of tribal land by government commissioners, citing the suspicious nature of the 'Squire bill'.
“They cry our people down, but ask us to trust them with $500,000 of our money.”
A federal judge rules in favor of a railroad contractor over U.S. Army soldiers stationed on Indigenous lands.
“Judge Hanford decides that John and Susie Cook are owners in fee simple of the land... that Ross was lawfully and peaceably in possession of the land under a valid lease.”
A railroad developer ignores the Indian Agent’s orders to stop grading on tribal lands, setting the stage for a potential military standoff.
“With such permission I question the right of the government to remove me from the lands of Indian citizens of the United States anymore than I could be removed from the land of any other white, black or red citizen.”
A federal judge in Tacoma intervenes to protect a crew 'inveigled' onto a British ship, exposing a brutal system of forced labor and maritime exploitation.
“These men, by the writing of their names on the ship's articles by the boarding master, were not bound to perform the voyage or enter the service of this ship; they were not bound by the articles; they have the right to leave the vessel at any time.”
In 1892, Representative John L. Wilson proposed liquidating the Puyallup Indian Reservation to spur the growth of Tacoma, highlighting the long-standing tension between tribal sovereignty and urban expansion.
“A good way for Congress to commence on the reduction of expense was to settle up the matter at the Puyallup Indian agency, pay the Indians for their lands and allow the city of Tacoma to grow, as it naturally would, and abolish the agency.”
A man is kicked to death in broad daylight by a mob on a city street, leaving authorities with only one suspect in custody.
“They kept up their terrible work until they kicked him to death.”
Before the railroad turned Tacoma into a boomtown, the city's future was fought over by competing pioneers and land speculators.
“Those who settled at Tacoma with so high hopes in 1873, had left the place, been starved out, regarded the whole affair as a bilk.”
At a private Tacoma banquet, Theodore Roosevelt publicly backed Governor McBride against the wishes of powerful Washington Senators Foster and Ankeny, igniting a fierce political war over railroad regulation.
In the sensational Wickersham trial of 1889, prosecutor R.P. Radebaugh’s own past and his alleged conspiracy to frame Judge Wickersham for 'immorality' were laid bare in court.
A brutal murder of a fruit dealer in his sleep reveals the violent shadow of immigrant debt and desperation in 1892 Tacoma.
“Siverdore's eyes were closed, the mouth open, with the thin lips drawn in a deathly smile.”
Railroad graders on the Puyallup reservation refuse to leave, citing their status as citizen-landowners against federal military orders.
“Mr. Ross says the Indians are at work as citizens on their own lands, and that under the constitution of the United States they cannot be disturbed or removed.”
Ninety percent of the Pacific Northwest shingle industry convenes to fix prices and freeze out jobbers, signaling a new era of regional corporate dominance.
“The shingle trust desires to protect the association jobbers.”
Years after the violent 1885 expulsions, a local merchant risks arrest to assert his right to work and peddle in the city.
“Loo Sing today began peddling without a license and was arrested. He... claims he will sue the city for damages on the ground that it has no authority to discriminate against Chinese.”
A heated municipal battle erupts as citizens protest the proposed purchase of a private water plant, fearing corruption and an exorbitant price tag.
“The decision of the supreme court, declaring registration unnecessary, would permit a train load of hobos being run into Tacoma to vote for the purchase.”
In a rare display of unity, Tacoma’s logging camps and sawmills have agreed to a seven-day shutdown. While workers face temporary unemployment, the industry claims this 'paradoxical' move is the only way to prevent lumber prices from collapsing.
Probate Judge Wickersham faces seduction charges in Tacoma; his defense seeks a venue change as he jokes about his future with the Salvation Army.
Citizens and council members allege that private utilities are spending a fortune to force the city into a predatory buyout.
“If we allow the corporations to throttle us now we will never hereafter be able to throw them off.”
A reader challenges the city's booster press, exposing the gap between industrial promises and the reality of a struggling population.
“It is safe to say that four-fifths of the population of Tacoma were landed here by the false promises of the Tacoma Land Company, and have found too late that promised rolling mills, grain elevators, and harbor improvements are only food for the imagination.”
A local businessman is drugged and swindled out of a small fortune in company stock while bar-hopping in Tacoma.
“He, however, talked quite rationally at the time, and requested the correspondent to 'put in the paper that I was drunk.'”
Citizens and whistleblowers allege ballot-stuffing and illegal voting in a contentious election deciding the fate of the city's private utility purchase.
“The men, he claims, voted on the names arranged for them on a list and did not call out their names at all, the clerks checking off the name given the man casting the ballot.”
In a Tacoma courtroom that captivated the Pacific Northwest, Miss Brantner takes the stand for days, detailing alleged improprieties with Probate Judge Wickersham. The trial exposes a web of land fraud, cocaine use, and social climbing, culminating in a judge’s furious rebuke of a laughing crowd.
A local expose reveals that teenage messenger boys are being drawn into the city's opium dens and disreputable houses, triggering a promised police crackdown.
“The most dangerous haunts for them is at the cheap lodging houses, where they come in contact with boys of Gray's type.”
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