Dexter Horton & Co.
Named in 29 stories. Back to all names
- Sep 11, 1876The Day Seattle’s Wealthiest Bankers Challenged the TaxmanIn a landmark 1876 legal maneuver, Arthur Denny and Dexter Horton petitioned King County Commissioners to stop paying taxes on their mortgage loans, arguing that taxing the debt while the property was already taxed amounted to double taxation.Seattle, WA
- Nov 11, 1876The Railroad That Bought Its Way to GloryWhile the rest of Seattle debates politics and morality, a coalition of bankers and developers is quietly laying the groundwork for the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad, betting millions on land and gold bonds.Seattle, WA
- Oct 20, 1877The Day Seattle Decided Its Own ElevationA forgotten 1877 municipal ordinance reveals the precise moment the city set its literal foundation, anchoring the downtown grid to a granite step on Commercial Street.Seattle, WA
- May 11, 1878The Auction Block of 1878: A City’s Property Under the HammerWhile Seattle’s Common Council met to approve small municipal expenses, the sheriff was busy auctioning off downtown blocks to satisfy debt in the growing territory.Seattle, WA
- Jul 29, 1883Gas prices drop in SeattleStarting July 1st, 1883, residents and businesses will pay $3 per 1000 feet for gas.Seattle, WA
- Nov 12, 1887The Disappearing Contractor of Madison StreetA Seattle infrastructure project hits a snag when the lead contractor vanishes with thousands of dollars in city funds, leaving his bondsmen to face the bill.Madison Street, Front Street, Yesler Avenue, Seattle, WA
- Jul 22, 1888The Great Seattle Lot-and-Cottage GambleIn the summer of 1888, developers launched a high-stakes, city-wide lottery to sell residential lots, promising ten lucky buyers a move-in ready home.Seattle, WA
- Jul 25, 1888The Great Seattle Lot-and-Cottage Lottery of 1888Developers Kittinger Brothers launch an ambitious and speculative real estate scheme, baiting buyers with the chance to win a fully finished home on the outskirts of 1880s Seattle.Jackson Street, Seattle, WA
- Jul 29, 1888Seattle's Jackson and Rainier Lots Came With CottagesIn 1888, a massive housing development promised buyers a 'small fortune' by raffling off luxury cottages to lucky land purchasers.Jackson Street, Seattle, WA
- Aug 1, 1888The House-Lot Lottery of 1888In an era of rapid expansion, Seattle developers entice buyers with a high-stakes gimmick: buy a lot, and you might just win a free cottage.Jackson Street, Seattle, WA
- Aug 1, 1888The Street Corner StabbingA tavern worker is violently assaulted in broad daylight in front of a downtown Seattle bank following a dispute over slanderous rumors.Seattle, WA
- Aug 3, 1888The 1888 Land Grab: Seattle’s First Lottery-Style Housing DevelopmentBefore modern zoning and master plans, developers in the boom-era Northwest used gimmicks like house-lot raffles to sell undeveloped land on the city’s fringes.Jackson Street, Seattle, WA
- Aug 7, 1888Five Cottages in 1888 Seattle Jackson-Rainier Lot DrawingDevelopers used a high-stakes raffle system to offload residential plots in the city's rapidly expanding Rainier Valley.Seattle, WA
- Aug 9, 18881888 Seattle Development Offered 60 Lots and Five CottagesDevelopers used a high-stakes giveaway to lure buyers to the city’s growing outskirts, blending real estate speculation with a chance at a 'small fortune.'Jackson Street, Seattle, WA
- Aug 12, 1888The 1888 Lottery of Homes: A Seattle Real Estate GambleDevelopers used a high-stakes drawing for five brand-new cottages to drum up interest in the nascent Jackson and Rainier Streets Addition.Jackson Street, Seattle, WA
- Jan 4, 1889The Bold Burglars of Front StreetA brazen daylight robbery at the home of Mr. Charles Hopkins leaves a family missing jewelry, cash, and a return ticket to Portland.Seattle, WA
- Mar 30, 1889The Real Estate Fever of 1889Before the city’s massive expansion, syndicates and speculators mapped out the future of West Seattle and Lake Union, promising a new 'pleasure and suburban resort' for the growing masses.West Seattle, Seattle
- May 25, 1889The Tragic Delusions of a Seattle EngineerAfter his child died, a railroad worker spiraled into a breakdown that ended in a tragic death at the asylum, leaving his family in dire straits.Seattle, WA
- Sep 1, 1889The Gentrification of Early SeattleA 1889 land prospectus uses the promise of a new streetcar line to drive up property values, listing an elite roster of buyers to signal progress—and profit.Madison Street, Seattle, WA
- Sep 18, 1889The Great Seattle Land-Grab ControversyA political advertisement from 1889 exposes a list of prominent Seattle figures accused of inflating real estate prices and manipulating the local land market.Seattle, WA
- Jan 1, 1891The Great Seattle Land Rush: How 1890 Rewrote the MapNewly unearthed records from 1890 show a city transforming through massive real estate speculation, where plots bought for hundreds were suddenly worth tens of thousands.Second Street, Seattle, WA
- Feb 1, 1891The Clerk Who Stole His Boss’s Fortune to Gamble AwayLeander Miller returns from a political trip in Olympia to find his confidential clerk, J.H. Corcoran, has drained his accounts through gambling debts.Seattle, WA
- Feb 5, 1891The Real Estate Tycoon Defends His BankA.A. Denny, one of Seattle’s founding fathers, takes to the press to push back against rumors of insolvency and claims that his bank is nothing more than a puppet for Portland interests.Seattle, WA
- Jan 8, 1892The Sunset of the Port Madison Mill EmpireA Seattle bank moves to seize the vast assets of W.P. Sayward as allegations of fraud shadow the collapse of a regional timber titan.Port Madison, Seattle, WA
- Mar 21, 1892The Real Estate Swindler Who Fooled SeattleA smooth-talking con artist masquerading as an 'Eastern capitalist' swindled multiple Seattle banks by weaving himself into the city's booming real estate market.Seattle, WA
- Feb 20, 1893Seattle Rising: The Blocks Going Up Where the Fire BurnedDexter Horton & Co. reopens on the same corner it held before the great fire, as new brick blocks, houses and excavations push out across the young city.Seattle, WA
- Sep 13, 1894The 'Gold Brick' King: How a Master Con Man Sold Copper to a BankerA too-trusting Aberdeen banker, a man disguised as an Indian, and a forged letter from the San Francisco mint—the Seattle trial of the notorious swindler 'Rebel George' Knowlton.Seattle, WA
- Jan 1, 1895The Little Yellow Bank That Outlasted the Great Seattle FireDexter Horton’s one-story stone office at Commercial and Washington survived the 1889 conflagration—and became the foundation of a downtown banking landmark.Seattle, WA
- Jan 17, 1895The Trusted Deputy and the Missing $900Island County's longtime deputy treasurer is found short in his accounts; his old chief quietly makes the county whole.Seattle, WA