Ezra Meeker
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- Aug 11, 1885The Beet Sugar GambleEzra Meeker rallies Seattle to show the world that Washington Territory could become a global leader in sugar production, despite lacking funds.Front Street, Seattle, WA
- Aug 14, 1885The Great Sugar Beet Gamble of 1885As Seattle prepared to showcase Washington’s agricultural potential at the New Orleans Exposition, a local commissioner embarked on a mission to put Seattle on the map—one sugar beet at a time.Seattle, WA
- Dec 9, 1885The State of the Territory: 1885Governor Watson C. Squire delivers a wide-ranging address on Washington's rapid growth, the need for a penitentiary, and the rising 'anti-Chinese' labor tensions in Seattle.Seattle, WA
- Aug 4, 1886The Hop Gold Rush of 1886As hop prices soar in the Puyallup Valley, Washington Territory farmers find themselves in the midst of a speculative frenzy, echoing the volatility of modern commodity markets.Sumner, WA
- Aug 24, 1886The Political Shuffle Before StatehoodAs Washington Territory neared statehood in 1886, Republican leaders in Seattle scrambled to settle on a single, unified candidate for Delegate to Congress—a move that local power brokers hoped would avoid the bitter factionalism of the past.Front Street, Seattle, WA
- Sep 11, 1887The Unpredictable Fury of the White RiverFor decades, pioneers in the White River Valley have battled shifting channels and massive log jams that threaten to drown the farmland—and now, a desperate, explosive attempt to save the riverbank has left the community divided.White River Valley, Auburn, WA
- Aug 17, 1888The Unlikely Rise of the Washington Hop KingHow an accidental crop grown in a kitchen fire turned into a Pacific Northwest agricultural empire.Puyallup Valley, Puyallup, WA
- Jan 1, 1891The Hop Capital's Boom YearsIn 1890, Puyallup was a bustling, bank-rich agricultural hub defined by Ezra Meeker’s hop empire and massive infrastructure investments.Puyallup, WA
- Dec 3, 1891Yakima's Artesian Boom: Turning Desert Into Hop FieldsAttorney Fred Parker told a Tacoma reporter that artesian wells and the big irrigation ditches would reclaim 30,000 acres of desert and draw Sound-country hop growers to Yakima County.Yakima, WA
- Jun 9, 1892The War on the Hop LouseProminent farmer Ezra Meeker warns that local growers must act immediately to spray their crops or face total ruin.Kent, WA
- Oct 3, 1892Hop Growers' Revolt Fizzles OutAn ambitious attempt by local hop farmers to form a collective against industry speculators collapses when attendees refuse to take leadership.Auburn, WA
- Oct 19, 1892The Puyallup Hop Market StandoffGrowers and buyers are deadlocked over hop prices, with many farmers facing the threat of foreclosure if they cannot secure better rates.Puyallup, WA
- Feb 10, 1893Ezra Meeker’s Golden Rules for Hop SuccessThe legendary pioneer shares his controversial methods for baling hops hot to secure the crucial foreign market.Seattle, WA
- Feb 13, 1893The Hop Blight and the Fall of Washington's Premium CropEzra Meeker warns that poor cultivation and sloppy picking are costing the region its competitive edge in the global market.Seattle, WA
- Feb 18, 1893Ezra Meeker Tries to Take Back Puyallup's Park—and LosesThe state supreme court rules that a public dedication survives the town's invalid original incorporation, leaving Puyallup's park in the city's hands.Puyallup park, Puyallup, WA
- Aug 24, 1893The Collapse of the Hop CornerEzra Meeker breaks a massive market manipulation scheme that threatened to hold Pacific Coast hop farmers hostage.Seattle, WA
- Sep 25, 1893The Hop King's ForecastEzra Meeker weighs in on the state’s hop yield, the superiority of 'short-pole' farming, and the labor politics of the Puyallup Valley fields.Kent, WA
- May 24, 1894The Hop King's DefenseEzra Meeker pushes back against public criticism, defending his company’s labor practices during the hard times of 1894.Puyallup, WA
- Aug 12, 1894Hop Growers Pledge Their 'Word and Honor' to Pay Pickers LessWith the hop market collapsing in the summer of 1894, growers from ten Puget Sound counties met at Puyallup and fixed a single price for picking — 65 to 75 cents a box, down from the dollar they had promised. Ezra Meeker, the valley's biggest grower, said out loud what the resolution implied: the pickers had no seat at the table.Seattle, WA
- Apr 22, 1897Spokane Had Mining Fever, and the Men Selling the Stock Had the Only Sure ThingA Yakima correspondent visits Spokane and finds a city where hotel clerks, newsboys and waiter girls are all buying mining shares — and where even Ezra Meeker has traded hops for a stock prospectus.Spokane, WA
- Aug 7, 1908A Frontier Rivalry Renewed84-year-old pioneer N.V. Sheffer sets off on a donkey-drawn cart to reunite with his childhood rival, Ezra Meeker, at the Ferndale settlers' picnic.Ferndale, WA
- Aug 13, 1908The Pioneer Who Never Gave Another Speech After Mt. Baker EruptedN. V. Sheffer, Whatcom County’s oldest living pioneer, brought his donkey cart to Ferndale’s old-settlers’ reunion—and told why he stopped speaking in public in 1854.Ferndale, WA
- Nov 9, 1923The Last of the Trail BlazersEzra Meeker, the pioneer who spanned the era from ox-carts to airplanes, faces a final struggle as he fights for his health.Kalama, WA