King County
Named in 27 stories. Back to all names
- Sep 5, 1872The Paper War: How Seattle’s ‘Public Thieves’ Exposed a Corrupt RingIn 1872, the *Puguet Sound Dispatch* accused local officials and the rival *Intelligencer* of extorting taxpayers through inflated advertising rates for tax sales, framing it as a 'Tammany ring' stealing from the public.Seattle, WA
- Aug 12, 1876The Struggle for Better Roads in 1870s King CountyFrustrated residents call for a centralized superintendent to replace the inefficient and disjointed road-building system of the Washington Territory.Seattle, WA
- Sep 23, 1876The Tax Trap: How a Federal Order Threatened Seattle’s RevenueIn 1876, a bureaucratic directive from Washington D.C. threatened to drain King County of its maritime tax base by forcing all vessels to 'hail' from Port Townsend, sparking fears of financial ruin for local developers.Seattle, WA
- Nov 6, 1876The Pioneer Farmer Who Wanted to Represent King CountyIn the lead-up to the 1870 election, the local press championed a practical farmer from the Black River valley to bring common sense to government.Seattle, WA
- Dec 13, 1876The Great Electoral MismatchA look back at the 1876 Washington Territory legislature reveals a startling imbalance in representation that left Seattle’s growing population struggling for a fair voice.Seattle, WA
- Dec 13, 1876Inside the New King County JailA detailed look at the 'infallible' brick and iron lockup built to replace older, makeshift holding cells in 1870s Seattle.King County Jail, Seattle, WA
- Mar 15, 1877The Unfinished Ditch That Could Have Remade SeattleAn 1877 proposal to carve a channel between Lake Washington and the Sound highlights the ambitious—and forgotten—infrastructure dreams that once defined the city’s early development.Seattle, WA
- Mar 2, 1878The Delinquent Tax Rolls of Territorial SeattleA haunting, granular list of property owners from 1875 and 1876 whose land was seized by the county, documenting the precarious nature of early Seattle ownership.Seattle, WA
- Apr 20, 1878The Battle for the Assessor’s OfficeA Seattle taxpayer challenges the hiring of a deputy, sparking a tense public exchange in the press over bureaucratic authority and civic competence.Seattle, WA
- Aug 10, 1878The Dream of a 'Super Highway' for the 1870sBefore modern infrastructure, Snohomish visionaries imagined a direct, transformative road from Seattle to Bellingham Bay to unlock the potential of the interior.Snohomish, WA
- Aug 24, 1878The Shack They Called a CourthouseA visiting traveler shames Seattle's leadership for holding federal court in a dilapidated building while tax dollars bled away.Seattle, WA
- Sep 11, 1885The Tragedy at the Hop FieldsA brutal midnight attack on Chinese laborers in the hop fields draws calls for order and civil resolution.Seattle, WA
- Jan 1, 1886The Year of Anti-Chinese Agitation in King CountyAn 1885 review looks back on a year marked by intense, organized efforts to drive Chinese laborers out of Seattle and the surrounding coal mining districts.Seattle, WA
- Nov 9, 1886The Great County Border War of 1886When Pierce County attempted to poach King County's townships to bolster its own size and wealth, the local press didn't mince words about the 'unauthorized' territorial expansion.Seattle, WA
- Jun 29, 1887King County's Missing $61,000: Treasurer Accused of EmbezzlementA committee's report reveals that former County Treasurer George D. Hill is indebted to King County for over $61,000; the board orders legal action against him and his bondsmen.Seattle, WA
- Aug 12, 1887The Great Seattle Property Map ScandalA scathing editorial reveals that King County’s property assessments are so riddled with errors that the tax rolls are essentially worthless, leaving the local government in a state of administrative paralysis.Seattle, WA
- Aug 13, 1887The Great Tax Assessment Mess of 1887Seattle and King County property owners find their tax rolls hopelessly entangled in errors, leaving public officials to question if the entire assessment should be scrapped.Seattle, WA
- Dec 7, 1887The Unlucky Traveler of King CountyA lonely worker injured on the job finds himself a pawn in a bureaucratic tug-of-war between the county and his employer.Seattle, WA
- Jan 8, 1889The Dynamite Murder of Tacoma: A Mob’s VerdictIn the early hours of January 1890, a Tacoma man was dragged from jail and hanged by a vigilante mob for blowing up a house and killing a sleeping family. The Seattle press offers a chilling reflection on whether such 'swift justice' is ever truly justified.Tacoma, WA
- Dec 9, 1891The Governor's $50,000 BondA defaulting King County treasurer's case reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, leaving Governor Ferry and other bondsmen on the hook for $34,000.Seattle, WA
- Dec 28, 1891A Defaulting Treasurer’s Debt Finally Comes Due—for a Governor and His BondsmenA Seattle judge orders E. P. Ferry and other sureties to pay King County $29,143.60 plus years of interest for George D. Hill’s vanished public funds.Seattle, WA
- Jul 20, 1892Double License, Double Trouble in IssaquahWhen Gilman—now Issaquah—incorporated, its new council demanded a second liquor license from saloonkeepers who had already paid King County. The county prosecutor said he could not protect them or refund their money.Issaquah, WA
- Jul 12, 1894The Clerk Who Refused to Leave Office—and the Books That Wouldn't BalanceKing County and former clerk W. B. Spencer submit a long-running dispute over fees, continuances and a disputed shortage to Judge Humes for a final ruling.Superior Court of Washington for King County, Seattle, WA
- Sep 3, 1894The Sheriff Deputized a Killer to Keep the Peace at a Seattle PrimaryA Republican primary in Seattle's First Ward turned into a street fight between the sheriff's men and city police—and the Post-Intelligencer laid the blame squarely on Sheriff Woolery.Seattle, WA
- Jan 2, 1895The Treasurer-Elect Nobody Would Sign ForJ.W. Maple won the King County treasurer's office, then allegedly traded away patronage and alienated his own party—leaving him unable to post the bond required to take the job.Seattle, WA
- Jan 21, 1895The Banks That Wouldn't Pay Their TaxesA county official fires back at his critics, revealing that the Municipal League members attacking him are stockholders in seven national banks suing to dodge their property taxes.Seattle, WA
- Jul 20, 1923Federal Funds Flow into Washington BackcountryNew highway construction projects in Whatcom and King counties aim to bridge the gap between wilderness and commercial accessibility.North Bend, WA