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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 8 |
| 1872 | 110 |
| 1876 | 122 |
| 1877 | 95 |
| 1878 | 216 |
| 1879 | 10 |
| 1880 | 62 |
623 stories
- The Eagle Mills Expansion
A major local manufacturer relocates to North Seattle, prioritizing a white, coin-paid workforce.
- The Northern Pacific Compromise: A Bitter Road Through the Cascades
After intense lobbying in Washington, D.C., a new railroad deal forces a high-stakes ultimatum for the Columbia River corridor.
- The Price of Early Seattle Prosperity
A sheriff’s notice reveals the fragile nature of early real estate speculation in King County.
- The 1878 Great Seattle Tax Auction
Before the skyline, there was the spreadsheet: A massive public auction of delinquent Seattle properties reveals the names, debts, and land-holdings of the city's pioneer founders.
- Surveying the Wilderness for Iron Rails
As the Northern Pacific Railroad push reached deep into the Montana and Washington territories, engineers braved brutal winter storms and rugged mountain passes to chart the future of the Northwest.
- The Political 'Guillotine' Comes to Seattle
A scathing look at the rapid-fire political turnover in Washington Territory, where federal appointments fall 'like the leaves of Autumn' under the winds of executive displeasure.
- The Unlikely Remedy for the Smallpox Outbreak
When a Seattle-area family faced a smallpox contagion in the winter, they bypassed medical uncertainty for an old household mixture—and claimed a miraculous recovery.
- The Claret Rebellion in 1870s Seattle
At a meeting of the King County Farmers Club, a local leader tried to replace the frontier staple of 'bald-face' whiskey with homegrown wine, igniting a fiery debate about culture and grit.
- The 'Ring' and the Rot: A 1872 Call for Municipal Reform
A scathing letter to the editor of the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes a culture of county-level corruption and financial mismanagement that mirrors modern political frustrations.
- The Gentleman Wood-Sawyer of Seattle
When a young man’s romantic and financial future hung in the balance, he traded his social standing for an axe to impress a boarding-house landlady’s daughter.
- The True Cost of a Store Tab in 1872 Seattle
A young couple's struggle with 'monthly accounts' reveals how merchant credit traps were the predatory debt cycles of the 19th century.
- The Auditor's Ledger: A Financial Scandal in Pioneer Seattle
When tax-payers demanded answers about vanishing funds, the county auditor offered only vague excuses—and a newspaper editor called for a total house cleaning.
- The Apprentice Who Chose Grime Over Gold
In 1872 Seattle, a young man defies his parents' expectations by rejecting his inheritance to work in a boiler shop—and finds his own path to dignity.
- The Unpaid Labor of Libbie Reinheimer
A rare 1876 court case highlights a wife suing her own husband's firm for unpaid wages.
- The Burning of the Bon Ton
After the proprietor of the notorious Bon Ton was jailed for running a 'bawdy house,' his building was razed by a suspicious fire.
- The Workingman's Protest Against Seattle's 'Class Tax'
An early Seattle citizen takes to the press to challenge a municipal licensing ordinance, arguing it unfairly shifts the tax burden from the wealthy onto the backs of laborers.
- A Chaotic Buggy Crash on Third Street
A pair of young, half-broken horses went berserk in downtown Seattle, leading to a violent wreck that left the passengers with broken bones and the animals severely injured.
- The Day the Smelter Blew: Peter Williams and the Seattle Explosion
A carpenter’s routine repair job ends in tragedy when a blowpipe explodes at Selhy’s Smelting Works, killing him instantly.
- The Road to Nowhere: Seattle’s Infrastructure Crisis of 1876
As the city grows, its roads are crumbling into impassable mud, endangering farmers and merchants alike. A local editorial demands immediate action before the 'corduroy' turns to chaos.
- The Bridge That Bound the Bay: Seattle’s Race to Connect with the World
As the final piles are driven for the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, local magnate Henry Yesler and his partners bet their fortunes on a railroad that will turn this muddy port into a continental hub.
- The Tragedy at the Waterfront: An Elderly Man’s Fatal Journey
A 74-year-old man with insomnia wandered onto railroad tracks near the Hotel de France and was killed by a special engine early this morning.
- The Great Railroad Delay: Washington Territory’s Fight for the Northern Pacific
Federal lawmakers in Washington D.C. have rejected a proposal to settle land claims in Washington Territory, opting instead to grant the Northern Pacific Railway an eight-year extension to complete its tracks.
- The Ghost of the Sound: A Swindler’s Vanishing Act
A glib salesman charms his way into the good graces of a prominent Seattle firm, only to disappear with their funds and a trail of aliases.
- The Unmarked Death of Bi Lee
A Chinese man, imprisoned in Seattle, is found dead in his jail cell, leaving behind only questions and a community left to claim his remains.
- The Disappearing Blind Musician of Seattle
A itinerant musician duped local merchants before vanishing to California, highlighting the precarity of trust in a growing port city.