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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 421 |
| 1877 | 288 |
| 1878 | 80 |
| 1880 | 80 |
869 stories
- The Pioneer Dream at 2nd and Seneca
A straightforward listing from 1876 that marks the humble origins of a city lot in downtown Seattle.
- The Price of Compassion: King County's 1877 Call for Bids
In an era before robust public social services, King County officials solicited private bids for the 'care, lodging and medical attendance' of the city's indigent poor.
- The Electoral Crisis of 1877
As the U.S. teetered on the edge of constitutional chaos, Seattle citizens read the fine print of the bill designed to settle a deadlocked presidential election.
- The Price of Compassion in Pioneer Seattle
Before social safety nets, King County sought the lowest bidder to provide medical care, board, and lodging for the 'indigent poor.'
- The Star System: How Actors Made Millions (and Squandered Them)
A detailed breakdown of theatrical salaries reveals that while some stars like John E. Owens amassed fortunes through prudence, others like Edwin Booth lived on the edge of bankruptcy despite earning thousands a week.
- The Tramp Who Demanded Breakfast
A gentleman in a suburban cottage tried to shoo away a prowler from his back yard, only to discover the intruder was waiting for his morning meal at the front door.
- The Price of Industrial Burnout in 1878
A pioneer farmer puts his Snoqualmie Valley homestead on the market, citing 'weak lungs' and the relentless pace of frontier survival.
- Seattle’s Volunteer Firefighters Organize for Protection
Citizens and council members gather to establish the first official fire company for a growing city.
- The Flooding of the Talbot Coal Mine
A sudden rush of water from a subterranean reservoir halts production, leaving the company to debate expensive drainage tunnels versus imported pumping gear.
- The Dream of a Shortcut to the World
A century and a half ago, Seattle boosters saw a Central American canal as the key to unlocking Washington’s timber wealth and connecting it to the globe.
- The Pioneer Dream: Settling Seattle as an Organized Colony
In 1877, Seattle newspapers championed the idea of 'colonizing' the Washington Territory to solve the isolation of homesteading, mirroring today's debates over density and regional growth.
- The Jailhouse Scuffle
A drunken brawl in a jail cell turns into a messy confrontation between a prisoner and the jailer.
- Seattle Invites the Whole Territory to Its Centennial Fourth
As the United States turned 100 in 1876, Seattle's civic leaders mobilized an elaborate city-wide committee to prove the frontier outpost was a modern, patriotic city.
- Seattle’s First Independence Day Mega-Festival
As the United States approached its 1876 Centennial, Seattle organizers launched an ambitious, city-wide effort to host a monumental July 4th celebration that would signal the town's arrival on the map.
- Seattle’s First 'Big' Fourth of July
As the nation prepared to mark its Centennial in 1876, the citizens of Seattle mobilized every merchant, captain, and dignitary to prove the young town was ready for the spotlight.
- Seattle Invites the Territory to a Centennial Fourth
As the United States turned 100 in 1876, Seattle's civic leaders mobilized an ambitious, city-wide organizing committee to prove the frontier outpost was a proper American town.
- The Forbidden Courtship of Seattle’s Laboring Class
A satirical poem recounts the trials of a young couple forbidden by their employer from speaking while working on his land.
- A Perilous Game on the Harbor
Local children are testing their luck by building makeshift rafts and navigating the harbor near the depot, to the growing alarm of local observers.
- The Political Cost of War
A wounded veteran discovers that his war stories are ironically costing him votes in his run for Congress.
- The Mid-Straits Fare Dodge of 'Kaintuck'
A would-be passenger who slipped aboard at Seattle without a ticket tries to bargain his way across Puget Sound—until the captain marches him to the gangway.
- The Wild Fertility of the Sammamish Valley
A local settler reports on the rapid agricultural development and the urgent need for river navigation to bring produce to market.
- The Race That Wasn't: A 'Compulsory' Chase on the Snoqualmie Road
In September 1876, a traveler near Fall City was forced into a high-speed gallop by five Indigenous men who claimed they only wanted to test their horses' speed against his.
- The City That Forgot Its Sidewalks: Seattle’s Shameful Neglect of Cherry Street
In October 1878, the Seattle Daily Intelligencer blasted local property owners for leaving a major commercial intersection in a state of dangerous disrepair, highlighting the early struggle between private neglect and public safety.
- The General Who Couldn't Say 'No' to a Bigot
Lt. Col. George Newton’s stinging reply to a letter writer reveals the ugly underbelly of Seattle’s civic elite in 1897.
- The Unintended Comedy of a Seattle Home-Grown Play
A young Seattle playwright attempts a 'powerful' American drama, only to accidentally create a farcical scene involving nightshirts, chin-wiping, and a very confused father-in-law.