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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 330 |
| 1889 | 821 |
| 1891 | 345 |
| 1892 | 1,428 |
| 1893 | 1,737 |
| 1894 | 1,323 |
| 1895 | 1,115 |
7,099 stories
- The Steamboat Strike That Tied Up the Sound
Officers of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company refuse to accept wage cuts, halting ferry service between Seattle and Tacoma in a rare display of maritime labor solidarity.
- The Nine-Hour Day: Seattle Carpenters Win Shorter Hours and Wage Hike
After months of negotiation, the city's carpenters have secured a landmark agreement reducing the workday from ten to nine hours while maintaining pay rates, signaling a shift in labor power during Seattle’s boom years.
- Seattle’s Housing Crisis: Brick by Brick, Room by Room
As the city races to build new brick structures on Second and Smith Streets, officials warn that even these new constructions won't be enough to stop rents from skyrocketing.
- The Oil Men’s Last Stand: Seattle’s Battle Over Fire Safety and Corporate Power
In March 1889, a proposed ordinance to ban oil storage within city limits sparked a fierce standoff between the Board of Trade and powerful petroleum interests. While the city pushed for safety, the oil dealers argued the rules were discriminatory and economically impossible, setting the stage for a legal battle that would define Seattle’s industrial future.
- The Mysterious Death of a Traveling Book Agent
After M.T. Connellan, a well-dressed encyclopedia salesman, was found dead on a hotel floor, the man who brought him there was arrested, leaving Seattle to wonder about a life of secrets.
- The Electric Charge Sweeping Seattle
Horse cars are officially a relic of the past as the city embraces the new-fangled Thompson-Houston electric system to conquer Seattle's steep hills.
- The Great Gambling Raid That Never Was
A power struggle between Seattle's Mayor and his Police Chief leads to a failed raid, secret deals, and a very public scandal.
- The Unceremonious Ousting of Seattle's Police Chief
After refusing to answer for rampant gambling and open corruption, Chief J.C. Mitchell is fired by the city council as the city pivots toward long-overdue municipal reform.
- The Decades-Long Battle for the McAleer Tract Ends in Court
After years of tangled legal claims, Judge Hanford rules against the McAleer heirs, clearing the way for new development on a large, vacant stretch of land once visible from the old Lake Washington cable cars.
- The Rescued Souls of the Denmark
After the steamer Denmark founders at sea, survivors arrive in Washington, offering a glimpse of the harrowing endurance of 1889 sea travel.
- The Great Seattle Tide-Land Grab
Powerful corporate interests are organizing to seize Seattle’s valuable waterfront, leaving citizens and commerce at the mercy of speculators.
- Seattle's 1889 Fight Over Tide Flats and Docks
As Washington prepares for statehood, a contentious battle emerges over who owns—and who profits from—the valuable tide lands bordering Seattle.
- A Deadly Afternoon on the Duwamish
A quiet afternoon of target practice turns into a desperate race for survival as a husband accidentally shoots his wife, triggering a high-speed rescue down the river.
- The Great 'Broad Gauge' Railway Riot
When two rival railroad companies turned the Seattle tideflats into a battlefield, hundreds of hired hands and lawyers clashed over a single strip of land.
- The Confidence Man of Madison Street
A charismatic stranger built a house in Seattle, charmed local investors, and pulled off a sophisticated bank fraud that left the city stunned.
- The Narrow Escape of Mr. Browne
A prominent Seattleite faces a targeted arson attempt at his residence, marking the second such attack in a wave of local intimidation.
- After the Great Fire: Seattle’s Hard-Won Resilience
Days after the fire of 1889 decimated the city, the community faces mass homelessness and a desperate need for labor while relying on neighboring cities for support.
- After the Fire, A New Blueprint for Seattle
When the flames destroyed the commercial district, city leaders fought to enforce strict building codes to prevent a repeat of the disaster.
- From the Ashes of the Great Seattle Fire
A desperate plea for resilience and community support in the days following the catastrophic 1889 fire that leveled the city’s business district.
- The Great Reconstruction Logjam
Following the 1889 fire, a desperate, city-wide shortage of building materials and poor infrastructure leaves Seattle’s recovery stalled.
- The Great Seattle Rebuild: Rethinking Fire Safety After the Ashes
In the wake of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, experts and local leaders scramble to replace wooden tinderboxes with new, fireproof standards and modern building codes.
- The Rebuilding of Seattle
A desperate plea to voters in 1889 to elect leaders who could manage the massive, necessary reconstruction of a city decimated by fire.
- The Great Seattle Fire: A Call to Rebuild
In the shadow of the 1889 Great Seattle Fire, a local editor calls for unity, resilience, and an end to public complaining as the city begins the monumental task of reconstruction.
- The Great Rebuilding: Seattle’s Post-Fire Lumber Rush
In the wake of the 1889 Great Seattle Fire, the local lumber trade faces an unprecedented surge in demand as thousands rush to rebuild, signaling a massive shift in the city’s economy and labor market.
- The Great Reconstruction: Seattle’s Waterfront Rises from the Ashes
Less than a month after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city’s wharves are a hive of frantic, round-the-clock labor to restore the vital commerce of the Pacific.