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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 14 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 11 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 16 |
| 1889 | 18 |
| 1891 | 21 |
| 1892 | 25 |
| 1893 | 36 |
| 1894 | 36 |
| 1895 | 47 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1903 | 3 |
| 1904 | 1 |
285 stories matching payment
- City Council Vetoes Payment to Liquor Dealer's Widow
Mayor H. G. Struve declines an appropriation for a deceased saloonkeeper’s family, citing strict legal and corporate boundaries for public funds.
- The 1891 Land Rush in Brooklyn Addition
While developers promised a suburban utopia with low down payments, the aggressive marketing tactics of the era reveal a housing market obsessed with rapid expansion and installment-plan speculation.
- The Corpse, the Fire, and the Vanishing Policy
William Radloff disappeared after putting a corpse in his house and torching the structure. With his life-insurance policy now lapsed, his wife has filed no claim—leaving Seattle to wonder what really happened.
- When the County Paid for Pauper Burials and Jailhouse Blankets
A look at the grim line items of Seattle's 1876 county budget reveals the mundane, often tragic, administrative costs of governing a frontier territory.
- The City Council's Expensive Do-Over
After the Supreme Court tossed out a faulty assessment, the City of Seattle passes an emergency ordinance to squeeze residents for a new payment on a completed sewer project.
- Tax Delay Threatens Seattle's First Great Paving Program
A new revenue law lets property owners postpone half their taxes until November, and the road fund is so short that the city may stop accepting new street-improvement petitions.
- The Half-Finished Skeleton on Second and University
After contractors were left hanging without payment, a court orders a developer to pay over $8,000 for a four-story building that never rose past the first floor.
- The City Hall Sewer Crisis
After intense debate, the Seattle City Council moves to settle a long-standing payment dispute with engineer Benezette Williams to ensure the completion of critical sewer infrastructure.
- The Unauthorized County Hospital Scandal
Taxpayers sue King County officials for constructing a hospital on the county farm without voter approval or budget authority.
- The Boom at Ross Station: Selling the Future of Seattle
Developers pitch affordable suburban lots near Salmon Bay to laborers, promising a new hub of industry just three miles from downtown.
- The Broken Promise of the Cedar River Extension
Seattle businessmen struggle with Henry Villard over delayed rail construction and the demand for early subsidy payments.
- The Fight for Cash Wages
A proposed Seattle ordinance to force contractors to pay laborers in 'lawful money' rather than time checks was struck down by the City Council.
- The Promised Suburb: Sales Pitch for Palatine Hill
A late 19th-century land developer lures Seattle workers to a ‘suburban’ frontier near Salmon Bay with promises of factories and affordable housing.
- The Eight-Hour Day Battle in 1887
Washington territorial legislators spar over radical new labor laws, including mandates for an eight-hour workday and the end of company-scrip payment systems.
- Railroad Giant Abandons Its Contracted Obligations
The Northern Pacific Railroad has declared its agreement with the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway illegal, threatening to force a bankruptcy and total foreclosure.
- The Mill That Asked Workers to Wait for Lumber
A Seattle receiver said the Standard Mill Company could survive only if loggers and mechanics agreed to be paid out of the product of their own labor. The court let 35 cents on the dollar go to labor claims.
- The City’s New Bonding Power
New legislation grants Seattle the authority to issue local improvement bonds, shifting the financial burden of street and sewer projects directly onto benefited property owners.
- The Price of Efficiency: Seattle's First Charter Crisis
In 1891, the city government struggled to adapt its new charter, clashing over the hidden costs of 'efficiency,' the payment of workers in devalued scrip, and the professionalization of city services.
- The Dream of Palatine Hill: A Late 1880s Real Estate Pitch
A historical advertisement promises affordable suburban lots near the Ross Station, marketing a vision of homeownership to the working class of the rapidly expanding Seattle area.
- A Tragic Burial at Sea
While working the lumber trade, a crew member falls from the rigging to his death, leaving his comrades to mourn him in the middle of the Pacific.
- The Price of Progress: Seattle’s Legal Tug-of-War Over Street Grades
In 1891, the city was forced to reckon with the constitutional requirement of paying damages to property owners before regrading streets, a lesson that paralyzed public works and exposed the city's precarious financial state.
- The High Cost of the Winehill Building
A multi-year legal battle over unpaid labor and stone work at the corner of Third and Main ends in a sudden dismissal.
- The Dream of Palatine: 1888 Real Estate Hype in Seattle
A sprawling advertisement for a 'suburban' development in the Salmon Bay area reveals how developers promised working-class families a foothold in the rapidly industrializing north Seattle.
- The Revenue Agent’s Cigar Seizure
Federal agents seize counterfeit cigars in downtown Seattle, forcing shop owners to pay a 'compromise' tax to keep their stock.
- The Tax Protest on Madison Street
A Seattle property owner challenges the city's assessment for Madison Street improvements, calling the fees illegal and a cloud on the title.
Also about this, in other words
- The predatory business of 'confidential' loans
A Seattle reporter goes undercover to expose local money lenders charging exorbitant interest rates to the desperate.
- The Unwanted Charity of a Courtroom Foe
A woman pays her assailant's fine, leaving the man outraged by her unwelcome generosity.