Research the archive

• 1878 ×
• Pierce County ×

1. The Bankrupt Giant and the Tacoma Land Ring

   A skeptical editor exposes the Northern Pacific Railroad's questionable finances and a suspicious telegraph campaign used to inflate land values in Tacoma.

   Jan 19, 1878Puget Sound DispatchTacoma, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust

2. The Scapegoat of Pierce County

   A prominent local businessman finds himself the target of a smear campaign after a financial scandal guts the county treasury, revealing the toxic power of public rumor in 1870s Tacoma.

   Aug 17, 1878Puget Sound DispatchTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall · Scandal

3. The Great Land Ring of the Northern Pacific

   Settlers of Washington Territory take on a powerful railroad corporation accused of hoarding public land for private profit.

   Feb 16, 1878Puget Sound DispatchTacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money

4. The High Cost of Being 'Across the River'

   In 1878, Sumner settlers faced a familiar struggle: a transportation monopoly that forced them to pay as much to haul freight across the river as to ship it 150 miles by rail.

   May 15, 1878The Northern StarSumner, Pierce CountyFollow the Money

5. The Midnight Thief on the Steamer Isabel

   A passenger loses her entire fortune while dining, sparking a tense confrontation and a failed pursuit of justice on the Sound.

   Aug 27, 1878The Daily IntelligencerPuget Sound, Tacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

6. The Gendered Crisis of the Washington Asylum

   A brief, callous report from 1878 chronicles an individual suffering a mental health crisis, shedding light on the historical intersection of medical pathologization and gender nonconformity in the Pacific Northwest.

   May 1, 1878The Northern StarSteilacoom, Pierce CountyLGBTQ+ Lives · Snake Oil

7. The Price of a Whitewash Job

   A working man in Tacoma learns the hard way that 'at par' is a relative term when his employer tries to pass off devalued currency for honest labor.

   Aug 3, 1878The Daily IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyWork & Pay · Strange But True

8. The Hard-Won Coal of Wilkeson

   A persistent mining operation in Wilkeson struggles with geological faults and shifting veins to keep the fuel moving toward the Puget Sound.

   Apr 17, 1878The Northern StarWilkeson, Pierce CountyWork & Pay

9. The Excelsior Boom: How Puyallup Turned Wood into Bedding

   A nascent industry in the 1870s aimed to replace imported hair for mattresses with locally milled cottonwood shavings.

   Jun 19, 1878The Northern StarPuyallup, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

10. The Jailbreak at Milton

    A man detained by the authorities in Milton on suspicion of insanity successfully escaped by stealing the clothes of his own guard.

    May 18, 1878Puget Sound DispatchMilton, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

11. An Explorer's Curious Discovery in the Puyallup Valley

    In 1878, a local explorer ventured into the uncharted territory of the Puyallup Valley, reporting back with observations that bordered on the absurd.

    Jun 29, 1878Puget Sound DispatchPuyallup, Pierce CountyStrange But True

12. Life and Labor at the Carbon Coal Mines

    A look inside the 1878 mining boom in Wilkeson, where company-owned land and rugged infrastructure defined the lives of the workers.

    Nov 2, 1878The Northern StarWilkeson, Pierce CountyWork & Pay

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