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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 3 |
11 stories
- The Great Land Grab: Tacoma Citizens Unite Against Northern Pacific’s ‘Squatter’ Tactics
In a packed hall at Reinig’s Hall, leading citizens condemn the railroad’s seizure of public lands and its attempt to claim hundreds of thousands of acres for a coal line that will never be built.
- The Boom Town on the Sound: Labor and Industry in 1877 Tacoma
A traveler’s dispatch from New Tacoma reports on the frenetic pace of local timber mills, the arrival of new industrial machinery, and the rapid expansion of the labor force as the city builds its future.
- The Steilacoom Bubble That Burst
A grand, failed railway scheme proves that even the most ambitious 'railroad kings' can't build an empire without a single cent in the bank.
- The Forgotten Dreams of Steilacoom City
In 1880, a visionary booster pitched a grand transcontinental railroad terminus that he claimed would transform a quiet Puget Sound town into the 'metropolis' of the Pacific.
- The Strange Disappearance of George Clark
A local merchant vanishes from Steilacoom, leaving behind $5,000 in debts and unpaid laborers.
- 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.
- The Iron Wreck: A Train’s Deadly Plunge Near Tacoma
Conductor Stroud and passengers suffer grave injuries when a tender axle fails at 25 mph, sending cars tumbling down an embankment in one of the region's most serious rail accidents to date.
- The Political Price of a County Seat
When Steilacoom faced a challenge from a rising New Tacoma, citizens weighed civic growth against the hard cost of building a new government center.
- 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.
- The Gambler’s Pistol and the Marshal’s Mercy
A violent confrontation on a Tacoma wharf in 1876 reveals the raw, lawless edge of early Pacific Northwest frontier justice.
- The Puyallup Valley's Hop Boom
Pioneer farmers in the Puyallup Valley expect a massive harvest as hop cultivation surges.