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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1895 | 2 |
7 stories matching improvement
- The Town That Grew in Ninety Days—and Then Waited for the Railroad
In 1890, promoters carved Anacortes out of the Fidalgo Island forest, sold lots at galloping prices, and promised a transcontinental rail terminal. Two years later, the trains still stopped short and the company wharf was closed to the public.
- The Captain's Last Step on a Dark Anacortes Wharf
A wrongful-death suit against the Oregon Improvement Company turns on an unlit slip, a fatal fall, and whether the wharf was dangerously built.
- Tragedy at the Blind Culvert
A locomotive fireman dies after a train plunges into a washout during the Great Flood of 1892.
- The Skagit County Seat Heist
A secret 'Business Men’s Association' in Anacortes hatches a high-stakes campaign to pilfer the county seat from Mount Vernon, complete with paid-off laborers and promises of a grand courthouse.
- Anacortes Mayor Quits in Protest Against 'Subsidy Brokers'
A.P. Sharpstein steps down, accusing the city's powerful corporate interests of stifling growth and ignoring the needs of local citizens.
- The Captain, the Dark Dock, and the Cry 'Man Overboard'
A Seattle jury weighs damages in the drowning of Capt. George Hill at Anacortes, where lanterns, liquor and a first officer's memory shape the case.
- The Miracle of Anacortes: A City Built in a Year
How a dense forest on Fidalgo Island transformed into a booming railway terminus and industrial hub in less than twelve months.