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• 1871 ×

1. The Frontier Pulse: Seattle in 1871

   A look back at the origins of the city, from the arrival of the first families and the Indian War to the rise of coal, sawmills, and the hope for a transcontinental terminus.

   Dec 18, 1871Puget Sound DispatchAlki Point, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

2. The Great Terminus Fever of 1871

   As rumors swirled about the location of the Northern Pacific Railroad’s Pacific Coast terminus, Seattleites were gripped by a volatile, real-estate-driven madness that made men 'demented' and land values skyrocket.

   Dec 4, 1871Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

3. The Rules of the Game: How Seattle's First Lawyers Codified the Fight for Land

   When the Washington Territorial legislature overhauled the rules of civil procedure, they essentially wrote the blueprint for how Seattle’s developers and land speculators would battle over the city’s footprint for decades to come.

   Dec 18, 1871Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money

4. The Shadow Over San Juan Island

   A Supreme Court justice warns that the legal limbo surrounding the San Juan islands threatens to turn the territory into a lawless refuge for criminals.

   Dec 11, 1871Puget Sound DispatchSan Juan Island, Friday Harbor, San Juan CountyCity Hall

5. A Heartrending Tragedy in Hereford Swamp

   A father's desperate attempt to rescue his children from a falling tree results in a devastating loss of three lives.

   Dec 11, 1871Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyDisasters

6. The Old Settlers' Legislative Fantasy

   In an 1871 satirical 'Act,' a Seattle newspaper mocked the arrival of ambitious newcomers by proposing that long-time residents receive supreme, legally mandated authority.

   Dec 18, 1871Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

7. The Zephyr’s Relief Mission to the Snohomish Valley

   After the mountain snows melted and triggered a devastating flood, the steamer Zephyr served as a critical lifeline to the isolated settlers of the Snohomish River valley.

   Dec 4, 1871Puget Sound DispatchSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust · Disasters

8. The Unseen Hustle of the Seattle Waterfront

   While critics dismissed the city as a sleepy backwater, the secret traffic of sloops and warehouses revealed a burgeoning trade hub.

   Dec 18, 1871Puget Sound DispatchCommercial Street, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

9. The Perils of Coasting: A Sidewalk Smash-up

   Two local boys narrowly escape tragedy after a high-speed sledding accident on a steep Seattle street.

   Dec 25, 1871Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

10. The Panic Over 'Free Love' and Women's Rights in Early Seattle

    An editorial from the Puget Sound Dispatch decries the growing suffrage movement, labeling advocates as threats to the 'sanctity of the marriage relation.'

    Dec 11, 1871Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

11. The Great Legal Squabble of 1871

    A simmering territorial dispute over the 'Big Wigs'—the lawyers and judges—debating exactly when a law becomes a law.

    Dec 25, 1871Puget Sound DispatchOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall

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