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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 4 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1861 | 5 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 23 |
| 1865 | 9 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 40 |
| 1877 | 29 |
| 1878 | 19 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 8 |
| 1882 | 11 |
| 1883 | 60 |
| 1884 | 23 |
| 1885 | 13 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 10 |
| 1889 | 40 |
| 1890 | 6 |
| 1891 | 20 |
| 1892 | 41 |
| 1893 | 42 |
| 1894 | 43 |
| 1895 | 47 |
| 1897 | 8 |
| 1898 | 14 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1900 | 6 |
| 1903 | 605 |
| 1904 | 60 |
| 1905 | 4 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 11 |
| 1910 | 11 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 21 |
| 1916 | 23 |
| 1917 | 19 |
| 1918 | 2 |
| 1923 | 12 |
| 1924 | 6 |
| 1925 | 1 |
29 stories matching walla
- Walla Walla Debates County Bonds for Railroad
An 1877 debate over public bond issues for the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad reveals a city hungry for connectivity and skeptical of the 'blood money' demands of big capital.
- The Great Railway Gamble of 1878
Territorial lawmakers drafted a sweeping plan to bind Washington’s counties together with a railroad, tasking local voters with footing the bill through massive debt.
- The Political Price of a Road
Seattle citizens threaten to trade the state capital to Walla Walla to secure a vital road link, as regional rivalries threaten to derail the city's future.
- The Man Who Killed a Neighbor Over a Book
In a quiet moment of domestic tragedy in Walla Walla, a carpenter’s son strikes down a respected citizen with a hammer while the victim was simply reading.
- The Seattle-Walla Walla Rail Ambition
An 1877 editorial proposes leveraging global capital gluts to fund the critical narrow-gauge railway connection, a lifeline for the territory's economic future.
- A Near-Fatal Trestle Accident Sparks Anti-Chinese Sentiment
A worker fell from the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad trestle into the bay, drawing attention to the precarious labor conditions and rising xenophobia of 1877 Seattle.
- The River vs. The Rails: Walla Walla’s Plea for a Seattle Link
In 1877, Eastern Washington leaders warned that relying on the Columbia River was a fatal mistake, urging the federal government to subsidize a railroad connecting their region directly to Seattle.
- The Unstoppable Rail Builder of 1877
How James M. Colman bet his personal fortune to push the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad through the mountains, defying skeptics and funding the project on his own terms.
- The Territorial Auditor and the Slander Machine
When the Walla Walla Statesman accused a prominent territorial official of being a fugitive felon, it sparked a local crisis in journalistic ethics and public reputation.
- The Railroad That Stole Our Land: How Seattle’s Interests Blocked Snohomish’s Future
A furious letter to the editor exposes how political maneuvering in Washington D.C. and Seattle kept vital federal lands locked up, denying homesteaders their rightful homes while railroad tycoons played games with territory.
- The Land Grab That Stalled Seattle’s Growth
A local editorial warns that the Northern Pacific Railroad’s hoarding of millions of acres is strangling settlement and development in Washington Territory.
- The Race for the Rails: Seattle’s Fight to Keep the Northern Pacific Branch
As Oregon competitors maneuver to steal federal land grants, a local correspondent warns that losing the railroad connection could leave Washington Territory behind for decades.
- Seattle's Muddy Streets Stall Railroad Equipment in 1877
A local editor chronicles the impossible state of the city's thoroughfares, where wagon axles disappear into the muck.
- The Fight for Rail Dominance: Seattle vs. Portland
In 1877, Seattle newspapers were already sparring with Portland over land grants and regional infrastructure, revealing the early economic anxieties of a growing port city.
- The Great Reflux: How Seattle’s ‘Back Door’ Boom Is Reshaping the Territory
While the world watches wars in Europe and Asia, Washington Territory is filling up with immigrants arriving via the 'back entrance' of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Local farmers are clearing land at breakneck speed, betting on a future where Seattle becomes the grain capital of the world.
- The Iron Road vs. The River: A 19th Century Fight for Seattle's Future
An editorial from 1877 argues that the future of the Northwest lies in narrow-gauge railroads rather than the unruly Columbia River.
- The Dream of Ship Harbor
A speculative report on a new settlement near Fidalgo Island that promised to control the wealth of the Snohomish and Skagit valleys.
- Seattle’s First Call for a Seamen’s Bethel
In 1877, a local captain campaigned in New York to build a refuge for the thousands of sailors arriving in the 'future storehouse of the Territory'—a young, booming port that lacked any formal shelter for the maritime labor force.
- The Next Pittsburg: Seattle’s Coal Rush
A new mine opens across the Cedar River, fueling hopes that the young city of Seattle will soon become a major center for iron and coal production.
- An 1877 Plan for Workers to Buy Seattle Homes
As Seattle rents rise, the paper outlines a radical, cooperative vision for workers to escape the landlord's grip through building associations.
- The Boomtown That Almost Wasn't: Seattle in 1876
While the rest of the nation struggled through a deep economic depression, a local newspaper reflects on the unprecedented industrial and infrastructure expansion that transformed Seattle from a village into a bustling coal and lumber hub.
- The Unlikely Rise of Belltown
When William N. Bell first envisioned a northern suburb for Seattle, critics called his plan a 'chimerical scheme of a visionary.' Today, the hammers are ringing as the neighborhood transforms from dense forest into a city hub.
- The 'Seattle Way' of Building a Railroad
By shunning outside capital and high-salaried officers, local boosters claim they are carving a path through the Cascades using nothing but 'Seattle money and pluck.'
- The Devil's Own: Oak Harbor's Waggish Protest Against the Preacher
When a reverend tried to post a notice for his Sunday sermon in the Grange Hall, the locals of Oak Harbor responded with a satirical flyer that dared the Devil himself to show up.
- Seattle’s First Great Infrastructure Boom
An 1877 report captures a young Seattle at a crossroads, boasting of massive rail investments and its first-ever public spending on city grading, setting a precedent for a city that never stops building.