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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 52 |
| 1877 | 34 |
| 1878 | 30 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 10 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 41 |
| 1884 | 34 |
| 1885 | 41 |
| 1886 | 7 |
| 1887 | 35 |
| 1888 | 62 |
| 1889 | 101 |
| 1890 | 16 |
| 1891 | 67 |
| 1892 | 119 |
| 1893 | 95 |
| 1894 | 72 |
| 1895 | 130 |
| 1897 | 7 |
| 1898 | 15 |
| 1899 | 31 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 67 |
| 1904 | 21 |
| 1905 | 5 |
| 1907 | 3 |
| 1908 | 30 |
| 1909 | 65 |
| 1910 | 23 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 18 |
| 1915 | 20 |
| 1916 | 43 |
| 1917 | 6 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 21 |
| 1924 | 10 |
| 1925 | 11 |
| 1928 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
333 stories matching develop
- The Struggle for the Promised Land of Washington Territory
While Washington pioneers clamored for the development of government-held land to build a state, political gamesmanship in Washington, D.C. left the local economy in limbo.
- The Feeding Frenzy of 1889
Before the city’s meteoric rise, land developers in Seattle were already peddling the 'next big thing' across the water, promising smelters and shipyards to anyone with cash in hand.
- The Real Estate Handshake: A Forgotten Legal Precedent
An 1889 court ruling from Kansas reverberated in Seattle, forcing a change in how developers and land brokers accounted for profits.
- New Coal Vein Discovered in the Cascades
A six-foot-thick vein of coal discovered near Cle Elum marks a new development in regional resource exploration.
- Snoqualmie Pass: Seattle's Potential Iron Empire
A local developer scouts for iron and copper in the Snoqualmie Pass, hoping to launch a major mining and rail operation that would connect the mountain riches directly to Seattle.
- The Pioneer Spirit and the Building of Seattle
A look at the ambitious civic development of Seattle's Front Street and the men behind its early transformation into a modern business hub.
- The Tacoma Land Boom
A glimpse into the feverish property speculation of the 1888 Washington Territory and the intense competition to develop the city's future.
- The Buried Treasure of Seattle’s Industrial Future
A real estate notice reveals the immense value—and looming development—of a coal field near Lake Washington, long before the city’s urban expansion.
- The Boomtown That Almost Ate Bellingham
A look back at the competitive, high-stakes frenzy of 1890s Fairhaven, a once-separate industrial powerhouse racing to become the 'New York of the Pacific' before merging into modern-day Bellingham.
- The Rapid Rise of Palatine
A new industrial settlement along the canal route emerges as a hub of quick development.
- The Anthracite Rush in Naches Pass
A new coal discovery near the mountains promises to be the most extensive field on the Pacific Coast.
- The Unsung Frontier: A New Era for Black Diamond
Readers in the Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer get a rare, optimistic dispatch from the mining town of Black Diamond regarding its rapid development and natural beauty.
- The Enigma of the Moses Reservation
A critical look at the federal policy keeping prime Washington farmland locked away from development while the Indigenous people it was intended for remain elsewhere.
- Protecting the Timber Frontier
Seattle business leaders lobby to maintain trade protections against foreign competition.
- The Boom on the Sound
A look at the rapid industrial and commercial expansion of Port Townsend in 1888.
- The Real Estate Boom at Salmon Bay
A speculative land development promises a suburban future in Seattle’s north side, betting on railroad connectivity.
- The Battle for the Rails: Monopoly vs. The Public Good
A scathing editorial from 1885 outlines the clash between the Union Pacific’s 'business-first' model and the Northern Pacific's alleged strategy of political bribery and town-site speculation.
- The Unpaved Dispute: A Seattle Street Fight
When the City Council attempted to force through street improvements against the wishes of local property owners, the resulting legal struggle highlighted the friction between civic development and individual land rights in 1887.
- The Fight for the Parker Precinct Bridge
Settlers appeal to county commissioners for a bridge across the Yakima River to unlock agricultural growth.
- The Balloon-Powered Park Plan
A satirical interview with a Seattle developer reveals the absurd lengths civic boosters would go to inflate the value of local land.
- The Hop Fever Gripping Puyallup
As hop vines hit 21 inches in the fertile valley, a local developer and hop baron makes big moves to capitalize on the boom.
- 1888 Seattle Development Offered 60 Lots and Five Cottages
Developers used a high-stakes giveaway to lure buyers to the city’s growing outskirts, blending real estate speculation with a chance at a 'small fortune.'
- The Morning the Earth Shook in Seattle
An unusually violent tremor rattles early risers in 1886, marking a moment of shared alarm in the developing town.
- The Unpaid Streets of Tacoma
A bitter legal battle reveals the messy, unpaved reality of infrastructure development in late 19th-century Tacoma, pitting laborers against local developers.
- The Rivalry of the Sound: Seattle vs. Tacoma
A critical report from a German newspaper highlights the starkly different development paths of the two boomtowns.