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1. The Great Delinquent Tax Sale of 1888

   A sweeping list of hundreds of 'Unknown Owners' and Seattle residents facing the auction block, revealing the precarious nature of early land speculation in the city.

   May 29, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money

2. The Price of Ownership: Seattle’s 1888 Delinquent Tax List

   A sprawling registry of property owners, from the prominent to the 'Unknown,' failing to pay their dues during Seattle’s rapid expansion.

   Jun 5, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerFront Street, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money

3. The Great Seattle Fire of 1889: Surviving the Flames

   While the city turned to ash, local business owners turned to their safes to see what remained of their livelihood.

   Jun 30, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerFront Street, Seattle, King CountyDisasters

4. The Price of a Seattle Landmark: A $7,500 Real Estate Snapshot from 1889

   A choice residence property, recently spared by the Great Seattle Fire, highlights the rapid commercial real estate churn in the city’s post-conflagration recovery.

   Jul 7, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSecond Street, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

5. The Weight of the Ballot: Washington’s First National Election

   On the eve of statehood, Seattle residents prepared for their first campaign tied to national parties and federal power, marking a shift away from local autonomy.

   Aug 27, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

6. The Settlers' War Against the Land Office

   How the administration of Grover Cleveland turned homesteaders into outlaws, sparking fear across Washington Territory.

   Sep 13, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money

7. The Great Seattle Real Estate Boom of 1888

   A meticulously logged list of land deeds from the final days of 1888 reveals a city in the throes of explosive growth, with rapid development radiating outward from the central business district.

   Jan 6, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWest Seattle, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

8. The Woolen Mill That Never Was: Tumwater’s Lost Industrial Dream

   Eastern capitalists promised a massive factory in Tumwater, but the deal collapsed before it broke ground—leaving the town with nothing but hope and a Supreme Court case.

   Jan 13, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTumwater, Thurston CountyBoom & Bust

9. The Masons Sell Their Temple: A Seattle Landmark Changes Hands

   St. John's Lodge No. 9 of the Free and Accepted Masons has decided to abandon its historic street front on James Street, putting the property up for public bid in a move that signals shifting tides for Seattle’s civic institutions.

   Feb 5, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerJames Street, Seattle, King County

10. The Last Great Gush: West Seattle’s Promoters Promise Paradise on the Edge of the Sound

    In February 1889, real estate agents and newspaper editors were busy selling a dream of West Seattle, touting its majestic views of Mount Rainier and promising that the new railroad would turn this rugged plateau into the next gold rush for land speculators.

    Feb 28, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWest Seattle, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

11. 1889 Seattle Ad Pitches Lots by the Cable Line

    Before the city sprawled into the suburbs, developers sold the dream of West Seattle and Queen Anne as idyllic, 'sightly' investments.

    Apr 3, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWest Seattle, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

12. The Fight for Washington’s State Constitution

    As Washington teetered on the brink of statehood in 1889, local committees scrambled to organize the conventions that would draft the framework for the future state’s government.

    May 7, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerKing County Courthouse, SeattleCity Hall

13. The 'Golden Eagle' Real Estate Boom of 1889

    As Seattle prepared to rebuild from its Great Fire, developers used high-profile endorsements—and the promise of a streetcar line—to sell the prestige of the Renton Addition.

    Sep 12, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMadison Street, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

14. The Secrets of Seattle’s Beauty Parlors

    Behind the storefronts of 1889 Seattle, women entrepreneurs were building empires of vanity and wellness, one manicure at a time.

    Sep 13, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

15. The Bid for the Capital: North Yakima’s 1889 Pitch

    Before Olympia was cemented as the seat of power, boosters in North Yakima laid out an elaborate, nature-inspired argument for why their valley was the natural heart of the new state.

    Sep 25, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerNorth Yakima, Yakima, Yakima CountyBoom & Bust

16. The 1889 Land Rush for West Seattle

    Before the neighborhood was built, land agents were selling the dream of a 'gigantic smelter' and a booming future to investors on the waterfront.

    Jan 4, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWest Seattle, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

17. The Great Wrestling Challenge: A European Strongman Comes to Washington Territory

    Peter Schwamcher issues an open challenge for a three-day wrestling match in Seattle, offering $500 prize money and claiming he will remain until the championship is found at the Arbois Hotel.

    Feb 5, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyNightlife

18. The Last Days of Thomas: A Seattle Family’s Grief in 1899

    An obituary for a local resident reveals the intimate scale of life in early Seattle, where death was a public event and family networks were the primary social safety net.

    Feb 6, 1889The Seattle Post-Intelligencer1129 Fourth Street, Seattle, King County

19. The Real Estate Auction That Built Seattle’s First Suburbs

    In March 1889, just months after the Great Fire devastated downtown, executors of James Crawford’s estate sold off dozens of city lots in a public auction at Occidental Square. These parcels would become the foundation for neighborhoods like Judkins and Bellevue.

    Mar 1, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

20. The Duwamish Valley's Early Land Rush

    While Seattle’s real estate market was heating up in 1889, developer W.W. Belvin was marketing 'three-acre tracts' in the Duwamish River Valley, promising proximity to town and fertile soil.

    Apr 21, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

21. The Miracle Medicine of Seattle

    A nineteenth-century testimonial for a ‘Histogenetic’ cure highlights the era’s wild medical marketplace.

    May 1, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountySnake Oil

22. The Seattle Boom of 1888

    A real estate pitch from 1888 promises fortune to those who buy into North Seattle’s 'unplatted land'—a document that highlights the origins of Seattle's rapid expansion and land speculation.

    May 8, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerQueen Anne, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

23. The Real Estate Hustle of 1889

    Developers were peddling land at the edge of town, promising a 'steam motor' rail line to entice buyers into settling the outskirts of Seattle.

    Jun 17, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerCommercial Street, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

24. Seattle Property Owners to Assess Front Street Widening

    A mid-summer legal notice reveals the bureaucratic struggle to widen Front Street—modern-day First Avenue—as the city demanded property owners share the cost of modernization.

    Jul 8, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerFirst Avenue, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

25. The Real Estate Frenzy of Renton Addition

    Promoters of a new Seattle neighborhood published a list of prominent investors to drive up property values before the arrival of a new cable line.

    Sep 5, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

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