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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 5 |
| 1858 | 4 |
| 1859 | 6 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 4 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 36 |
| 1877 | 27 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 8 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 34 |
| 1884 | 20 |
| 1885 | 31 |
| 1886 | 27 |
| 1887 | 23 |
| 1888 | 17 |
| 1889 | 58 |
| 1890 | 8 |
| 1891 | 84 |
| 1892 | 88 |
| 1893 | 104 |
| 1894 | 142 |
| 1895 | 176 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 3 |
| 1898 | 9 |
| 1899 | 36 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 66 |
| 1904 | 41 |
| 1905 | 4 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 22 |
| 1909 | 70 |
| 1910 | 13 |
| 1911 | 7 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 16 |
| 1915 | 15 |
| 1916 | 27 |
| 1917 | 13 |
| 1918 | 2 |
| 1922 | 3 |
| 1923 | 8 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 2 |
| 1929 | 3 |
58 stories matching whether
- The landlord's dilemma when the building burns
Legal experts debate whether tenants are entitled to a rent refund when their rented rooms are destroyed by fire mid-month.
- The Struggle for a Central Union Depot
As Seattle rapidly expanded, competing railroad interests vied for the prime waterfront site at the foot of Main Street, mirroring modern battles over urban infrastructure and transit hubs.
- The Dynamite Murder of Tacoma: A Mob’s Verdict
In the early hours of January 1890, a Tacoma man was dragged from jail and hanged by a vigilante mob for blowing up a house and killing a sleeping family. The Seattle press offers a chilling reflection on whether such 'swift justice' is ever truly justified.
- Seattle Rebuilds After the Great Fire
One week after the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city pivots from emergency relief to a massive, coordinated reconstruction of the downtown core.
- The Struggle to Draft Washington’s Constitution
Delegates at the 1889 convention in Olympia face intense debate over corporate regulation and public warehouse oversight.
- The Struggle for Rail Regulation
Washington's constitutional convention wrestles with whether to empower a commission to oversee railroad giants.
- The Newcastle Riot: When Labor Turned Mob
An editorial from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer condemns a violent clash in Newcastle, Washington Territory, where Knights of Labor members allegedly used intimidation to stop non-union miners from working.
- The Holy Legal Battle on Front Street
A Seattle church congregation takes their pastor to court, accusing him of locking them out of their own place of worship.
- Constitutional Convention Debates Tide Land Ownership
Delegates in Olympia weigh public versus private rights to Washington's valuable shorelines as the state prepares for entry into the Union.
- Rising from the Ashes: The Great Seattle Fire of 1888
While the downtown core smoldered, Seattle citizens gathered in the courthouse—lit by tallow dips—to demand a modern city of brick and stone, rejecting makeshift wooden shacks and dreaming of a reconstructed metropolis.
- The Miracle of the 'Traction Luck'
After the Great Seattle Fire, one man’s singular misfortune becomes a bizarre local legend of resilience.
- The Great Olympia Real Estate Boom: 'Only a Question of Time'
As the capital city experiences a frenzy of property sales and predicts its future as a metropolis powered by Turnwater Falls, locals debate whether the boom is sustainable or just hype.
- The Bureaucratic Limbo of Chinese Laborers in Transit
A legal opinion from the Attorney General clarifies the treatment of Chinese laborers attempting to pass through U.S. ports, stalling those stuck in New Orleans.
- Why Olympia Should Be the Capital
A robust argument for keeping the state capital in Olympia, citing its climate, central location, and superior hotel infrastructure.
- The Price of Good Governance in 1889
As Seattle prepared to vote for new city leadership, a local editorial warned that the city's future would be decided by whether citizens cared more about the public interest or personal profit.
- The Northern Pacific’s Land Grab Scheme
A political battle heats up as corporate interests maneuver to acquire valuable iron and coal lands before the Washington State Constitutional Convention.
- 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.
- The Great Seattle Cable Car Battle
A legal dispute over the City Railway Company's franchise forces a showdown between city officials and the company's ambitious construction plans.
- The Man Who Walked Into the Sound
A tipsy wanderer mistook Seattle’s waterfront for San Francisco, ending up clinging to a dock in the middle of the night.
- The Fight Over Corporate Subsidies in the 1889 State Constitution
Delegates at the Washington Constitutional Convention engage in a heated debate over whether counties should be allowed to use public tax money to subsidize private railroad construction.
- The Shadow of the Railroad: Tide Lands and Public Trust
As Washington state's constitutional convention drags on, delegates engage in a fierce legislative showdown over the fate of public tide lands, pitted against powerful rail and improvement corporations.
- The Great Tide Land Tug-of-War
Delegates at the Washington Constitutional Convention debate whether to reserve the state's waterfronts for the public or sell them to private interests.
- The Growing Divide: A 1889 Look at Wealth Inequality
A century before modern debates on income disparity, a Seattle newspaper reflected on a New York attorney's grim statistics concerning the extreme concentration of American wealth.
- Yakima Attorney Makes the Case for State Capital
A prominent local attorney explains why Yakima should be the new capital of Washington Territory.
- The Textbook Battle of 1889
A territorial judge intervenes in a shady school board maneuver, protecting a private contract against a chaotic board meeting.