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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 8 |
| 1872 | 110 |
| 1876 | 122 |
| 1877 | 92 |
| 1878 | 208 |
| 1879 | 10 |
| 1880 | 59 |
609 stories
- The Scandal of the City Fire Engine
A missing $300 in gold coin leads to a bitter political falling-out in 1878 Seattle, revealing the city's early struggles with public trust and municipal accounting.
- The Deadly Gap in Seattle’s Sidewalks
A dangerous industrial site finally gets attention after a fatal accident claims the life of a man and his team of horses.
- The Great Seattle Construction Boom of 1878
Falling material costs spark a building frenzy in the frontier town, signaling a rapid expansion for early property owners.
- The Seattle Editor Who Fought a Mob
After being accused of being a 'blatant traitor' and a secret sympathizer of Lincoln’s assassin, Seattle publisher Beriah Brown strikes back at his political rival.
- The Crew of the 'Tidal Wave' Strikes for Back Pay
After the American bark 'Tidal Wave' terminated its voyage at Port Madison, fourteen sailors filed a legal action against the ship's owners to recover unpaid wages, lodging, and return expenses.
- The Crew of the 'Tidal Wave' Demands Their Due
After being discharged in Port Madison without full pay, fourteen mariners have filed a legal claim against the American bark 'Tidal Wave' in Seattle.
- The Mail System is Broken
In 1880, Seattle residents faced endless delays and 'willful neglect' from the postal service—an early grievance about failing public infrastructure.
- 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.
- The Avarice of the Soil
An 1871 lecture on why farmers must stop starving themselves to save a few pennies.
- The Pioneer Moralists of Chehalis
While Seattle’s 1872 boosters bragged about their town’s vibrant saloon culture, the neighboring Chehalis valley was being touted as a teetotaling, prosperous paradise of butter-makers.
- The Fearless Rider of Beacon Hill
A young Seattle woman rejects the damsel-in-distress stereotype after a dramatic horseback spill.
- The Arrival of the First Ice Shipment in Seattle
A historic crowd gathers at the wharf in 1872 to welcome the bark 'Osmyn' and its cargo of frozen luxury, signaling a new era of chilled comforts.
- The Mayor’s Sidewalk Mandate: Seattle’s First War on Public Infrastructure
In August 1872, Mayor J.T. Jordan issued Ordinance No. 32, forcing property owners on Capitol Hill to build their own sidewalks or face fines—a stark early example of the city shifting infrastructure costs onto private citizens.
- The Brick Fortress on Commercial Street
In 1872, Bailey Gatzert and Schwabacher Bros. erected a $26,000 commercial landmark that signaled Seattle’s arrival as a financial hub.
- The Pioneer Hospital of the Puget Sound Frontier
In an era of dangerous labor and little social support, Dr. G. A. Weed opened a hospital in Seattle designed to serve the 'sick and disabled who have no homes' in the growing mill and mining industries.
- The 'Lava-Bed Ranger' and the Brawl at the Saloon
A rowdy evening in 1876 Seattle ends in a courtroom, highlighting the rough-and-tumble street life of a frontier town.
- The Sheriff’s Grim Job Application
A newly elected Seattle sheriff faces a long line of patronage seekers, eventually offering a 'job' that none of them really wanted.
- The Jailbreak at the Lava-Beds
A woman held in a Seattle lockup executes a daring escape, shedding her clothes and fleeing toward the wilderness after outsmarting her captor.
- The Silver Dollar Crusade: Seattle’s Local Echo of a National Money War
While the nation debates bimetallism and Indian Wars, Washington Territory officials in Seattle are quietly preparing for a federal commission that could reshape the region's economy.
- The Logger Who Waited in Silence
A brutal ax wound and a stoic patience define the daily risks of Puyallup Valley labor in 1876.
- The Wool Seller’s Thanksgiving: A Farmer’s Wallet Meets Reality
In a moment of pure 1876 optimism, a local farmer bursts into a Seattle restaurant celebrating his wool sale—only to realize that luxury costs more than he thought.
- The Audacity of the Midnight Knife: A Burglary Attempt on Fourth Avenue
Two men risked everything to crack a store's back door in the dead of night, only to be thwarted by a vigilant clerk and the sound of sawing.
- The Man Who Slept in a Law Office Window
A destitute former resident of Chimacum is found crawling into a Seattle law office window, claiming he has nowhere else to go.
- The Man Who Would Build His Own Locomotives
In 1876, Seattle industrialist J.M. Colman rejected foreign machinery in favor of local manufacturing, predicting a self-sufficient Pacific Northwest within five years.
- The Hill Is Sliding Into the Sea: Seattle’s First Landslide Crisis
In November 1876, a slow-motion disaster threatened to bury a jeweler’s home and block Mill Street as nature reclaimed the southern slopes of Pioneer Square.