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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 405 |
| 1877 | 280 |
| 1878 | 64 |
| 1880 | 75 |
824 stories
- The Beast on the Bluff: Hunting a Panther in White River
A Seattle neighborhood turns out with dogs to track a predator that decimated a local farmer's livestock.
- The Boomtown That Outgrew Its Directory
In 1876, Seattle's rapid expansion left business directory fact-gatherers in the dust.
- City Hall's Belt-Tightening Cost Two Officers Their Badges
Facing a sudden budget crunch in 1876, the Seattle City Council moves to dismiss two members of the police force to balance the books.
- The Great Meat Safe: How Seattle’s Fishermen Could Have Rivalled London’s Beef Trade
A July 1876 dispatch from the Agricultural Gazette reveals that fresh American beef was successfully shipped to London in refrigerated holds. The Daily Intelligencer editor sees a parallel opportunity for Puget Sound halibut, which currently spoils before reaching San Francisco markets.
- General Howard’s Seattle Revival
The Civil War general takes the pulpit to debate the 'infidelity' of the American West.
- The Smallpox Panic of 1876
Busy-bodies spread false rumors of a smallpox outbreak in Seattle, prompting a swift rebuttal from the local physician.
- A Close Call at Third and Union
An evening horseback ride ends in a fright for a toddler and a lucky escape from harm.
- The Grasshopper Exodus: How a Plague in Nebraska is Filling Seattle's Streets
As locusts devour the Midwest, desperate farmers look to Washington Territory for salvation—and the *Intelligencer* sees an opportunity to boost settlement.
- The Real Estate Pitchman: Seattle’s ‘Healthy’ Boom Before the Railroads Arrived
In September 1876, just two years before the Northern Pacific Railway would transform the town, a local newspaper ran an aggressive Q&A ad promising steady property values and fertile soil to entice settlers from Nebraska.
- The Unending Grading of Front Street
Seattle's downtown thoroughfare is locked in a cycle of costly miscalculations, mud, and construction delays.
- Seattle’s First City Hall: A $500 Bill for Front Street
In September 1876, the fledgling city council authorized a payment to George Edwards for rebuilding the cribbing and earthworks on Front Street, marking one of the earliest municipal infrastructure contracts in Seattle's history.
- The Great Cow Standoff: When Seattle’s Streets Were Held Hostage by Livestock
In September 1878, a herd of cattle and horses blocked the wharf district, forcing pedestrians to halt in their tracks. The city council was forced to intervene as commerce ground to a standstill.
- The Oyster King’s Great Bay: How One Man Planted a Fortune in Puget Sound
While the rest of Seattle watches the markets, A.J. Burr is engineering a tidal empire at Marshville, turning mudflats into gold with dykes and 1,000 bushels of seed.
- The Ball That Burned: A Seattle Saloon Mystery
In 1876, a patron at John Brendle’s beer saloon discovered that one of the billiard balls was made of highly flammable material, igniting instantly when pressed against his pipe.
- The City Marshal’s War on Dogs
In October 1876, Seattle’s law enforcement launched a crackdown on stray animals, rounding up six dogs and giving owners a grim ultimatum: pay the fine or watch their pets executed.
- The Great Tent That Flopped: Seattle’s First Major Spectacle Washed Out
In October 1876, the famous Montgomery Queen's Circus arrived in Seattle with a massive tent and twenty trained horses, only for torrential rain to collapse their grand opening. A rare look at early Seattle entertainment and civic life.
- The Man Who Mistook the Dock for a Bath
A intoxicated sawmill driver nearly drowned in Seattle’s harbor after mistaking the dark water of Yeager's Wharf for a swimming hole.
- The Alleyway 'Doctor'
A persistent young street peddler attempts to sell a sickly, down-and-out man an apple and some 'remedies' for his poor health, leading to a strange and chaotic confrontation.
- The Midnight Butcher of Seattle
A traveler stops for the night at a remote fisherman's hut, only to find himself terrorized by the sound of steel scraping against stone.
- The Unrelenting Doorbell: A Victorian Guide to Handling Salesmen
A satirical look at the day in the life of a beleaguered homemaker besieged by solicitors in 1870s Seattle.
- The Price of Justice in 1876 Seattle
A meticulous audit of King County court records reveals the day-to-day costs of frontier law, from witness fees for 'Indian Lucy' to the building of the very first jail.
- Seattle Incorporates Northern Pacific Iron Works
A look at the birth of the Northern Pacific Iron Works, a grand manufacturing dream that once promised to turn Seattle into a regional powerhouse.
- The Iron Road Presses Through the Swamp
As Seattle expands its industrial footprint, laborers battle the elements to push a new railroad through a boggy frontier.
- The 1876 Snapshot of a Growing Seattle
A new city directory reveals the frantic pace of 19th-century growth, cataloging the small businesses and shifting population of a frontier town on the cusp of modernization.
- Street Justice for an Indecent Display
A man without means finds himself working off a public fine after a brush with the local court.