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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 62 |
| 1889 | 89 |
| 1891 | 37 |
| 1892 | 90 |
| 1893 | 91 |
| 1894 | 70 |
| 1895 | 130 |
569 stories matching develop
- 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 Great Seattle Housing Boom of 1890
A staggering list of hundreds of building permits filed on the final day of 1890 reveals the rapid, frantic expansion of a city rebuilding itself from the ashes of the Great Fire.
- Seattle Raises Half a Million for Its Canal—and the State Cheers
Citizens subscribed $511,000 toward the Lake Washington canal enterprise, a private subsidy that boosters promised would unlock millions in commercial development.
- James J. Hill’s Pacific Ambitions
The Great Northern Railroad president reveals a bold plan to dominate the Pacific lumber market and establish high-speed steamship links to Asia.
- The Manufactured Boom of Medina
A speculative land development near Lake McMurray, Skagit County, uses a new railroad and promised natural resources to lure investors to a 'crescent' townsite.
- 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.'
- Untangling the 'Ram's Horn' Rail Lines
A committee of aldermen pushes to straighten a confusing rail right-of-way that crippled Seattle's waterfront development.
- A Promised Fortune in Kittitas Mines Turns to Legal War
John R. Wolcott promised to develop eight mining claims on Negro Creek, but when the ore proved worthless, the owners tried to cancel his contract—and he sued to keep his third interest.
- Puyallup Land Sale Proposal Stirs Tacoma Speculators
As Tacoma developers salivated over tribal lands, a prominent Puyallup leader took his case to Washington D.C. to navigate the complex, often predatory, future of his people's property.
- The Disappearing Doctor of Port Angeles
After spinning elaborate tales of Irish estates and gold mines to his neighbors, a local physician flees with stolen instruments and borrowed furniture.
- The Tragedy of the Salmon Bay Shipyard
A maritime accident in the newly developing industrial tideflats of late 1889 reveals the human cost of Seattle's rapid expansion.
- The Push for a Seattle-Tacoma Inter-Urban Boulevard
Business leaders rally behind a proposed wagon road to connect the two cities, hoping to capture rural trade and boost regional development.
- The Buried Forest Beneath Denny Hill
Excavations for a new industrial facility in Seattle reveal a startling subterranean history: an ancient, preserved forest resting 22 feet beneath the city's surface.
- The Boomtown in the Clouds
A rugged, unreachable mining camp in the Cascades races to build a railway and town before the winter snows.
- The Boom Town That Wasn't: A 1891 Real Estate Pitch
Before the land was logged or the mines were fully opened, developers promised a metropolis on the shores of Lake McMurray—selling 'the coming city' on a dream of coal, timber, and sandstone.
- The 1888 Land Grab: Seattle’s First Lottery-Style Housing Development
Before modern zoning and master plans, developers in the boom-era Northwest used gimmicks like house-lot raffles to sell undeveloped land on the city’s fringes.
- The Rise of Seattle Football
Three months ago the game was unknown; today, the city is a powerhouse on the Pacific Coast.
- Smallpox Outbreak at King and Seventh
A new case of smallpox is discovered in a house at King and South Seventh streets, leading to the immediate quarantine of the inhabitants.
- The Warden Fights Back: Grain-Sack Graft and Cruelty Charges at the State Penitentiary
Accused of skimming from grain-sack sales and mistreating prisoners, Walla Walla's warden dares the state to investigate — and the Post-Intelligencer says it should.
- A $2 Million Power Plant Would Harness White River for Tacoma and Seattle
Promoters behind a New Jersey-chartered company plan a Lake Tapps reservoir and a Stuck Valley generator, aiming to power an interurban railroad and industry in Tacoma and Seattle.
- The Wife-Slasher Who Tried to Play Insane—and the Seattle Jury That Didn’t Buy It
McGee feigned madness so badly that the jury convicted him on the first ballot. A Steilacoom asylum doctor explained why three months of observation found no insanity—only a terrified wife.
- The Seattle Land Rush of 1889
A weekly log of deeds and transactions reveals the frenzied pace of development, speculation, and shifting property lines in pre-statehood Seattle.
- The Unintended Urban Pioneers of Sumas
Two land developers scouting for a new townsite find themselves unexpected fathers to a pair of bear cubs.
- The City Rises Against a Heavyweight Bully
When boxing legend John L. Sullivan publicly spewed racist venom in 1892, Seattle’s Afro-American League turned his own brutal rhetoric against him, demanding dignity from the local press.