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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
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| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 21 |
| 1877 | 14 |
| 1878 | 12 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
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286 stories matching belling
- The Sewer Plan That Imagined a City of 200,000
Engineer J. S. Camp presented Olympia’s council with a tide-powered reservoir and automatic flush tanks, a system meant to grow with the capital city.
- The Underground Economy of the Slot Machine
A Tacoma counterfeiting case reveals the grit of early 20th-century labor disputes and the petty warfare waged against the city's machine-room owners.
- Aberdeen Keeps the Lights On, Three Months at a Time
When the electric company threatened to shut down the plant, citizens and city officials scraped together a temporary guarantee to keep Aberdeen lit.
- The Battle for the County Clerk's Desk
A public spat between M. C. Belle and W. S. Jenkins over whether the county clerk’s office is a bloated expense or a manageable public service.
- The Peeping Miner and the Stolen Money
A miner from Franklin claims to have witnessed a robbery at a saloon on King Street through a crack in the door.
- The Persistent Bootlegger
After multiple arrests and a brief escape to Seattle, a local 'bootlegger' is being used by police to trap the druggist supplying his liquor.
- A New School for a Growing City
The Seattle School Board secures a central block from developer W. N. Bell for a new permanent schoolhouse.
- The Bitter Newspaper Feud of 1876
A public, vitriolic war of words between two Seattle editors reveals the cutthroat nature of early Pacific Northwest journalism.
- Aberdeen Sleeps Through Its Own Election
Only 219 of 278 registered voters bothered to show, the usual campaign cigars never materialized, and one or two candidates went duck-hunting instead. The Citizens' Ticket still swept every office.
- The Pioneer Plowshare of Seattle
A relic of Seattle's agricultural origins, forged by a local blacksmith, stands as a reminder of the city's humble beginnings.
- The Bank vs. The Smiths: A Benton County Foreclosure Drama
A summons filed in the Superior Court reveals a $200 debt dispute between the Bank of Kennewick and local residents F.B. and Belle Smith, highlighting the precarious financial ties between early agricultural settlers and regional lenders.
- The Midnight Bells of Olympia
When two Northern Pacific agents arrived at midnight to announce the rail terminus, the town of Olympia erupted in a celebration that would define its future.
- The Waterfront Land Wars
A railroad company wins an eviction suit against waterfront 'squatters,' highlighting the precarious state of living for those occupying valuable tide lands.
- The Kidnapping of the Kerr Child: A Battle for Custody and Morality
Charles L. Kerr and his new wife Viola Bell Thorndyke are accused of snatching an infant from a boat in Seattle, sparking a legal war over whether the child will be raised by her father or placed in a home deemed 'proper.'
- The Battle Over the Memory of the Chinese Expulsion
A fiery rebuttal to external accounts of the 1886 anti-Chinese riots in Seattle.
- Seattle’s 1895 Co-op Where 150 Unemployed Men Ate for 7 Cents a Day
At a Belltown barracks, unemployed single men pooled their wages, submitted to military-style rules and fed an average of 150 people daily for about 7 cents each.
- The Final Days of Mrs. Morton
A terminally ill woman dies at the home where her estranged husband lived with his mistress, having refused their care to the end.
- City Council Sides with Grocers to Shutter Public Market
In a blow to local gardeners and budget-conscious residents, the city council votes to dismantle the D Street market stalls to protect the city's grocery combine.
- The Fatal Climb for the Church Bells
A local carpenter attempted to scale a church steeple to settle a debate about height, meeting a tragic end in full view of the town.
- The 'Pitiful Hedizzened Hurlots': Seattle's Moral Panic Over the Steamship Brothels
In September 1872, a furious editorial in the *Seattle Daily Intelligencer* condemned the floating red-light districts on Puget Sound, accusing steamship lines of carrying 'pollution and death' to every port while politicians looked away.
- The Unlikely Rise of Belltown
When William N. Bell first envisioned a northern suburb for Seattle, critics called his plan a 'chimerical scheme of a visionary.' Today, the hammers are ringing as the neighborhood transforms from dense forest into a city hub.
- Abandoned in a Ballard Shack
After her husband left her for another woman, Mrs. Belle Eagon and her three young children faced eviction and hunger until neighbors intervened.
- The Mother-Son Counterfeiting Ring
A woman with a criminal past and her son are caught after operating a makeshift mint out of their homes in Des Moines and Tacoma.
- The 'Strong-Arm' Sentencing of Patrick J. Murphy
A Seattle judge delivers a 15-year sentence for a robbery, signaling a crackdown on street violence and the dangers of the 'strong-arm' hold-up.
- The Neighborhood Duel on Front and Bell
A simmering dispute over a horse stabled in a North Seattle basement erupts into a confrontation involving boiling water and a revolver.