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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 19 |
| 1892 | 8 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
67 stories matching commodi
- The Hermit of the Olympics
Deep in the government reservation of the Olympic Mountains, an attorney discovers a man who traded New York city life for a self-built cabin and a library of books.
- A New Bank Opens on East Main
Local business leader J.L. Elam expands his empire with a new private banking institution.
- Kennewick’s New Northern Pacific Depot
A grand new terminal hints at a bright future for the year-old town of Kennewick.
- The Unfinished House on the River
A rare glimpse into the local property market of territorial-era Snohomish, featuring a 'hard-finished' home and a mill site primed for industry.
- The Great Seattle School Expansion of 1890
Facing a tidal wave of new students, Seattle’s rapid development forced the school board to rent dozens of extra classrooms and issue massive bonds just to keep pace.
- The End of Wooden Seattle
A historic property deal marks a turning point as Seattle trades its 'dilapidated, squatty, and dangerous' wooden storefronts for modern, multi-story brick architecture.
- Life at the Port Discovery Mill
A dispatch from the bustling lumber town of Port Discovery, where 200 men—including Chinese and Indigenous laborers—keep one of the Pacific Coast's largest mills running day and night.
- The Temperance Movement on Vashon Island
A report on the Grand Lodge of the I.O.G.T. session, highlighting the rising influence of local temperance activism.
- The Wild Rush for a Mining Exchange
Prominent investors race to establish a formal trading floor on First Avenue as the Klondike Gold Rush transforms Seattle into a global commercial hub.
- A Home for Books Above the Liquor Store
After years of neglect, the Seattle Public Library relocates to a more central, if modest, home on Front Street—sparking a debate over the city's duty to provide spaces for 'public culture' over saloons.
- A Landmark Burns: Andrew Jackson's House on Jackson Street Lost to Fire
The vacant mansion, once a showplace near the old cable trestle, is destroyed in an early morning blaze; neighbors suspect boys.
- The Grand Ambitions of the Denny Hotel
After nine years of fits and starts, one of the largest hotels on the Pacific Coast is finally set to open its doors in Seattle.
- The Aberdeen Rifles' First Grand Gala
A night of 'brass buttons and bright eyes' as the new local armory on Heron Street hosts its inaugural dance.
- The Great Mountain Road Debate of 1877
As Seattle dreamed of a transcontinental railroad, settlers in the Kittitas Valley argued that a simple wagon road was the true key to their economic survival.
- The Ghost of a Civic Dream: Seattle’s Lost City Hall
A century-old bequest for a grand municipal building sits unclaimed, as a local property owner laments the city's scattered, inefficient offices.
- A Grand New Hotel Rises on Port Townsend's Waterfront
A three-story block with a saloon, reading room, and thirty sleeping rooms opens at Water and Washington streets—a brick-and-mortar bet on the town's future.
- The Steamboat Duel: Annie Stewart vs. The Messenger
In a race for passengers and profit on Puget Sound, two steamers engaged in a high-speed chase that ended with the Annie Stewart arriving five minutes ahead of her rival.
- The Deserted Town: Yakima Residents Fight the Railroad
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed established homes to build a new town, citizens fought to prevent the destruction of their livelihoods.
- 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 City That Wasn't: Port Townsend’s Bold Pitch to Steal Seattle’s Thunder
In January 1889, the Mayor of Port Townsend published a scathing list of 'facts' in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, arguing that his town was the true commercial heart of the Pacific Northwest while Seattle remained a mere backwater.
- The 'Folly' of Tacoma: A Steamboat Traveler’s Skeptical Report
An 1876 visitor finds the new city of Tacoma lacking and highlights the tragic loss of local boys at sea.
- The Hotel That Was 'Out in the Woods' Now Can't Keep Up
Fifteen months after skeptics predicted the Sprague House would fail for being too far from town, its proprietor is adding fifty rooms to meet the rush.
- Olympia Collegiate Institute Is Busting at the Seams
With more than 175 students enrolled, a new lecture series underway, and a library outgrowing its shelves, the C.C.I. is already talking about a bigger building.
- The Road to Nowhere: How Seattle’s Leaders Left Lake Washington Residents Stranded in Mud
In March 1877, residents living between the city and Lake Washington found their commute impossible. The city council ignored petitions for a proper road, offering only fir boughs and gravel dust as solutions.
- Two Seattle Justices Fight a Move to the County Courthouse
The county commissioners want the justice courts in the courthouse; the justices say the basement rooms are cramped, the trip burdens litigants, and the change will cost more than it saves.