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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 1 |
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| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 8 |
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| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 5 |
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390 stories matching deed
- A Family Feud Over Property in North Seattle
A mother’s attempt to reclaim her house from her daughter ends in court, revealing a painful struggle over aging, dependency, and control.
- A Century of Title Confusion
A high-stakes legal battle begins to untangle property deeds in a neighborhood whose identity was lost in a clerical error.
- The Battle for the Harmon Estate
A legal dispute unfolds in North Seattle over an elderly woman’s property, a deed signed under suspicious circumstances, and a family legacy caught in the crossfire of elder care and inheritance.
- The Gold Medal of the Sea
Martha White of Copalis receives a federal gold medal for her heroic rescue of three drowning men.
- A Vashon Rancher's Bizarre Gift
A post-office clerk finds herself in an awkward position after a regular patron deeds her five acres of his property.
- The Deed Itself Said No Saloon
A Spokane land company wrote liquor prohibition into every lot in the new town of Irby, Washington — then quietly bought the surrounding countryside so nobody could open a bar next door.
- 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 Deed Was Too Generous: Yesler's Estate Sues to Take Back a Slice of Seattle
A forgotten 1892 complaint by Seattle's founding figure is revived by his administrators, who say a mutual mistake gave away too much of the Yesler donation claim.
- Seattle Deeds Top $29,000 in a Single Day
Public records from July 1888 detail a frantic wave of property transfers, capturing the speculative fever that defined the city's early expansion.
- The Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Claims Tacoma’s Tideflats
Ninety-one acres of waterfront land have been purchased, signaling the long-awaited arrival of a new transcontinental rail competitor.
- A Wife Says Her Husband Tried to Shoot Her—Then Altered the Deed
Rachel McDonald's divorce suit describes years of cruelty, a terrifying revolver threat, and a scheme to erase her name from their Ravenna property.
- The King of the Timber Land Jumpers
A self-confessed fraudster who stole 70,000 acres of Washington timber land turns on his former syndicate partners.
- The Eight-Foot Property War
A couple sues the Madison Street Cable Railway Company, claiming their power-house was built on land the transit giant didn't own.
- The Narrow Gauge Line Passes to New Ownership
A deed filed in Walla Walla marks the transfer of the historic Dixie line from the O.R. & N. Company to a local outfit.
- The Widow and the Detective
A 64-year-old Spokane woman sues to recover property and mining stock she claims were stolen from her through gross fraud.
- The Tragedy on Meridian Street
A double murder-suicide in Tacoma marks a violent end for a couple married just three months.
- The Railroad Land Agent Who Pocketed the Payments
A Northern Pacific receiver says a dead Tacoma land agent kept buyers' installments for years, leaving them with receipts but no deeds — and a loss that could reach $250,000.
- The Whatcom Land Dispute Resolved
After years of litigation, the standoff between town-site owners and the Whatcom Colony ends, signaling a new era of growth.
- A Drunkard Sold His Mother's Grave for Whiskey Money
Arthur Schmieg deeded the Lake View cemetery lot holding his mother and uncle to a saloonkeeper to cover a liquor debt — and the family went to court to stop the bodies being dug up.
- The Drummer’s Deed: A Tale of Lost Blocks and Mutual Recrimination
A traveling salesman thought he’d scored a bargain on Seattle real estate, only to discover his deed was for the wrong lot—and his seller had no idea either.
- The Struggle for Tax Equity in 1876
A Seattle editorial argues that delinquent property taxes and legal loopholes are placing an unfair burden on the public, demanding legislative reform for the growing territory.
- The Temperance Hall With a Deed That Wouldn't Let Go
A judge voids a ruling on the Good Templars' Columbia Street property, reopening a fight over a free library, a moral clause, and which court had the power to decide.
- Her Wages Bought the House at Fourth and Plum. The Sheriff’s Deed Was Canceled.
Elizabeth Burkett turned a $700 gift into a hotel and a home. When a Pierce County judgment against her husband threatened it, a Thurston County judge traced the property back to her own labor.
- The Murky Business of a Mining Claim
A Seattle businessman publicizes his defense after being accused of a fraudulent mining deal, offering a glimpse into the informal, high-stakes nature of early Pacific Northwest property speculation.
- Tacoma's One-Dollar Land Deal Lures an Iowa Rolling Mill
The Lake View Land Company deeds fifty acres south of Tacoma to Burlington, Iowa, mill managers for a dollar, betting a new plant will follow the subsidy.