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| Year | Stories |
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| 1862 | 1 |
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| 1889 | 6 |
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63 stories matching limbo
- The Rock-Breaking Return of the Chain Gang
After years of disuse, Walla Walla city officials revived the ball-and-chain labor system as a punitive measure for minor offenders.
- The Disappearing Developer
A local real estate operator vanishes, leaving behind a trail of dishonored checks, uncompleted houses, and angry creditors across Tacoma.
- A Bequest for Orphans Caught in Legal Limbo
Local community leaders push to settle a will contest that threatens the establishment of the Stubblefield home for indigent widows and orphans.
- Old Town Mill Shuts Its Doors After 37 Years
Economic slump and overproduction force the closure of a historic Tacoma institution, leaving 250 workers in limbo.
- U.S. Supreme Court Voids Northern Pacific Land Sales
A landmark ruling leaves homeowners and farmers on railroad land in legal limbo, requiring an act of Congress to resolve.
- The Uncharted Frontier
Without federal funding for land surveys, homesteaders in Washington State are left in legal limbo, unable to secure titles to the ground they farm.
- The Water Wars of the Yakima River
Two competing land companies engaged in a legal and physical standoff over irrigation rights, leaving laborers arrested and local farms in limbo.
- Desert Land Dreams Turn to Dust
A failed irrigation scheme in Franklin County leaves thousands of acres of claims in limbo after a scathing government report.
- The Great Northern Paralyzed: A Railway Strike Grips the Northwest
American Railway Union members walk off the job, leaving trains idle and the city's rail infrastructure in limbo as local brotherhoods face a takeover by a newer, militant labor force.
- The Town That Can't Be Bought
Federal land withdrawals have frozen property rights in Metaline, leaving residents in a legal limbo as they wait for the government to clear their titles.
- Court House Construction Dispute Nears Legal Limbo
A procedural error by the bench keeps former county commissioners out of jail while the county's infrastructure project remains deadlocked.
- The Perjury Game in Tacoma’s Courts
Federal authorities struggle to stem the tide of fraudulent entry certificates as legal battles over the Geary Act intensify.
- Harbor Line Commission Ends, Leaving 120 Maps and Court Disputes
After two years of mapping Washington's vital waterways, a state commission is dissolved mid-work, leaving harbor development in legal limbo.
- Judge Strikes Down State Road Laws
A landmark superior court ruling declares the state's method for seizing private property for public roads unconstitutional, throwing years of county construction projects into legal limbo.
- Pierce County Voters Reject Debt Validation
A tight election in Tacoma leaves the county's financial future in limbo after voters narrowly defeat a measure to ratify outstanding debt.
- Seattle Fire Commissioner Suspended Amidst Hose Scandal
Mayor Phelps fires T. Masel, alleging incompetence and a fraudulent fire hose contract, sparking a chaotic power struggle at City Hall.
- The Struggle for the Promised Land of Washington Territory
While Washington pioneers clamored for the development of government-held land to build a state, political gamesmanship in Washington, D.C. left the local economy in limbo.
- The Street Contractor’s Gamble
When the city of Tacoma failed to pay up on street improvements, a contractor was left holding the bag—and a pocket full of worthless paper.
- The Disappearing Homesteader of Snohomish County
A government land office issues a public notice to track down a settler who vanished, leaving his claim in limbo and prompting a formal investigation into abandonment.
- The Railway War on the Seattle Waterfront
A high-stakes legal standoff between competing rail lines leaves the Seattle waterfront in limbo, as judges scramble to halt construction near King Street.
- The Railroad That Ran to Nobody: Tacoma's Lake Park Line in Ownership Limbo
Union Pacific bought the ten-mile line to Lake Park and American Lake, but its earnings are now being kept while the receiver sends back no instructions.
- The Judge Who Dissolved Two Towns
A legal loophole in territorial law leaves aspiring municipalities in limbo after Judge Hanford declares the town-incorporation statute unconstitutional.
- The Federal Land Freeze on the Pend Oreille
A sudden government order halts settlement along 30 miles of the Pend Oreille River, leaving homesteaders in limbo as a major power company eyes the region's massive hydroelectric potential.
- The City That Couldn't Host Its Guests
As steamers bring hundreds of travelers to Seattle, local hotels are full and a new building sits empty in legal limbo, leaving strangers sleeping on docks.
- Seattle's Public Library Dreams Put on Hold
After clearing the site of previous tenants, city officials stall on the construction of a new permanent home for the public library, leaving the project in limbo.