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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 36 |
| 1877 | 22 |
| 1878 | 24 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 11 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 33 |
| 1884 | 16 |
| 1885 | 15 |
| 1886 | 10 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 12 |
| 1889 | 25 |
| 1891 | 26 |
| 1892 | 33 |
| 1893 | 31 |
| 1894 | 43 |
| 1895 | 68 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
446 stories matching section
- Fatal Steamship Boiler Explosion Rocks Seattle Waterfront
A boiler aboard the steamer J. S. Kobinson exploded with 'frightful force' at the foot of Yesler Way, resulting in fatalities and massive property damage.
- The Price of Frontier Survival: A Seattle Sheriff's Sale
A 1878 legal notice reveals a bleak snapshot of life in early Seattle, where debt-ridden families faced the auction block under the gaze of a booming young city.
- The Delinquent Tax Rolls of Territorial Seattle
A haunting, granular list of property owners from 1875 and 1876 whose land was seized by the county, documenting the precarious nature of early Seattle ownership.
- The Logging Law Loophole
A court ruling renders timber-scaling laws toothless, allowing logs to be transported before taxation.
- The Rapid Rise of Palatine
A new industrial settlement along the canal route emerges as a hub of quick development.
- The Hustlers of the Waterfront: Regulating Seattle's Hotel Runners
In 1878, the Seattle City Council cracked down on the aggressive solicitors who haunted the docks, requiring them to wear badges and pay a quarterly tax for the right to hawk boarding houses.
- The Harbor Line Fight
Legislative records clear Governor McGraw of conspiracy charges in a high-stakes battle over Washington’s waterfront control.
- The School-Land Grab Bellingham Fought at the Governor's Desk
Protests flood the governor against a bill that would hand a valuable Bellingham Bay school section to the Dealy and Yostkins heirs — and leave the state with nearly worthless lieu land.
- The 1878 Fight to Ban Corporate Land Hoarding
As Washington prepares for statehood, delegates debate a radical proposal to break up concentrated land ownership and prevent corporate monopolies.
- A Disputed Legacy: The Lost Land of James O. Libby
After the passing of James O. Libby, his administrator moved to auction off over 120 acres of land in King County to settle his estate.
- The City’s Blueprint: Codifying Seattle’s 1886 Charter
A comprehensive look at the new municipal laws defining everything from fire prevention to drainage, setting the legal foundation for a growing city.
- The Great Migration from the Flood Plains
Northern Pacific agent B. N. Austin predicts a wave of farming families from the flooded Mississippi and Missouri valleys to settle the Pacific Northwest.
- A Lawyer Outwits the Law
After sitting in jail for sixty days without a trial, an enterprising young attorney secures his own release by quoting the state code.
- The Unclaimed Inheritance of James O. Libbey
A public auction on the Seattle waterfront promises the sale of over 100 acres of land from a local estate, marking a fleeting moment of property transfer in the frontier city.
- Seattle Challenges the Railroad Monopoly
A local committee led by Judge Jacobs petitions the government to stop the Northern Pacific from claiming an old coal line as a major branch.
- The Retired Colonel and the County Treasurer
A judge instructs a Grand Jury on whether a retired U.S. Army officer is legally permitted to hold the civilian office of King County Treasurer.
- The 'Young Giant' of the Northwest
A booster-era dispatch from 1891 paints a portrait of Seattle as a resource-rich boomtown clawing its way back to prosperity following a devastating fire.
- Two Railroads Cut a Deal Through Ballard
The Ballard council ratified a track-swap agreement between the Seattle & Montana and the Lake Shore & Eastern, settling access to Shilshole Avenue and the mills.
- The Unchecked Power of the Northern Pacific
A scathing editorial decries the 'bloodless, soulless' corporation for exploiting homesteaders and evading taxes while demanding public lands.
- Seattle Property Owners to Assess Front Street Widening
A mid-summer legal notice reveals the bureaucratic struggle to widen Front Street—modern-day First Avenue—as the city demanded property owners share the cost of modernization.
- The Year Queen Anne Kicked Until Its Fire Insurance Rates Fell
After a year of organized pressure, residents won 25 to 50 percent cuts—because an engine house finally persuaded insurers the hill was worth protecting.
- Fortifying the Northern Pacific's Coal Bunkers Against Sea Worms
An engineering miscalculation forces urgent retrofitting of new coal infrastructure against the destructive teredo worm.
- The Forgotten Lots of a Frontier Estate
A public auction notice reveals the mid-19th-century land holdings of the late James O. Libby, offering a glimpse into the early real estate speculation of the Puget Sound region.
- Slaughter-house Fire Ends in Horror
A blaze at a waterfront facility leaves animals dead and the community shaken.
- The Chamber of Commerce Backs the Seattle, Walla Walla and Baker City Railroad
A new report argues that the construction of a cross-state railroad is essential to securing Seattle's industrial future.