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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
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57 stories matching sin
- The Soapbox Fury of Pioneer Place
On a shivering evening in 1892, disgruntled citizens and Populist agitators took to the streets of Seattle to decry 'subsidized editors,' crooked bond issues, and the 'damnable state of things.'
- The Hell of Black Diamond
A local clergyman takes a fiery stand against a saloon and dance hall he claims is corrupting the village.
- The Women Who Refused to Look Away
Tacoma’s most prominent ladies rally behind a betrayed young woman in court, challenging Seattle’s apathetic society to stand with her.
- The Ship That Smuggled Opium: How a Legal Loophole Freed a Vessel and $13,000 in Penalties
Judge Hanford rules that the steamer *Walla Walla* is not liable for contraband found in its cargo because the master lacked knowledge of the smuggling, setting a precedent for common carriers.
- The Pen and the Pistol: A Seattle Saloon Brawl
When an editor’s satirical writing sparked a public confrontation on Mill Street, a local developer settled the score with a revolver—until his target managed to disarm him.
- The Price of Virtue in a Growing Boomtown
Mayor George W. Hall rejects 'vicious' municipal profits from sin, grappling with the fiscal reality of a rapidly expanding, fire-scarred Seattle in 1892.
- The Hypocrisy of a Congressman
A local editor skewers John L. Wilson for firing a female postmaster purely for political patronage, revealing Wilson’s own history of groveling for Democratic appointments.
- The Unpopular Appointment of B. F. Kendall
Public outcry swells across Washington Territory against the controversial selection of a local lawyer as the new Indian Superintendent.
- Town Turns on Revivalist's 'Personal Abuse'
A visiting evangelist’s attempts to shame locals into piety backfire, leading the paper to call his tent-revival methods 'of no benefit to the community.'
- A Trial Over a Reproductive Choice
A jury convicts L.M. LaPointe for producing an abortion, sparking a harsh account of the social stigma of the era.
- The Boy Who Stole a Horse to Earn His Keep
A 17-year-old’s desperate attempt to fund his future ends in jail, sparking a local debate on juvenile justice and the harsh realities of poverty in early Seattle.
- The City Takes Control of the Waterfront
After the Great Seattle Fire, the city government moves to secure its economic future by seizing public control of the docks.
- The City Hall Compromise on Vice
A heated debate over whether to permit gambling and vice reveals the deep divide between reformers and those who viewed 'sin' as a necessary economic pressure valve.
- The Great Front Street Fraud: City Council Exposes Fake Petition for Cable Car
In a stunning display of civic integrity, Seattle’s Common Council unmasks a fraudulent petition designed to grant a monopoly cable car franchise, revealing that applicants forged signatures and misrepresented property frontage.
- The Purging of 'Whitechapel'
The Seattle City Council and local newspapers clash over the city’s attempt to erase a notorious downtown red-light district from the map.
- The Women of Aberdeen Make Their Mark at State Convention
A local delegate recounts the nerve-wracking, momentous experience of representing Aberdeen at the statewide Women's Christian Temperance Union gathering.
- The Forgotten Spring of Cherry Street
City Treasurer Adolph Krug proposes reviving a historic natural spring near Sixth and Cherry to provide free, pure water to the city.
- The Case of the Stolen Stick of Wood
An overzealous police officer makes an arrest for the theft of a single stick of wood, only for the municipal court to dismiss the case with a blessing.
- The Political Prostitutes of the Turner Camp
A fiery editorial denounces two local politicians for switching allegiances in a high-stakes U.S. Senate nomination fight.
- General Booth Brings the Salvation Army’s Hallelujah Show to Seattle
A visiting evangelist fills the Armory, keeps a basement congregation on its knees, and explains why the Army is not a church.
- The Church's Radical Pivot on Poverty
A Tacoma newspaper editorial challenges the Home Mission Council to look past 'bad character' and confront the structural monopolies driving urban poverty.
- There's "Dough" in Every Street Contract: A Preacher Takes On City Hall
Rev. Napoleon Hoagland reads the nation's municipal record aloud — reeking streets, a million-dollar franchise given away, councilmen who elsewhere would count themselves lucky to stay out of prison — and asks why democratic America breeds more thieves than the Tsar's Europe.
- The Hatchet-Wielding Cook Who Saved Her Pastor
An Episcopal clergyman’s tendency to deliver fiery lectures almost led to a bloody end until his cook intervened with a carving knife.
- A Rainy Day Victory at Latona
Two newly organized local baseball teams braved the rain for a weekend match.
- The Army of Two Flags
Facing suspicion as an 'English institution,' the local Salvation Army embraced American patriotism to win the city's trust.