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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 11 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 10 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 6 |
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211 stories matching sole
- Racist Exclusion and the Main Street Real Estate Panic
Local property owners react with outrage as landlords lease buildings to Chinese residents, illustrating the exclusionary climate of 1880s Seattle.
- The Final Days of Mrs. Morton
A terminally ill woman dies at the home where her estranged husband lived with his mistress, having refused their care to the end.
- The Real Estate Gold Rush: How Seattle’s Early Boomers Made Millions on Dirt
A Sunday editorial in the Post-Intelligencer lays bare the staggering profits of land speculation in 1883, revealing how a few savvy investors turned hundreds of dollars into fortunes through sheer timing and location.
- The Ghost Town That Only Existed on Paper
How two swindlers and a 'Nebraska Cyclone' preacher conned a community with a townsite located entirely in a duck-filled salt marsh.
- The Governor’s War: Seattle’s Militia Mutiny and the Coal Creek Massacre
In the wake of a deadly strike at Newcastle coal mines, Governor Elisha Peery clashes with local sheriff over military command, exposing the fragility of civil authority in Washington Territory.
- Everett Pushes for a City-Owned Water System
Advocates argue that water is a public necessity, not a commodity for private corporate profit.
- The Political Rings of Olympia
An editorial from 1872 exposes a 'carpet-bagger' political machine using public funds to bankroll a partisan newspaper and manipulate Territorial elections.
- The Ring of Corruption: How King County’s Auditor Hid the Books
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes Gardner Kellogg for refusing to explain thousands of dollars in missing county funds, accusing him of treating public office as private property.
- The Great Railway Monopoly Struggle of 1877
An editorial from the Seattle Weekly Dispatch reveals the town's early, bitter fight against the Northern Pacific Railroad's land-grabbing tactics.
- The Tide Land Grab: How Seattle's Future Was Sold Before It Was Even a State
As Washington Territory inches toward statehood in early 1889, speculators are already circling the waterfront, buying up oyster beds and timber rights in a desperate rush to claim the city's most valuable real estate.
- The Collapse of a Railroad Empire
A classic story of overreach, mismanagement, and the harsh realities of the market as Jay Gould maneuvers to seize the Union Pacific during the Baring Brothers financial crisis.
- Longshoremen Wage War on Stevedoring Monopoly
A newly formed stevedoring firm threatens the livelihoods of union workers, sparking a conflict on the Seattle waterfront.
- The Bank Clerk Who Slapped the Boss
Josie Holmes, a local bank clerk, finds herself in jail for her role in a financial scandal, but her reputation in Seattle remains that of an indomitable figure who refused to bow to her corrupt employer.
- Smallpox Outbreak Ignored at Snohomish Hospital
A health officer faces public backlash for failing to quarantine a hospital where a county pauper contracted smallpox.
- The Son-in-Law from Hell
A pioneer father-in-law sues for extortion, alleging his relative seized his farm and tossed him out in the rain.
- The Political Sewer Job
City Hall prioritizes patronage and Democratic party loyalty over infrastructure, resulting in a disastrous street collapse.
- The Political Sewer Scheme
A power struggle in Seattle’s city hall erupts over patronage, infrastructure, and the systematic firing of qualified engineers to make room for political favorites.
- Seattle's 1894 Election: Corruption, Fraud, and the Fight for City Hall
As voters head to the polls, the Post-Intelligencer unleashes a blistering attack on the Democratic administration, alleging graft, forgery, and a machine determined to hold power at any cost.
- Private Employment Agents Fight Back Against the City's Free Labor Bureau
Accused of swindling job-seekers, a Seattle employment firm blames organized labor and a union-backed city bureau for a campaign to put it out of business — and dares the city to investigate.
- The Body in the Box: A Political Murder Haunts Spokane County
Charles F. Gloystein crossed the Freeman's Protective Silver Federation and disappeared. Now his neighbors are offering a $1,000 reward—not for a killer, but for the body.
- The Sheriff Deputized a Killer to Keep the Peace at a Seattle Primary
A Republican primary in Seattle's First Ward turned into a street fight between the sheriff's men and city police—and the Post-Intelligencer laid the blame squarely on Sheriff Woolery.
- County Commission Battles Northern Pacific Land Grab
King County officials call out the railroad for attempting to claim massive timber and coal holdings through fraudulent charter claims.
- Seattle’s Yesler Donation Claim Goes on the Auction Block
An administrator petitions to carve 86 lots out of Sarah B. Yesler’s donation claim to settle an estate drowning in debt and taxes.
- The Deadly Call: A Streetcar Worker Electrocuted on Duty
A faulty telephone circuit, intended for transit operations, turned fatal when a Seattle conductor went to report off his shift.
- The 'Messenger' Drug Ring Exposed
Detectives charge that a Tacoma messenger service was a front for a widespread cocaine and morphine trafficking operation.