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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
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| 1877 | 12 |
| 1878 | 9 |
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| 1882 | 1 |
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| 1904 | 3 |
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| 1929 | 1 |
321 stories matching progress
- The Railroad That Never Was: How Wall Street Strangled Seattle’s Future
In January 1891, a top Northern Pacific executive visits San Francisco and delivers a devastating blow to the region's economic hopes, citing a 'stringency of money market' that will halt all new railway construction in Washington and Montana.
- Turmoil at Washington Agricultural College
Board of Regents investigates student assault and political infighting over faculty appointments at the new state college.
- Explosives Blast Seattle's Waterways Clear
A dangerous snag, responsible for over $4,000 in damages to loggers, is finally demolished above the old Packard wharf.
- A Citizen Asks: Is the Government Canal Being Sidetracked?
A letter to the editor warns that the private company filling Seattle's tide flats may be quietly killing the Lake Union–Salmon Bay canal — and notes the government engineer is on that company's payroll.
- The Pulpit vs. The Parochial School
A Seattle minister takes the stage to denounce Catholic education and demand the defense of the secular public school system.
- The Tragedy of a Seattle Clairvoyant’s Victim
A woman has been committed to the asylum at Steilacoom after a self-proclaimed 'clairvoyant' convinced her he was controlling her life through electricity.
- An Eastern Critique of Seattle’s ‘Young Men’s Party’
A skeptical observer from Brooklyn weighs in on the age-based political movements shaping Washington Territory.
- The Rebuilding of Seattle After the Great Fire
Civic leaders and laborers work to transform the scorched remains of the city into a modern metropolis.
- The Prosecutor vs. the All-Male Jury
King County Prosecuting Attorney John R. Bradshaw demands the inclusion of women on jury lists, citing Washington Territory’s progressive suffrage laws.
- The Great Debate of Reason vs. Revelation
Seattle's Armory hosts a week-long verbal brawl between a Christian minister and a secularist skeptic over the role of the Bible in modern life.
- The Fight to Reclaim Railroad Lands
A lobbyist writes from Washington, D.C., on the progress of a bill to forfeit Northern Pacific land grants and restore them to the public domain.
- The Struggle for a Central Union Depot
As Seattle rapidly expanded, competing railroad interests vied for the prime waterfront site at the foot of Main Street, mirroring modern battles over urban infrastructure and transit hubs.
- The Hotelkeeper Who Jumped to Escape Justice
A Port Gamble innkeeper’s dramatic leap from a second-story window reveals the gritty reality of justice in 1876 Seattle.
- The Price of Progress on Lake Washington
A century before Seattle’s modern infrastructure battles, property owners in 1891 fought a railroad’s attempt to claim waterfront for a 'Belt Line' at a discount.
- The Iron Road That Built Seattle
How the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad defied the 'disregard and neglect' of the Northern Pacific to secure the city's future.
- The Day the Floor Collapsed at the Revivals
A two-story church in Seattle, serving as a school on its lower floor, gave way under the weight of a crowd, resulting in a thirteen-foot plunge and multiple severe injuries.
- Tacoma Labor Unions March in Seattle
Two thousand Tacoma union members chartered steamboats to participate in a massive Labor Day parade in Seattle.
- 1893 Snowstorm Leaves City Short of Coal and Water
Deep snow blocks the rails and the rivers, leaving Seattle shivering and hungry as coal supplies vanish.
- Councilors and the Cost of Progress
A standoff between property owners and council members over street grading reveals the deep entanglement of private business and city government.
- The Daily Commute: A Seattle Tragedy and the City's Growing Pains
While Seattle leaders focused on the expansion of railroads and the promise of the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway, a grieving mother buried her child, marking the harsh reality of urban development in 1887.
- A Sea of Supporters Packs the Armory for the Canal
Thousands of Seattleites overflow the First Regiment Armory to rally for the proposed ship canal, signaling a major push for federal infrastructure.
- State Funding for Washington's Farmers' Institutes
For the first time, the state legislature has appropriated $5,000 to support agricultural education across Washington's counties.
- The Struggle for Smith's Bay: A Foreclosure on Progress
A landmark Seattle building faces the auction block as labor claims and land disputes entangle a growing city.
- The Price of Progress on Stewart Street
Forty property owners take the city to court over a doubled assessment for the grading of Stewart Street.
- Thomas Dolan Tried Soap and Knives to Escape Jail
A desperate inmate’s attempt to saw through the county jail's steel bars with repurposed table knives ends in a dark cell.