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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 405 |
| 1877 | 280 |
| 1878 | 64 |
| 1880 | 75 |
824 stories
- A Call to Harmony at the Territorial University
A visiting lecturer proposes a city-wide fundraiser to gift a Steinway grand piano to the University of Washington, arguing that music education is a moral imperative for a frontier territory.
- The Public Spat of Thomas and Salina Lilly
A 19th-century public notice captures the messy, personal side of early Seattle marriage law.
- The Disappearing Spouse: A 19th Century Public Shaming
In an era before no-fault divorce, a Seattle husband took to the public press to publicly renounce his wife's debts and dictate his marital authority.
- The Iron Backbone of the Puget Sound Frontier
Before skyscrapers and tech, Seattle was built on pipes, brick-ovens, and the ambition of merchants like Waddell & Miles who powered the city’s rapid expansion.
- Nature’s Engineering: Lessons from the Baltic Dikes
An 1875 perspective on how the Baltic coastline’s natural defenses against the sea served as a blueprint for human resilience and infrastructure.
- The Price of a Two-House Dream in 1878 Seattle
A real estate advertisement offers a glimpse into early residential development, featuring a pair of dwellings for $1,200.
- The Unfinished Business of Alfred H. Jones
A standard probate notice reveals the vanishing point of a pioneer's life in 1876 Seattle, where debts and assets were tied to the rapidly developing corners of Third and Union.
- The Soap King of Commercial Street
A scrappy local manufacturer stakes his claim on the burgeoning Seattle market with a pitch for home-grown goods.
- The Seattle Housing Boom of 1876
While miners chased gold in North Georgia, Seattle entrepreneurs were busy speculating on 'hard finish' homes in a rapidly developing frontier town.
- An Early Real Estate Play in Pioneer Seattle
A listing from 1873 offers a glimpse into the housing market of the era, where two dwelling houses and a half-acre lot were marketed as a 'good investment' in the budding city.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Seattle Brick Yard Hustle of 1876
As Seattle began its transformation into a permanent industrial center, local entrepreneurs rushed to secure supplies for the inevitable building boom.
- Holiday Revelry at Yesler's Hall
A festive advertisement for a Christmas night dance captured the spirit of a growing Seattle in 1876.
- A Frontier Promise Kept
In an era of rugged isolation, an anonymous immigrant couple reflects on twenty years of marriage, the silence of their home, and the sudden joy of a child arriving on Christmas Day.
- The Pioneer Discount Marketplace of Seattle
In an era of high prices, the Seattle Variety Store promised relief by flooding the local market with affordable, second-hand household goods.
- The Pioneer Wagon Shop of Old Seattle
A look at the essential craftsmanship that kept the streets of 1870s Seattle moving.
- A Taste of the New York Style in 1870s Seattle
Before the city’s culinary scene went global, entrepreneurs like William Philpott were racing to introduce the 'New York style' to the rough-and-tumble streets of pioneer-era Seattle.
- The 1878 Housing Squeeze
Before the skyline, Seattleites were already scrambling to find affordable bedding and basic household furnishings to survive the cold.
- Dining Out in 1877 Seattle
A local proprietor promises 'first class' meals at all hours, proving that even in a nascent lumber town, the hustle for a hot supper was already a staple of daily life.
- Forging a Growing City: The Pioneer Wagon Shop
While Seattle’s entrepreneurs advertised exotic goods, T. W. Hunt kept the city moving by building the heavy wagons essential to the region's logging industry.
- Dining in 'New York Style' at the Frontier's Edge
Before Seattle became a global tech hub, it was a rapidly growing port town where restaurant owners competed to offer refined 'New York style' dining to weary loggers, sailors, and travelers.
- The Pioneer Wagon Shop of 1875
A craftsman’s call to the growing city of Seattle to supply iron-wrought wheels and reliable repair work for a rugged frontier landscape.
- The Seattle Soap Factory's Industrial Ambition
A local manufacturer touts a 'better than oil' solution for the region's logging industry in 1877.