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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 8 |
| 1883 | 29 |
| 1884 | 14 |
| 1885 | 41 |
| 1886 | 15 |
| 1887 | 6 |
113 stories matching character
- Masked Revelry at Yesler Hall
Seattle residents don costumes for a night of dancing and competition in the city's popular social venue.
- The Masquerade That Captivated Seattle
At the height of winter, Seattle’s socialites and laborers alike donned disguises for a night of revelry at Brown’s Pavilion, blending classes in a rare moment of community spectacle.
- The Queen City Brass Band's High-Stakes Ballroom Dance
In an era of strict social decorum, a Seattle brass band hosts an 'apron and necktie' ball at the Court House, strictly barring 'disreputable characters' to fund their new uniforms.
- The Seattle Liquor Board's Battle for Moral Standing
A landmark 1886 legal challenge in King County forces a judge to define the limits of civic power when local officials refuse to grant a liquor license based on a claimant’s character.
- The Struggle for Civic Access: The WCTU’s 1885 Fight Against Liquor Licensing
A local chapter of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union pushes for a formal transparency process, demanding public notice and character checks for liquor license applicants in early Seattle.
- The Saloon at the Race Track
A legal battle over liquor licenses in the Duwamish precinct reveals the limits of civic power when faced with the relentless machinery of the law.
- The Pastor Who Refused to Be Shamed
When an anonymous article smeared a local minister, his Seattle congregation stood by their leader with a bold, public defense of his character.
- The 1883 Classroom Reform
Before the public school system in Washington was fully established, teachers gathered in a Seattle church to debate the future of education, temperance, and the radical idea of 'character' over rote memorization.
- Vigilante Justice on the Northern Pacific Frontier
As railroad construction pushed through the Northwest, local 'Safety Committees' took the law into their own hands to purge work camps of 'hard characters.'
- The Knights of Labor Strike Back in Whatcom
A fiery public letter from the local labor organization dismantles the 'social assassins' and 'poltroons' who questioned their political legitimacy in 1886.
- The Price of a Free Pass
In 1885, Seattle’s press took on the corrupting influence of Northern Pacific Railroad’s 'free' travel gifts to legislators, arguing that such favors were nothing less than bribes intended to command political obedience.
- The Unmaking of a Seattle Landmark
As the city rapidly expands, the historic Wyckoff house is vacated, marking a shift in the central business district’s character.
- The Seneca Street Sludge
A persistent drainage issue on a downtown sidewalk sparks frustration among Seattle pedestrians, highlighting the lack of basic civic maintenance in the growing city.
- City Council Denies Liquor License to Infamous Proprietor
A contentious debate erupts over an application to open a saloon on Jackson Street, fueled by community protests and charges of operating a house of prostitution.
- An Inmate's Charges: A Clergyman in the Asylum Accuses Its Keepers
A Presbyterian minister confined to the hospital for the insane levels 'painful charges' against its management, and the paper — even doubting his reliability — demands an investigation.
- The Roller Rink's Strict Rules
An 1881 Seattle rink owner moves to sanitize the reputation of his roller skating establishment.
- The Tragic Cost of a Long-Standing Feud
A fifteen-year-old boy shoots and kills a man in downtown Oakesdale, Washington, following years of harassment.
- A Desperate End at Sand Point
A man known as 'Eaton,' ordered to leave town by vigilantes, takes his own life in front of a passing train.
- The Roller Skating Scandal of 1882
A Seattle roller rink proprietor attempts to clean up his act by barring the 'improper,' as injuries mount among the city’s elite.
- The Unflinching Defense of Mrs. Dudley
Facing a court in a high-stakes trial, a woman demands the right to testify in her own defense, challenging the gendered biases of her era.
- The Laundry Alibi
A Seattle laborer stands accused of a brutal hatchet attack, but his defense claims he was nowhere near the scene, pointing to his wife’s workplace as his only destination.
- The Mother’s Search and the Tacoma Variety Stage
A mother’s desperate attempt to rescue her daughter from a life in the variety theaters leads to a public confrontation in 1887 Seattle.
- The Strange Robbery on Coppin’s Hill
A local saloon owner claims he was robbed by footpads, but his suspicious story leads police to consider a city-wide crackdown on transients.
- The Waterfront Exclusion
Citizens are being physically hustled off the docks as a new, exclusionary policy takes hold during passenger boat arrivals.
- Tiny Performers Wow at Yesler’s Hall
A kindergarten concert by the Baptist Sunday School brings down the house to fund a new library.