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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 5 |
| 1883 | 10 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 6 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 9 |
43 stories matching check
- The Rogue of Seattle
A serial con artist who targeted the generous, leaving friends to pay his debts.
- The Shipbuilder Who Wasn't: A Swindler’s Bogus Checks and a Wife’s Shame
Captain John E. Higgins arrives in Seattle posing as a respected Bath, Maine shipbuilder, only to be exposed by Harbor Police Officer Metzler after cashing forged checks on local merchants.
- The Looming Threat of Chinese Labor
As Chinese laborers migrate from British Columbia to Washington, voices in the Territory call for joint international action to stop the 'incoming tide.'
- Chinatown Destroyed by Suspicious Blaze in Tacoma
Twenty-five buildings consumed in a massive fire; arson suspected in the downtown quarter.
- Hardship and Deception at the Cascade Tunnel
Laborers arriving at the Northern Pacific site find empty promises, cold conditions, and a 'regular gouging' by company management.
- The First Direct Shipment from China
The arrival of the American ship Mercury in Puget Sound signals the start of a massive new trade route.
- The Price of Admission: A 1887 Seattle Real Estate Crisis
When the city's housing shortage became so acute that a book dealer had to buy an entire printing business just to secure a roof over his head.
- 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 Price of a Pioneer Wardrobe
A look at the retail landscape in 1886 Seattle, where department stores were the primary civic meeting grounds and symbols of progress.
- The Great Rabbit Invasion of 1897
Farmers and settlers in the Palouse region faced a desperate agricultural crisis as a massive swarm of rabbits descended upon their fields.
- The Coal Land Bust and the Stranded Laborers
Speculative collapse leaves workers in 'rookeries' as a corporate empire fractures.
- An Unsettled Climate in the Pacific Northwest
A witness reports on the volatile tensions between white labor and the Chinese community in the region.
- Homesteading Reality Check for the Skagit Valley
A blunt warning to new arrivals: the frontier isn't a land of ready-made farms.
- The Tragic Death of John Curran
A laborer crushed in a freak accident while driving a rock-laden cart through South Seattle.
- Major Fire Razes Ellensburgh Business District
A late-night blaze destroys a prominent general store and several neighboring residences in the heart of the growing town.
- The Siege at the Newcastle Coal Mines
A violent confrontation breaks out as 200 strikers clash with non-union men at a Seattle-area coal mine, leaving the community on edge.
- A Runaway Team Causes Panic on Front Street
A teamster's attempt to stop his runaway horses results in a dangerous, public struggle near the Occidental Hotel.
- The Great Seattle Land Office Fire
A devastating blaze sweeps through downtown, destroying irreplaceable public records and a local church.
- The Eight-Hour Day Battle in 1887
Washington territorial legislators spar over radical new labor laws, including mandates for an eight-hour workday and the end of company-scrip payment systems.
- The Railway Heartbeat of Walla Walla
When a railroad bypasses a growing town for a smaller rival, the economic stakes—and the town's survival—hang in the balance.
- Judge Wood's Perilous Plunge
While traveling by water for a political campaign, a local Judge slips from the deck of a steamer and nearly loses his life in the sound.
- The Struggle for Local Control Over Seattle's Saloons
A new 1886 ordinance tightened the grip of the City Council on the city’s liquor trade, imposing strict licensing, background checks, and Sunday bans in an attempt to regulate the chaos of the frontier economy.
- A Plea Against Mob Violence
Prominent citizens petition Congress to protect the treaty rights of Chinese residents amidst a wave of xenophobic riots on the Pacific Coast.
- The Swindled Worker of the South Prairie Line
A laborer finds that the Northern Pacific Railroad's subcontracting system is a trap of unpaid wages and unreachable bosses.
- Railroad Workers Left Without Pay in Seattle
Construction crews on the Cedar River extension face a dire crisis after the Oregon Transcontinental company fails to issue wages since January.