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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 16 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 12 |
55 stories matching list
- The 'Habitual Drunkard' List
A proposed law would have forced Seattle barkeepers to publicly post a list of 'habitual drunkards' in their establishments, effectively blacklisting them from purchasing alcohol.
- The Great Seattle Tax Auction of 1885
Before Seattle was a tech hub, it was a frontier town defined by rapid land speculation and the inevitable, painful process of tax foreclosures on the city's building blocks.
- 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 Paper Trail That Went Up in Smoke
A King County tax assessor admitted that sworn property records were routinely burned, sparking a public outcry over local fiscal transparency.
- The Unsung Heroes of the July 4th Celebration
While the Governor delivered speeches, an obscure register of local citizens reminds us who actually built the early life of Centralia.
- The Taxman Cometh: A Seattle Pioneer Defends His Reputation
Prominent settler George Kinnear clarifies his position after appearing on a list of delinquent taxpayers for street improvements.
- The Battle Over Naming Baby Brown
A classic matrimonial spat from 1882 reveals the absurd lengths a Victorian couple went to avoid the common name 'Henry' for their newborn son.
- The Defiant Board of Registration
When the Supreme Court of Washington Territory ruled against women’s suffrage in 1887, Seattle officials openly revolted, ordering women to register for the upcoming city election anyway.
- The Railway Capture of the Public Domain
A scathing look at how land office officials transitioned into high-paying railroad positions after engineering favorable rulings for the corporate giants of the West.
- The Great Tax Assessment Mess of 1887
Seattle and King County property owners find their tax rolls hopelessly entangled in errors, leaving public officials to question if the entire assessment should be scrapped.
- The Great Seattle Property Map Scandal
A scathing editorial reveals that King County’s property assessments are so riddled with errors that the tax rolls are essentially worthless, leaving the local government in a state of administrative paralysis.
- The Great Tax Sale of 1885
Hundreds of property owners face dispossession as Seattle lists delinquent lands for auction to cover city debts.
- The Lakeside House Fire at Hot Springs
A devastating midnight blaze destroys the A. T. & S. F. Railway-owned hotel, marking the second such disaster at the site in less than two years.
- The Great 1885 Tax Liquidation
A sweeping list of unpaid property taxes in 1880s Seattle reveals the names of the city's early developers and the precarious reality of holding land in a young frontier town.
- The Alhambra Theatre Scandal
A variety theater proprietor vanishes with thousands of dollars, leaving his troupe and local contractors empty-handed.
- Treasurer Hill's Tax Blunder
A local civic scandal as the City Treasurer faces accusations of incompetence and overreach regarding delinquent tax sales.
- The Rooster Who Refused to be Dinner
A captive bird makes a dramatic, fatal leap into Puget Sound to escape the Thanksgiving table.
- The Push for Washington Statehood
While Washington Territory eyes the Union, local leaders debate whether to wait for Congress or force the issue.
- The Seattle Hides: An Early Civic Mystery
A brief, mysterious mention in the 1885 local notes reveals the existence of an organization known as the 'Seattle Hides,' a group that appeared in the local news alongside fire companies and land deals.
- The Zoo Proprietor and the Imaginary Beast
A skeptical showman gets a lesson in 'scientific' bluster from a tall, blue-spectacled visitor.
- The Tariff Threat to Washington's Industry
An editorial warning that congressional efforts to remove coal and lumber tariffs could spell economic ruin for the region.
- The Real Estate Gambles of Pioneer Seattle
A historic real estate listing reveals the precarious nature of land titles in early Seattle and the high-stakes land development following the death of P.C. Comstock.
- The Shadow Over the Hop Harvest
A recruitment advertisement for labor captures the simmering racial tensions and exclusionary practices of the 1885 Washington hop fields.
- Seattle Rallies for the Nanaimo Mine Disaster
After a horrific mine explosion in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Seattle residents open their hearts and wallets to aid the widows and orphans left behind.
- The Narrow-Gauge Rail Dream
A bold proposal to connect Ilwaco to the oyster beds of Shoalwater Bay aims to revolutionize trade and tourism.