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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 5 |
| 1883 | 7 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 8 |
29 stories matching proportion
- The Hop Harvest: A Seasonal Tug-of-War
As hop growers in the Puyallup and White River valleys race to harvest before the rains, a debate stirs over the reliance on Indigenous and migrant labor versus the desire for white, school-aged workers.
- The Lumber Boom of 1887
Seattle's bustling mills are running night and day to keep up with the frantic demand for timber, driving labor wages and export prices to new heights.
- The Real Estate Boom of 1881
A local column notes the rapidly inflating property values in Seattle, documenting how land changed hands for thousands in gold coin within a single year.
- The Seattle Boom of 1882
An economic report reveals that property assessments in Seattle have jumped 150 percent in just three months, cementing the city's status as the wealthiest on the Pacific coast north of California.
- A Look Back at Seattle's First Newspaper
An archival find reveals the humble, fragile origins of the city's press during the Civil War era.
- A Glowing Report on Seattle's Boom
A Nevada judge visits Seattle in 1883 and finds the town 'peopled' by familiar faces, overflowing with construction, and perfectly suited for the future 'emporium of the North Pacific coast.'
- The Boomtown Gold Rush of 1885
While Seattle and Portland weathered the collapse of prior manias, a new, frantic energy was rising in San Diego—with eyes fixed on British Columbia as the next frontier.
- The Queen City’s Clean Bill of Health
Dr. L. Smith argues that Seattle’s location is its best sanitary defense, even as the city lacks a formal sewer system.
- The Great Seattle-Portland Population War
In 1882, Seattle editors launched a sharp, statistical campaign to prove their city was growing faster than its southern rival.
- The Industrial Bounty of 1884
A wide-ranging survey of Pierce County’s coal mines, timber mills, and the early aspirations of a burgeoning Seattle and Tacoma.
- The Drive for a Snoqualmie Wagon Road
A Yakima cattleman campaigns to bridge the Cascades, aiming to turn Seattle into the primary market for Eastern Washington farmers.
- The River That Could Drown a Valley
A brewing legal and ecological battle in the White River valley pits farmers against a railway company, as shifting waters threaten to swallow millions in property.
- The Chamber of Commerce Backs the Seattle, Walla Walla and Baker City Railroad
A new report argues that the construction of a cross-state railroad is essential to securing Seattle's industrial future.
- The Great Hop Rush of the 1880s
Boosterism and labor anxiety collide as Washington Territory's hop production booms in Pierce and King Counties.
- The Waterfront Cold War: Seattle’s Battle Over the Tideflats
As railroad companies choked off the tideflats with unpermitted pilings, local manufacturers fought to keep their water access open in a clash between industrial expansion and small business survival.
- Forging a Gateway Through the Cascades
A new mountain road promises to replace a 350-mile detour with a direct 120-mile route, finally linking Seattle to the agricultural bounty of Eastern Washington.
- The Fight for the University’s Future
An editorial debate over the Territorial University’s location and future highlights the tension between Seattle’s growth and the necessity of territorial unity.
- The Senate's Sudden Revolt Against Corporate Power
In an unexpected political shift, the U.S. Senate moves to curb the influence of corporations on Congress, shaking up the power dynamics in Washington Territory and beyond.
- The Picnic Train to Franklin
When the rails finally pushed into Black Diamond and Franklin in 1886, a Sunday school outing became a historic moment for Washington Territory's coal country.
- 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 Oyster War
When Colonel Jim Steel discovered a legal loophole to seize Seattle’s tide flats for private oyster farming, he triggered a chaotic race against a major land company.
- The City’s ‘Losings-Bank’: A Temperance Sermon on Economic Ruin
In an 1881 sermon at Plymouth Church, a local minister argues that Seattle’s rampant saloon culture—not market forces—is the primary engine of financial instability.
- The Price of Reckless Fire in the Forest
A searing editorial from 1886 lambasts the 'gross and inexcusable carelessness' of campers and railroads that leave Washington’s timberlands in ashes.
- The Brewery Barricade: A Pioneer Land Grab
A young saloon keeper attempts to fence off a public path to build a beer garden, igniting a neighborhood revolt in 1887 Seattle.
- The Mother in the Front Pew
A sermon on appearances and the judgment of the wealthy, as observed in a Seattle church.