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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 6 |
| 1884 | 6 |
| 1885 | 13 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 4 |
34 stories matching reader
- The Land Grabbing Battle for Puyallup
A railroad-backed land company attempted to seize 18,000 acres of tribal land, painting it as 'waste' to displace the indigenous population.
- The Myth of the Promised Land: 1885
A reader challenges the city's booster press, exposing the gap between industrial promises and the reality of a struggling population.
- The Charity Case Who Came Back a Brutal Husband
Port Blakely mill hands passed the hat for a crippled co-worker and sent him home to Kentucky. He came back married — and the town's justice of the peace had to take his wife away from him by night.
- The Women Who Stormed the Police Chief’s Office
In 1885, a group of Seattle women, frustrated by official corruption and the unchecked influence of saloons and gambling dens, launched a moral crusade to demand a new Chief of Police.
- The Tragedy of a Dedicated Seattle Fireman
A young, well-regarded member of the fire department dies suddenly, highlighting the personal toll of civic service in 1886 Seattle.
- The Price of a Mill Hand's Life
An anonymous laborer exposes the exploitative wage practices of the Puget Mill Company, detailing how the firm undercuts competitors by replacing white workers with Chinese laborers at subsistence wages.
- Calls for Women's Vigilance Against Domestic Violence
A reader writes into the paper suggesting that if the courts won't protect wives from abusive husbands, women should organize their own vigilante groups.
- The Great Cascade Rail Land Gamble
A reader asks if the railroad owns the land it’s selling in the Cascades; the editor argues the company's title is as muddled as the mountain tracks.
- The Knights of Labor Demand Action on the Border
A fiery 1885 exchange reveals deep tension between Seattle's labor unions and federal officials over the lax enforcement of Chinese immigration restrictions.
- The Miners at Cedar River Take a Stand
When management ignored their ultimatum to discharge Chinese laborers, the miners at the Cedar River coal mines walked off the job in a confrontation that tested the limits of labor power in 1885.
- The Saloon-Keepers’ Council
A scathing editorial exposes how Seattle’s early city government was dominated by saloon owners, liquor distributors, and property men who thrived on the vice trade.
- The Fight Against 'Ready-Made' News
In 1884, Seattle’s labor printers stood against the rise of syndicated, out-of-town journalism, arguing that local integrity and local jobs mattered more than cheap, imported content.
- The First Socialist Manifesto in the Washington Territory
A bold reader writes to the Post-Intelligencer to challenge a local minister’s sermon, demanding justice for the working class and defending socialist principles as the only path to economic dignity.
- The Jailbreak of the Electrician Who Sabotaged the City's Power
After serving months in prison for destroying the Seattle Electric Light Company’s equipment, a disgruntled former employee walked out of the mill in borrowed clothes.
- The Sea Captain’s Return to Seattle
After surviving a shipwreck, an opium smuggling trial, and years of exile, a seasoned mariner decides he is done running and returns to Seattle to settle his debts.
- The Newspaper Boycott of 1884
A Seattle newspaper fights back after liquor interests threaten an advertising boycott over municipal election coverage.
- The Doctor Who Swam for His Life: Marcus Whitman’s Forgotten Struggle
A newly published account reveals the physical toll and near-death experiences of the missionary whose name is etched into Pacific Northwest history.
- An Optimist's View of 1882 Seattle
A visitor from Oregon writes home with a bold prediction: in twenty years, Seattle will be the metropolis of the North.
- The Judge and the Editor: A 1886 Contempt Battle in Seattle
When a judge appointed a receiver to run a newspaper, he effectively gagged the press by turning the paper's own voice against its editor.
- The Printer and the Preacher: A Life Between Worlds
Rev. Peter C. Stanup, a Puyallup tribal member, reflects on his journey from the reservation school to the pulpit and the printing press.
- The Great White River Bridge Feud
A fiery letter from a resident exposes the political squabbling and local power struggles behind a seemingly mundane infrastructure project in King County.
- The River Giant: A Record-Breaking Log Boom
The steamer Beaver successfully navigated a massive log raft into the harbor, a logistical feat that left the waterfront stunned.
- The Mayor's Split Personality
Seattle's local newspaper prints conflicting editorials on the same day, alternating between praising Mayor Henry Yesler and condemning his lack of courage.
- A Sharp Rebuttal to the 'Fireside' Creed
A female reader fires back at a young man's unsolicited advice on 'women's place' in society.
- The Forgotten Dream of an Open Seattle Library
In 1885, Seattle residents could access the University's library for just one dollar a quarter, a radical experiment in civic education that the local press urged to become a permanent foundation for the city's future.
Also about this, in other words
- Books for the Common Good
An anonymous businessman donates $100 in gold to expand the Y.M.C.A. reading room for the working men of Seattle.