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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 3 |
22 stories matching solid
- The End of the Frontier Boom
An 1886 dispatch from the San Francisco Chronicle assesses the cooling of Washington Territory's economy, marking the transition from feverish speculation to steady growth.
- The Carpenter's Secret Compartment
A crafty smuggler’s hollowed-out tool chest, designed to look like the property of a humble working man, fails to outsmart Seattle Customs inspectors.
- The Day Seabeck Burned
When the Washington Mill Company caught fire in 1886, a small mill town was leveled in just two hours, leaving over 100 men without work and a local entrepreneur's life's work in ashes.
- The Vigilantes' Ghost: Seattle's Dark Secret in Two Maple Trees
A poem published in the *Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer* reveals the city’s foundational myth: that its current 'peaceable' order was bought with the blood of six men hanged by a secret committee when the law failed to act.
- The Real Estate Gold Rush: How Seattle’s Early Boomers Made Millions on Dirt
A Sunday editorial in the Post-Intelligencer lays bare the staggering profits of land speculation in 1883, revealing how a few savvy investors turned hundreds of dollars into fortunes through sheer timing and location.
- The Tragic End of a Hotelier
A well-known Seattle ship captain and hotel proprietor dies after a fatal overdose of morphine intended to ease his suffering.
- The Dogfish Gold Rush on San Juan Island
Before tourism, local entrepreneurs on San Juan Island sought their fortune in the 'stinking' but profitable trade of extracting oil from thousands of dogfish caught in the sound.
- The World's Champion Pugilist Hits Seattle
Thousands mob the waterfront to catch a glimpse of John L. Sullivan as he brings his traveling boxing roadshow to Yealer's Hall.
- The Art of Getting Helped
A clever traveler tricks two impatient men into doing the labor he was too tired to finish.
- The Seattle Dry Goods War: A 19th-Century Boycott
When local merchants began using circulars to undercut their competition and 'boycott' a local newspaper, the P-I fought back by calling on the moral, law-abiding citizens of Seattle to take a stand.
- The Transformation of Front Street
As property values soar in 1887, Seattle’s downtown business district begins a rapid transition from wood to brick, signaling a new era of permanence.
- Seattle's Unstable Foundation
Filling in the city's tide lands and marshy spots creates a precarious base for new buildings.
- The Unbreakable Vaults of 1885 Seattle
A state-of-the-art fortress of steel and brick arrives in Seattle, promising security for the valuables of a booming frontier town.
- The Steamship San Pedro’s Wharf-Crushing Accident
A steamship failed to stop at its Seattle wharf, plowing into the structure and causing thousands of dollars in damage.
- Walla Walla’s 1884 Sales Pitch: From a Tent Store to a ‘Metropolitan’ City
A reprinted commercial sketch boasts of wheat, railroads, gasworks and thousands of souls — and lets slip the town’s whole origin story, from a tent on Mill Creek to the great fire of 1866.
- The Pugilist Who Refused to Fight
John L. Sullivan's exhibition match in Seattle ends in humiliation for his opponent, who repeatedly hits the floor to avoid taking a single blow.
- The Islanders Build a Sanctuary
In June 1885, the residents of Vashon Island came together to hand-build a new Methodist church with timber from their own land.
- The Corporate War for the Rails
How an early battle between express giants revealed the ruthless tactics used to control Washington's transportation networks.
- Jubilee Singers Pack Seattle's Maison Doree Theater
A touring African-American jubilee troupe drew a capacity crowd to the Maison Doree Theater, mixing music and comedy that left the house roaring.
- The Thief Who Tried to Sell Stolen Goods Back to the Chief
A brazen Tacoma burglar was caught red-handed when he attempted to sell his illicit haul directly to the city’s Chief of Police.
- The Trial of James E. Doff: A Seattle Jury’s Acquittal
A local legal drama in the Washington Territory concludes with a dramatic second ballot that completely exonerates the defendant.
- The Boomtown Hopes of Marysville, 1885
Before it was a suburban hub, a settler reports back on the 'tender years' of Marysville and the desperate need for roads to connect the new frontier.