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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 10 |
| 1884 | 6 |
| 1885 | 10 |
| 1886 | 11 |
| 1887 | 11 |
50 stories matching utter
- The Governor’s Hotel: A Scandal of Misplaced Charges
When an out-of-town politician accused Washington Territory Governor Watson C. Squire of war profiteering during the anti-Chinese riots, the business community and local Democrats rallied to defend his integrity.
- A Legal Battle for an Inheritance
The abandoned son of an early Whatcom pioneer fights for his father's homestead after collateral heirs sell the land out from under him.
- The Fracturing of Seattle’s Labor Movement
As industrial tensions simmered in 1886, a local newspaper editorial condemned the radicalization of the Knights of Labor, contrasting them with the more moderate national leadership of Terence V. Powderly.
- The Northern Pacific Railroad's Gibberish
The Portland Board of Trade is left baffled by a nonsensical and dismissive letter from Northern Pacific President Robert Harris regarding regional transit.
- The Seattle Iron Works Tragedy
A devastating structural collapse and fire at a downtown factory leaves dozens of workers dead or critically injured in a haunting industrial disaster.
- The Battle for Seattle’s Soul
Tensions boil over between labor organizers and the property-owning elite over the presence of Chinese workers, as the city teeters on the edge of mob rule.
- Seattle Rallies Against Chinese Labor at the Standard Theater
An overflow crowd packs the Standard Theater to demand the total exclusion of Chinese laborers and the termination of the Burlingame Treaty, revealing the deep economic anxieties of the era.
- The Ghost Ship of Puget Sound
While a steamer crew vanished into the waves, Port Townsend customs officials sat in their offices waiting for 'official notification' before launching a rescue, fueling public outrage.
- Federal Troops Arrive to Quell Anti-Chinese Agitation in Seattle
United States soldiers are deployed to maintain order amidst rising tensions, as the newspaper argues the law must be upheld against the ongoing intimidation of Chinese residents.
- The Laundry War: When Seattle Tried to License Away the Chinese
A historic court battle reveals how the City Council once used 'discretionary' licensing to target Chinese-owned laundries, prompting a landmark defense of property rights and constitutional liberty.
- The Price of Falsehood in the Anti-Chinese Movement
As tensions boiled over in 1886, a Seattle newspaper called out local rabble-rousers for using blatant lies to incite hostility against Chinese residents.
- A Grand Jury’s Grim Look at Seattle’s Jail
A scathing report from 1888 slams local conditions for youth and calls for urgent reform, while calling out industrial pollution in the Cedar River.
- The Whatcom Million-Dollar Bet
Citizens of Bellingham Bay pledge their own wealth to lure the railroad, hoping to transform their sleepy coastal town into a Pacific terminus.
- The Bachelor of South Lake and the One-Dollar Fine
A territorial dispute over a fence escalated into a shooting and a lake-dunking, leading to an unlikely legal entanglement for an elderly hermit.
- The Snowfall That Nearly Wiped Out Spokane Falls
Heavy winter snows caused the near-collapse of two public buildings in Washington Territory, sparking a debate over the need for stricter building oversight in a growing Seattle.
- The Boss’s View on Coal, Labor, and Anti-Chinese Agitation
A rare 1885 look into the mind of the Oregon Improvement Company’s representative during a volatile era of Seattle’s labor history.
- The Riotous Mock Legislature of 1886
A railroad-backed lobby, frustrated by their political losses at the Olympia legislative session, staged a rowdy mock government to harass and demean King County representatives.
- The Push to Formalize Anti-Chinese Organizing
Dr. T. T. Minor proposes a territory-wide convention to systematically drive Chinese residents from Washington, mirroring efforts in California.
- When the Law Stops the City
A judicial ruling in Tacoma paralyzes street improvements, sparking a bitter feud between city officials and property owners.
- The Iron Rush: Seattle’s Early Fight Against Monopoly
When mining magnates and railroad tycoons clashed over the future of Washington's natural resources, Seattle’s civic leaders took a stand to protect local control.
- The Bold Ambitions of Bellingham Bay
A committee of local leaders assembles at the Whatcom Hotel to plan a regional future of railroads, universities, and industrial growth.
- The Piano Player and the Martial Law Mob
When the U.S. Army imposed martial law in 1886 Seattle to restore order amid anti-Chinese riots, one piano player decided to publicly heckle the 'murderers' in uniform.
- A Miraculous Escape at the Old Town Mill
A worker's arm was caught in a drive belt, and his body was hurled through an eight-inch opening in the floor, yet he survived with only a broken ankle.
- The Tragic End of a Seattle Art Teacher
After struggling to establish her art classes in Seattle, a young California woman takes her own life using poison purchased at a local drugstore.
- The Battle of the Kittitas Toll-Gate
A road construction project in the mountains has sparked a local rebellion, pitting frustrated residents against the private toll-road operators.