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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 14 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
26 stories matching bar
- Broken Bones at the Capstan
A dangerous industrial accident aboard the steamer Chehalis nearly claims a life in Lake Washington.
- The Rising Tides of Industry
An 1873 editorial reflects on the fragility of Pacific Coast harbors, warning that unchecked mining waste and silt are creating an uncertain future for maritime commerce.
- The Most Decisive Juror in Seattle History
A disheveled, reluctant man is pulled from the street to serve on a murder jury, and he reaches a verdict before the trial even begins.
- The Art of the Lunch-Counter Heist
A hungry traveler uses a sharp tongue and a little bit of 'brass' to get a free meal in 1870s Seattle.
- The Tragedy of a Lonely Life in Seattle
A man's desperate act of suicide on Commercial Street illuminates the harsh isolation and economic despair of Seattle’s early frontier days.
- The Night the City Tried to Eat Itself: A Confidence Man’s Flight Through the Woods
In May 1877, a swindler stole cash from a saloon, fought off a citizen, and fled into the Seattle wilderness—only to be caught by an officer hiding among ruins at dawn.
- The Dignity of the Oyster Bar
A young woman, destitute after her father's death, finds that the labor market is far more welcoming than her former social circle.
- The Chinese Question: Seattle’s Editorial War Over Labor and 'Vermin'
In October 1876, the *Seattle Daily Intelligencer* published a blistering editorial defending Chinese laborers while simultaneously dehumanizing them as carriers of disease, revealing the complex economic dependencies and racial tensions of early Washington Territory.
- The Snake in the Parlor: How Two Con Artists Drained an Elderly Man Dry
In May 1877, John Dowd and his accomplice targeted a respected Seattle citizen with a fake land deal, winning his trust before stealing his watch, cash, and dignity at a local saloon.
- The City That Wants to Be the Boston of the Pacific
While San Francisco fretfully watches its own supremacy, an 1880 editorial predicts a rising Puget Sound metropolis of millions.
- The Struggle for the Swinomish Slough
While Washington Territory languished without federal infrastructure support, local steamboat operators were left to navigate a dangerous, shifting channel entirely on their own dime.
- The Unawakened Giant: Why Washington Territory Is the Next California
A sweeping editorial in the *Diligent Intelligencer* argues that railroads are about to unlock the 'inland basin' of Eastern Washington, transforming it from a feared desert into an agricultural empire rivaling the Golden State.
- The Iron Giant of Seattle: How a Local Foundry Fueled the City’s Rapid Rise
In 1876, Seattle’s industrial heart was beating with molten metal. As the Puget Sound Iron Works churned out rails for expanding railroads and coal mines, local leaders predicted a future where Seattle would rival San Francisco as a Pacific coast manufacturing hub.
- The Race That Beat the Sea: How a Local Yacht Outpaced the Coast
Captain Burns’ Pacific coaster claims victory in a thrilling seven-round duel against the Dashing Wave, proving that beating to windward is what truly tells.
- The Election Week Hangover
A Seattle saloon keeper closes shop to avoid brawls as partisan fever turns his establishment into a battleground.
- The Struggle to Save the Harbor
Engineers and locals debate the best way to keep Seattle's waterfront from choking on silt and debris in 1876.
- The Seattle Daily Intelligencer’s Panic Over 'The Vagrant Horde'
As property crime spiked in Portland, Seattle’s newspaper urged citizens to arm themselves and remain vigilant against a 'vagrant class' they believed was sweeping the Pacific Northwest.
- The Jailhouse Houdini of Seattle
While awaiting trial for boat stealing, a prisoner named Burton used a hidden knife to fish biscuits through his jail bars and plotted his escape with remarkable bravado.
- The Tramp Economy of Early Seattle
A reporter encounters a 'bummer' among the weeds of Mission Bay, revealing the harsh, transient reality of laborers who roamed the Pacific Coast in the 1870s.
- The Tall Tale of 'Bluffier Ben'
A boastful trapper spins wild, bloody yarns for free drinks in a Seattle saloon, leaving the barkeep to settle the tab.
- The Hypocrisy of the Amen Corner
A skeptical local columnist exposes the 'sham' piety of a congregation member, offering a gritty glimpse into the social life of 1877 Seattle.
- The Jailhouse Scuffle
A drunken brawl in a jail cell turns into a messy confrontation between a prisoner and the jailer.
- The Iron Road vs. The River: A 19th Century Fight for Seattle's Future
An editorial from 1877 argues that the future of the Northwest lies in narrow-gauge railroads rather than the unruly Columbia River.
- The Moss-Cloaked Giants of Bay Center
A teacher’s letter from the Pacific Northwest frontier describes a landscape of colossal trees and lush undergrowth, challenging the myth of the harsh pioneer struggle.
- The Unfinished Business of Alfred H. Jones
A standard probate notice reveals the vanishing point of a pioneer's life in 1876 Seattle, where debts and assets were tied to the rapidly developing corners of Third and Union.