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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 56 |
| 1877 | 46 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 13 |
119 stories matching case
- The Right to Testify
A Seattle magistrate clarifies that Indigenous people in Snoqualmie Precinct have the legal standing to sue in civil court and testify in trials.
- The Smallpox Panic of 1876
Busy-bodies spread false rumors of a smallpox outbreak in Seattle, prompting a swift rebuttal from the local physician.
- The Unreliable Peer: A Seattle Critique of Jury Bias
An 1878 editorial laments that the 'glory of English law' is being tarnished by jurors who prioritize class bias over evidence.
- Quarantine in the Pioneer City: A Smallpox Scare in 1880
When two cases of smallpox arrived by steamer from San Francisco, Seattle authorities acted with swift, hard-edged precision to contain the contagion.
- Seattle Declares Victory Over Smallpox Outbreak
After twenty days of tension, health officials confirm the city is safe, though the bill for containment—and a sharp rebuke for those who brought the sickness to town—remains.
- The Decades-Long Battle Over Yesler’s Mill
A landmark legal struggle over the future of Seattle’s foundational sawmill reaches a tense standoff in the courts.
- The Midnight Death of Seattle’s Charter
When a judge declared the city’s incorporation invalid in 1877, the local newspaper editor went on the warpath to save the municipality from 'gratuitous anarchy.'
- A Frontier Divorce: Restoring a Name in 1876
After a court order and the absence of her husband, Eugenia Tuite successfully petitioned a district court to dissolve her marriage and reclaim her maiden name.
- The Judge Who Scratched Out His Own Eyes
A Seattle judge’s legal flip-flop on municipal taxation sparks a fiery editorial showdown and accusations of corrupt land speculation.
- The Lottery King’s Plea: Yesler Admits Guilt in Seattle’s First Real Estate Scandal
In a rare moment of candor, H.L. Yesler—the patriarch of Seattle—pleads guilty to violating laws regarding his real estate lottery, marking the end of a controversial scheme that sought to distribute land through chance rather than commerce.
- The Clam-Seller and the Street-Car: A Seattle Reckoning
When a man was killed by a train on a Seattle street, a bystander's callous comment sparked a confrontation that exposed the deep-seated tensions of the city's growing industrial landscape.
- The Ethics of the Sting
A century before modern debates on police entrapment, Washington courts were already grappling with the line between preventing crime and creating it.
- The Miracle Doctor of Fall City
A smooth-talking grifter conned the countryside with fake cures and a borrowed horse, only to vanish into thin air.
- Street Justice for an Indecent Display
A man without means finds himself working off a public fine after a brush with the local court.
- The High Price of Marrying Into Nobility
A cautionary editorial from 1877 warns of the 'matrimonial maelstroms' facing stage stars who traded their hard-earned success for aristocratic titles.
- The Anatomy of a Murder (Misunderstood)
A courtroom blunder in 1876 highlights how a simple misunderstanding can derail the pursuit of justice.
- The Cannery Boom: Salmon, Chinamen, and the Gold Rush of the Columbia
A detailed look at the massive industrial scale of the Pacific Northwest's salmon industry in 1877, revealing the harsh labor conditions and the central role of Chinese workers.
- The City’s First Legal Battle: Seattle vs. the Man Who Owned the Water
In April 1877, just months after Seattle was incorporated, the new Common Council authorized a lawsuit against Henry Yesler—the very man who built the city's first mill and gave it its name—over a dispute that would define municipal power.
- The Curious Case of the Missing Canary
A yellow bird with a black top-knot goes missing on Third Street, sparking a small-town hunt in the heart of 1876 Seattle.
- The Day Newcastle Went Mad: A Woman’s War on Clerks and Clubs
In April 1877, a frustrated businesswoman in Newcastle, Washington Territory, escalated a shipping dispute into a violent rampage involving a club and a six-shooter, forcing local men to intervene.
- The Forged Signature and the Legal Loophole of Marriage
A husband accuses his wife of forgery for signing his name, only to have a judge dismiss the case based on the legal doctrine of coverture.
- The Man Who Killed a Neighbor Over a Book
In a quiet moment of domestic tragedy in Walla Walla, a carpenter’s son strikes down a respected citizen with a hammer while the victim was simply reading.
- The Jailhouse Scuffle
A drunken brawl in a jail cell turns into a messy confrontation between a prisoner and the jailer.
- The Struggle for a Safer Seattle Waterfront
As the city rapidly expands its harbor, a push for a new railing along the waterfront aims to protect nighttime travelers from accidental falls.
- The Price of a 'Pest House' in Pioneer Seattle
As drought and economic chaos gripped 1877 San Francisco, Seattle citizens found themselves debating the ethics of turning a local residential property into an isolation facility for the smallpox-stricken.