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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 25 |
| 1877 | 10 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 5 |
41 stories matching contract
- The Iron Road Comes to the Sound
With the first section of the Seattle and Walla Walla railroad under heavy construction, the city braces for a transformation that promises to connect the waterfront to the mountains.
- The County Printing War: Seattle's Oldest Paper Claims Moral High Ground in Bid for Public Contracts
In May 1877, the publisher of Seattle’s leading newspaper defends his bid for county printing contracts against rivals who accused him of greed, arguing that 'the laborer is worthy of his hire' and that public money should support a responsible local press.
- The High Cost of Paving the Frontier
A rare glimpse into the 1880 King County commission meetings reveals bitter political squabbles over road funding that mirror today's infrastructure debates.
- The Unending Grading of Front Street
Seattle's downtown thoroughfare is locked in a cycle of costly miscalculations, mud, and construction delays.
- The Public Abandonment of Sabina Lilly
A husband’s newspaper notice signals a private marital rupture in 1876 Seattle.
- An 1875 Public Shaming in Seattle
A husband publishes a newspaper notice to strip his wife of her financial agency after she leaves their home.
- An 1874 Public Shaming of a Missing Wife
A husband publishes a newspaper notice to strip his spouse of financial agency after she leaves their home.
- 1876 Notice Cuts Off Wife's Credit After She Leaves
A husband in 1876 takes to the local press to declare his financial independence from his runaway wife.
- The Deserted Husband's Public Ultimatum
In a 1876 notice, Thomas Lilly takes to the press to publicly disavow his wife's debts after she leaves their home.
- The 'Not Responsible' Notice of 1876
In an era of restrictive domestic law, one Seattle man publicly disavows his wife's debts to protect his own assets.
- Husband's Public Notice Denies Responsibility for Wife's Debts
In a formal newspaper notice, a disgruntled Seattle man attempts to absolve himself of his wife's debts after she leaves their home.
- The Public Spat of Thomas and Salina Lilly
A 19th-century public notice captures the messy, personal side of early Seattle marriage law.
- The Railroad Reach: Seattle Pushes Its Trestle and Track Toward the Coal Mines
Crews close the last gap in the Seattle & Walla Walla trestle, let another three-quarters of a mile to Yesler, and wait for rails to lay two more miles of track.
- A Public Shaming in 1876 Seattle
A husband takes to the pages of the local newspaper to publicly disavow his wife, a common, legally sanctioned form of domestic surveillance in the late 19th century.
- An Abandoned Household: A Public Denunciation in 1876
A rare glimpse into the harsh realities of Victorian domestic life in pioneer Seattle, where a husband took to the local press to publicly cut ties with his wife.
- The Disappearing Spouse: A 19th Century Public Shaming
In an era before no-fault divorce, a Seattle husband took to the public press to publicly renounce his wife's debts and dictate his marital authority.
- The Unilateral Disclaimer of a 19th-Century Marriage
Publicly declaring he would no longer be responsible for his wife's debts, Thomas Lilly placed this notice in the newspaper to formally signal a separation in pioneer Seattle.
- Seattle Husband's Notice Denies Responsibility for Wife's Debts
A curt, Victorian-era public notice posted in a Seattle newspaper marks the formal end of a marriage through a declaration of non-responsibility.
- The Price of Injustice: Seattle’s Jailhouse Debt
A messy legal arbitration reveals how King County’s jail construction spiraled into a financial debacle—and why the city's approach to housing prisoners remained a 'miserable farce.'
- The Bitter Feud Over a Burnt Seattle Sawmill
A public legal dispute between two businessmen reveals the high-stakes cost of the 1880 fire that razed a local mill.
- The Sawmill Scandal: Henry Yesler’s Long Legal War
Before the city grew, Seattle’s founding titan was locked in a decade-long, bitter courtroom battle over his sawmill, revealing the ruthless undercurrents of the frontier economy.
- The City That Slid Away: Seattle’s Front Street Disaster of 1876
As the city expands up its steep hills, a critical retaining wall on Front Street collapses under the weight of new development, leaving officials to wonder if Seattle is building itself into a disaster.
- Bidding on the Destitute: Seattle’s 1877 Poverty Contracts
Before modern social safety nets, King County put the care of its 'indigent poor' up for competitive bid, seeking the lowest price for housing and medical services.
- The City’s First Big Bet: Seattle Council Approves $104,078 for a New Roadway
In April 1877, the territorial government authorized a major public works contract to pave and grade a critical stretch of Seattle’s main street, signaling the town's transition from muddy trail to modern city.
- The Price of Poverty in Pioneer Seattle
King County officials put out a call for bids to house and feed the 'indigent poor,' treating human welfare as a municipal contract.