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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1880 | 2 |
20 stories matching file
- The Bankruptcies of 1878: A Wave of 'Fraudulent' Insolvency?
As financial panic grips the Pacific Coast, Seattle editors decry a suspicious surge in businesses filing for bankruptcy before new laws take effect.
- The Land Grab That Built Tacoma: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Stole Millions of Acres
A furious editorial in the Seattle Star exposes the Northern Pacific Railroad’s scheme to misappropriate public lands for a private coal line, arguing that the company is using legal loopholes to steal from settlers in King and Snohomish counties.
- The Great Seattle Land Battle of 1877
A federal decision sheds light on the messy early scramble for ownership of downtown Seattle, as speculators and the city vied for title to the waterfront.
- The City’s First Big Job: Who Will Build Madison Street?
Seattle Mayor Thomas D. Sealth issues a call for contractors to pave the city's most important new artery, signaling a shift from dirt trails to urban infrastructure.
- 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 Centennial Lottery Gamble
In 1876, the Washington Territorial Legislature authorized a public lottery to fund a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains, marking a desperate and creative approach to frontier infrastructure.
- The Great Reclamation: Opening the Interior
How a 1877 federal law sought to transform the 'Great American Desert' of the Yakima plains into a productive landscape.
- The Steilacoom Bubble That Burst
A grand, failed railway scheme proves that even the most ambitious 'railroad kings' can't build an empire without a single cent in the bank.
- The Persistent Challenge to King County’s Treasurer
After multiple successful re-elections, Captain George D. Hill faced a legal challenge from an opponent who argued his military commission made him ineligible for the office.
- The Price of Public Service: Seattle's 1878 Austerity Measures
Facing budget pressures, the Seattle City Council slashed the salaries of its top administrators while racing to secure a new steam-powered fire engine.
- 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 Rising Sentiment Against Chinese Labor in Seattle
An editorial reflection on the arrival of Chinese laborers in Seattle and the prevailing local attitudes regarding their employment.
- The Hanging Sentence of John Thompson
A condemned man stands in a crowded Seattle courtroom, maintaining his innocence while awaiting the gallows for a fatal brawl in Renton.
- The Strange Case of the County's Vanished Property
A legal battle over the former Collins claim reveals a messy history of county mismanagement, secret land deals, and invalid property sales.
- The Great Seattle Land Grab: How the Maynard Donation Claim Stalled City Growth
A legal dispute over the Catherine Maynard Donation Land Claim reveals the messy, high-stakes battle for ownership of Seattle’s central waterfront in the late 19th century.
- The Scandal of Kate Claxton: A Star’s Divorce and the Rumors That Rocked Seattle
In April 1873, celebrated actress Kate Claxton filed for divorce from her husband, a downtown broker, amidst rumors of an affair with a fellow actor. The case highlights the intense public scrutiny faced by women in the theater world during Seattle's early territorial days.
- The High Cost of a Pole: Seattle’s Timber Boom and the Workers Who Cut It
As thousands of telegraph poles flood the market from Thurston County, local laborers face volatile wages and dangerous conditions in the logging camps that fuel the city's infrastructure.
- The Price of a Home: How Seattle’s Real Estate Market Was Built on Death and Debt
In June 1876, the probate courts of King County were awash with estate sales. As families grieved, their homes—like that of C.C. Teery—were auctioned off to pay debts, revealing a housing market where survival depended on liquidating one's past.
- The Great Seattle Lottery: A $100,000 Sawmill and a Road to Nowhere
In 1876, the Washington Territory legislature authorized a massive public lottery to fund a road through Snoqualmie Pass. The grand prize? Yelver’s Steam Saw Mill. It was a bold gamble on infrastructure that reveals how early Seattle funded its growth.
- The Great Land Grab: Tacoma Citizens Unite Against Northern Pacific’s ‘Squatter’ Tactics
In a packed hall at Reinig’s Hall, leading citizens condemn the railroad’s seizure of public lands and its attempt to claim hundreds of thousands of acres for a coal line that will never be built.