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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 28 |
| 1877 | 30 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
61 stories matching import
- The Unseen Economic Power of Puget Sound Timber
A local editor argues that Seattle shouldn't rely on distant furniture imports when the region is literally throwing away the raw materials for a thriving local industry.
- The Labor Panic of 1877
A Seattle editorial weighs in on the xenophobic rumors of coal mine labor imports, framing the struggle between capital and the working class.
- The Centennial Vision for a Frontier Metropolis
On the 100th anniversary of American Independence, a local orator laid out a grand—and strikingly prescient—economic blueprint for the future of Seattle and Washington Territory.
- The Price of Apathy in the 1876 Seattle Election
A pre-election plea from the Daily Intelligencer warns that if 'responsible' business owners don't turn out to vote, the city will pay a heavy cost in taxes and mismanagement.
- The Soap King of Commercial Street
A scrappy local manufacturer stakes his claim on the burgeoning Seattle market with a pitch for home-grown goods.
- The Beach Road That Wasn't: Seattle’s First Infrastructure Crisis
In May 1877, the *Seattle Daily Intelligencer* sounded the alarm over the deteriorating condition of the city's primary artery to the waterfront, blaming poor drainage and a lack of gravel for turning the vital thoroughfare into a muddy trough.
- The Flooding of the Talbot Coal Mine
A sudden rush of water from a subterranean reservoir halts production, leaving the company to debate expensive drainage tunnels versus imported pumping gear.
- The City’s Dirty Secret: A Plea for Seattle’s Health
In 1870, a local editorial warns that Seattle’s lack of sewage infrastructure is poisoning the community with disease, urging citizens to prioritize public health over fiscal caution.
- 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 Boomtown Delusion of 1880
A newly minted Eastern Washington town predicts it will hit 20,000 residents in a decade—the original Seattle-area land speculation fever dream.
- 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.
- Election Day in 1880 Seattle
A report from the polls captures a day of intense political fervor, quiet order, and the early counting of ballots in the frontier city.
- The Peril of Floating Streets
As Seattle's waterfront development grew in 1876, the street commissioner sounded an alarm over the city's vulnerable, buoyant wooden pavements.
- The Gambler’s Gamble: How a Frenchman’s ‘Little Bit’ Sparked a Seattle Riot
In the early days of Seattle, a dispute over a small sum of money at a boarding house escalated into a violent brawl involving three gamblers and a local resident, highlighting the volatile nature of frontier justice.
- The Persistent Business of Superstition
An editorial from 1877 examines why, despite the march of progress and the printing press, humanity remained obsessed with palmistry, spiritualism, and bad omens.
- The Celebrity Circuit of 1876
Before podcasts and TED Talks, the American lecture circuit was the ultimate stage for the era’s 'influencers'—and the money was surprisingly high.
- The Case for 'Made in Seattle' Ships
An 1877 editorial argues that Seattle’s abundant timber and cheap labor should make it a maritime powerhouse rather than a consumer of imported vessels.
- The Salmon Bite
A minor fishing injury on the Columbia River turns into a race against gangrene for a young man.
- The Vampire of Hard Times: Why Seattle's Banks Are Starving Its Growth
An editorial in the March 1877 *Seattle Intelligencer* blames the region’s economic stagnation not on a lack of enterprise, but on predatory lending rates that are strangling local industry.
- The Unfinished Business of Education
A reflection on school life, lifelong learning, and the ambitious spirit of Seattle’s youth in 1876.
- The Day Love Defied the Justice of the Peace
A justice office in Seattle becomes a battleground for romance when an angry father-in-law attempts to stop a wedding, only to be thwarted by police and a determined couple.
- The Boom Town of La Conner
A report from 1878 highlights the explosive agricultural potential and rapid development of the Skagit Valley's 'thrifty little town.'
- The Price of a Filthy City
In 1877, Seattle editors warned that stagnant water and neglected gutters were more than just a nuisance—they were a matter of life and death.
- The Transformation of the 'Lava Bed'
A historic Seattle neighborhood known for 'drunken revelry and hellish orgies' faces an impending industrial rebirth.
- The Stinking Gutters of 1876
While Seattle promoters bragged of a salubrious climate, a local newspaper editorial exposed the reality of deadly, stagnant cesspools lining the streets.