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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 56 |
| 1877 | 52 |
| 1878 | 10 |
| 1880 | 11 |
129 stories matching pass
- The Gateway to the East: Why Snoqualmie Pass Won the Race
Decades before the modern highway, historical surveys and trade routes proved Snoqualmie Pass was the vital artery for Seattle’s expansion across the Cascades.
- The Pioneer Race Through the Snoqualmie Pass
Nineteen men embark on a daring expedition to map a route through the Cascade Mountains, seeking a passage where none had been found before.
- The Cattle Drive Through Seven Feet of Snow
Defying winter, a determined group of drovers successfully pushed fifty head of cattle through the Snoqualmie Pass, a feat never before recorded this early in the year.
- 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 Sad Passing of Seattle's First Donation Claim Holder
Mrs. Diana Collins, a pioneer who arrived in 1850 and survived the tragedy of the Duwamish River, has passed away.
- 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 Dog Tax That Barked Back: Seattle’s First Crackdown on Strays
In 1876, the City Council passed a law requiring every dog to wear a numbered collar and pay a tax—or face execution. The result? A chaotic hunt for unlicensed mutts and a grim new reality for the city's half-starved strays.
- The Swan of the Cascades
A rare and haunting encounter near the mountain pass ends in an act of Victorian mercy.
- A Close Call at the Port Townsend Jail
A routine arrest turns into a chaotic scene as a deputy sheriff’s pistol misfires, leaving the officer wounded during a struggle.
- The Struggle for the Snoqualmie Pass Trail
As Seattle grew, settlers in the Kittitas Valley argued that their future prosperity—and the survival of their farms—depended entirely on carving a road through the Cascade Mountains.
- The Checkerboard Trap: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Hoarded Washington’s Land
An editorial in The Daily Intelligencer exposes how the railroad company used federal land grants to block settlers from claiming homesteads, leaving thousands of acres in legal limbo and stalling the growth of Seattle and Tacoma.
- The Great Flood of 1876: Seattle’s River Runs Wild
A historic deluge swells the Duwamish River ten feet above normal, washing away timber and threatening the fledgling city.
- The Great Mud Puddle: Seattle’s Drainage Nightmare
A massive sinkhole at the corner of Main and Colfax streets has turned a vital thoroughfare into a swamp, threatening the city's infrastructure and hygiene.
- 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 Great Mountain Road Debate of 1877
As Seattle dreamed of a transcontinental railroad, settlers in the Kittitas Valley argued that a simple wagon road was the true key to their economic survival.
- The Road to Nowhere: Seattle’s Neglected Gateway to the Interior
As travelers from Yakima and Walla Walla flock to the Snoqualmie Pass route, they find it worse than ever. The *Intelligencer* demands immediate action to save Seattle’s economic future.
- 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 'Bear of Third Street' Prank
A group of rowdy boys in 1880s Seattle found a cruel way to terrorize women walking home alone at night.
- The Great Bill-Posting Scandal: Seattle’s First War on Urban Clutter
As the city grows, merchants are plastering every available surface with advertisements. Now, frustrated business owners are demanding the City Council step in to stop the visual chaos.
- 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 Myth of the Land Monopoly
An 1877 Seattle newspaper sets the record straight for prospective homesteaders: unlike California, Washington Territory is free from the crushing weight of Spanish land grants and speculative hoarding.
- The Man Who Shot at a Chinese Girl and Then Tried to Fight the Police
A drunken brawl on Washington Street ends with a drunkard in irons, revealing the volatile mix of frontier lawlessness and early civic order in Seattle.
- Vandals Wreck Indian Canoe
Youths on the Seattle waterfront destroy an Indigenous person's boat for sport.
- The Sheriff’s Eviction: A Bloodless Coup on San Juan Island
In May 1877, a contingent of Victoria militia and the local sheriff executed a peaceful but firm eviction of five families from disputed land, arresting only those who resisted or fraternized with the miners.
- The Day Seattle’s Streets Became a Minefield
In September 1876, the city’s main commercial artery was so full of potholes and water that officials warned it would become 'deplorable' before winter set in.