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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 33 |
| 1877 | 21 |
| 1878 | 15 |
| 1880 | 6 |
75 stories matching section
- The Road to Riches: Seattle’s $33,000 Gamble on the Snoqualmie Pass
In March 1877, local editors urged citizens to fund a toll road through the mountains, arguing that the vast grain fields east of the Cascades were Seattle's only true economic future.
- 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 Strict Rules of Territorial Ballot Boxes
Before the secret ballot was standardized, Washington Territory enacted stern penalties to prevent election-day fraud, coercion, and liquor-fueled chaos.
- The Battle for Lake Union: A War of Words Over Seattle’s First Public Road
In May 1877, a bitter public feud erupted between the newly appointed Supervisor of Road District No. 1 and a group of influential local voters over the legal authority to build a road along the west shore of Lake Union.
- The Unclaimed Frontier of the Central Valleys
An 1876 editorial reflects on the economic potential of the Yakima and Kittitas valleys, eyeing the end of tribal reservation boundaries for land settlement.
- 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 Iron Vein: Seattle’s Gamble on the Railroad
In 1876, local leaders rallied behind a desperate bid to connect the young city of Seattle to the interior coal mines and grain lands, arguing that the railroad was the only path from frontier outpost to global port.
- 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 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.
- 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 Road to Nowhere: How Seattle’s Leaders Left Lake Washington Residents Stranded in Mud
In March 1877, residents living between the city and Lake Washington found their commute impossible. The city council ignored petitions for a proper road, offering only fir boughs and gravel dust as solutions.
- The Unlikely Paradise of the Sagebrush
While cattle ranchers once guarded their grazing ranges, a 1878 report from the Yakima Valley reveals the early, optimistic push to transform 'useless' desert land into a thriving agricultural hub.
- The Steamboat Race for the White River
As farmers in the White River valley struggle to move their produce to market, two rival steamboat captains rush to launch new, shallow-draft vessels to dominate the river trade.
- The Muddy Road to Progress
In 1877, Seattle's city limits were defined not just by law, but by impassable, knee-deep mire that choked commerce and isolated local farmers.
- 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.
- City Hall's Belt-Tightening Cost Two Officers Their Badges
Facing a sudden budget crunch in 1876, the Seattle City Council moves to dismiss two members of the police force to balance the books.
- The Fight for the First Cascades Rail Line
In 1880, Seattle editors appealed to the 'Walla Walla Statesman' to bridge the mountain divide and unite the Washington territory through trade.
- The Forgotten Lots of a Frontier Estate
A public auction notice reveals the mid-19th-century land holdings of the late James O. Libby, offering a glimpse into the early real estate speculation of the Puget Sound region.
- The Unclaimed Inheritance of James O. Libbey
A public auction on the Seattle waterfront promises the sale of over 100 acres of land from a local estate, marking a fleeting moment of property transfer in the frontier city.
- A Disputed Legacy: The Lost Land of James O. Libby
After the passing of James O. Libby, his administrator moved to auction off over 120 acres of land in King County to settle his estate.
- 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.'
- 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 Battle for Seattle's Soul: Who Owns the City?
As the Northern Pacific Railroad, wealthy speculators, and the City of Seattle clash in Olympia over a massive land claim, the future of Seattle’s streets and growth hangs in the balance.
- The Great Land Grab: Seattle's Board of Commissioners Condemns Northern Pacific’s 'Gross Swindle'
In a rare show of unified civic resistance, Thurston County officials denounce the railroad's seizure of public lands as an outrage against settlers.
- The 'Lazy' Reservation: A White Settler's Rant Against Indian Farming
In May 1877, a Seattle correspondent published a vitriolic letter in the *Intelligencer* challenging claims of Native agricultural success on the Suckley Reservation, arguing that federal land policies encouraged 'idleness' and demanding the lands be opened to white settlers.