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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 27 |
| 1877 | 20 |
| 1878 | 14 |
| 1880 | 1 |
62 stories matching settler
- The Great Cedar Jam: How Settlers Cleared the Skagit River by Hand
In September 1876, a group of determined farmers and loggers took on the massive timber jams blocking the Skagit River, hoping to unlock sixty miles of navigation for their struggling community.
- The Mail Monopoly Hurting Washington’s Pioneers
Settlers in Snoqualmie and Fall City faced weeks of delays because a contractor prioritized convenience over the needs of isolated rural communities.
- The Frontier Scares of 1878
A report from Kittitas detailing a violent encounter on Poll Creek sparks fears of conflict between settlers and Wilbur’s band of Indians in the Yakima territory.
- The Great Migration North: Why Settlers Chose Washington Over Drought-Stricken California
An 1877 report chronicles the shifting tides of American migration as thousands look to Puget Sound for a fresh start during a season of western uncertainty.
- The Struggle for the Northern Pacific Rails
As Congress debates extending the deadline for the Northern Pacific Railroad, local settlers face the double-edged sword of promised prosperity versus the loss of homestead land.
- The President's Vision for a Settler-Colonial Expansion
In his final annual message, President Ulysses S. Grant reflects on the centennial of the republic, the management of the post-war South, and a failed dream of annexing Santo Domingo to solve the 'Negro question.'
- Building a Road for the Snohomish Valley
In 1876, Seattle merchants were urged to build a road to the Snohomish and Snoqualmie rivers to secure trade and accelerate settlement in the fertile bottom lands.
- The 1876 Land Hustle
A classic real estate promotion from the era offers a 'buy one, get one' incentive to settlers willing to build homes in early Seattle.
- The Art of Boosting: How Early Seattle Built a Territory
In an era before mass media, Seattle’s newspaper editors viewed themselves as the primary architects of immigration, using booster journalism to lure settlers to the Pacific Northwest.
- The Great River Flood of 1876
As heavy rains inundate the Duwamish Valley, Seattle settlers and livestock struggle to survive the rising waters.
- The Settlers’ Plea for the Skagit River
Without government support, early pioneers are manually clearing massive river logjams to open the Skagit Valley to trade and development.
- The Wild Fertility of the Sammamish Valley
A local settler reports on the rapid agricultural development and the urgent need for river navigation to bring produce to market.
- The Real Estate Pitchman: Seattle’s ‘Healthy’ Boom Before the Railroads Arrived
In September 1876, just two years before the Northern Pacific Railway would transform the town, a local newspaper ran an aggressive Q&A ad promising steady property values and fertile soil to entice settlers from Nebraska.
- 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.
- 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 Seattle Nurseries of 1877
A glimpse into the blossoming commercial landscape of early Seattle, when local agriculture and ‘city-hardy’ fruit trees were the foundation of a growing frontier town.
- A Kingdom Waiting for Rails
In 1878, Eastern Washington farmers were literally building homes out of willow poles because the cost of shipping lumber across the Cascades was ruinous.
- The Struggle to Clear the Skagit River
Loggers and settlers face a massive, shifting timber jam on the Skagit River, with locals debating the impact of land ownership on the future of the valley.
- 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 Farming Pioneer of Protection Island
A bold settler bets on agriculture in the San Juan Islands, finding a thriving home where others saw only isolation.
- The Pioneer Dream on the Snoqualmie River
A settler lists his homestead for sale, offering a window into the grueling physical labor and speculative ambition of 1870s life in the Washington Territory.
- The Shadow Over Seattle's Growth
A look at the 1876 struggle between the promise of development and the ‘incubus’ of land monopolies.
- The Push for a Western Migration
In 1877, Seattle boosters and railroad agents mapped out a deliberate campaign to transform the Puget Sound basin from a 'remote' wilderness into a thriving, industrial metropolis.
- The 'Hulless' Oat Craze of 1876
A Vermont promoter and a Duwamish River farmer pitch a new 'agricultural wonder' to the settlers of Washington Territory.
- 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.
Also about this, in other words
- The Pioneer Dream: Settling Seattle as an Organized Colony
In 1877, Seattle newspapers championed the idea of 'colonizing' the Washington Territory to solve the isolation of homesteading, mirroring today's debates over density and regional growth.