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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 2 |
10 stories matching subscrib
- British Co-operative Building and the Goal of Homeownership
Before the age of the modern mortgage, Seattle’s early pioneers looked toward international cooperative building societies to help working citizens plant roots in the city.
- The Farmers’ Fight to Clear the Skagit River
When the government refused to fund the removal of dangerous log jams, local settlers and merchants took the job into their own hands, relying on community donations rather than official aid.
- The Great Walla Walla Freshet of 1876
After unseasonable rains decimated the region's infrastructure, locals wondered if a waterspout had carved a path of destruction through the mountains.
- The Unsung Pioneers Clearing the Skagit River
While the territory hailed the opening of the Skagit Valley to navigation, the men bankrolling the arduous labor of clearing the massive log jam were left bankrupt.
- The Persistent Pest in the Parlor
A classic 1878 dispatch on the 'improved' book agent who swears he never bothers anyone—right before being forcibly ejected into the street.
- 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 1878 Dream of Building Societies
A look at the early mutual loan movement, promising that the average working man could escape the cycle of high rent and finally own his home.
- The Ghost of Third and Pike
A Seattle resident recounts a chilling, post-mortem promise kept by a friend who returned from the beyond to answer questions about a late-arriving train.
- 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 Jailhouse Serenade: Seattle’s Most Popular Prisoner Refuses Bail
Val Wildman, proprietor of the 'Vanity Fair' lottery, sits in King County Jail refusing to pay his fine. When friends and influential citizens gather outside to raise the money for his release, he turns them away—insisting his imprisonment is a matter of principle.