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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 43 |
| 1877 | 30 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 11 |
87 stories matching thing
- The Weight of Little Things
A century and a half ago, a Seattle writer mused on how the smallest details of life—a penny, a word, a drop of water—shape our massive, often overwhelming destinies.
- The Steilacoom Bubble That Burst
A grand, failed railway scheme proves that even the most ambitious 'railroad kings' can't build an empire without a single cent in the bank.
- The Unrest of the American Dollar
A 1880 editorial from the Seattle Intelligencer examines the nation's obsession with wealth accumulation and its hidden costs to the soul of a young nation.
- The Anatomy of a Murder (Misunderstood)
A courtroom blunder in 1876 highlights how a simple misunderstanding can derail the pursuit of justice.
- The Great 'Beer Hall' False Alarm
A late-night fire scare in 1877 Seattle sends the city into a panic, only to reveal how quickly a rumor could mobilize a crowd and expose the city's nerves.
- The Myth of the Independent Pioneer
An 1877 editorial from the Seattle Intelligencer argues that the abundance of free, unsettled land in Washington Territory is the only thing keeping local wages high and preventing the labor unrest seen in crowded cities like Paris or London.
- A Child’s Hazard in a Smoky City
A young girl is severely burned after stepping into a smoldering coal bunker in Belltown, highlighting the dangerous urban conditions of a rapidly growing Seattle.
- The Strange Quiet of 1876 Seattle
After the Fourth of July celebrations, the city fell into an eerie, total stillness that unsettled its local boosters.
- The Great Electoral Mismatch
A look back at the 1876 Washington Territory legislature reveals a startling imbalance in representation that left Seattle’s growing population struggling for a fair voice.
- The Ghost of a Train Passenger
A traveler on an express train encounters a sweet, golden-haired girl in a shawl, only to discover she was a desperate murderess fleeing toward the Canadian border.
- 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 Silent Dangers of Seattle’s Early Boarding Houses
A 19th-century public health warning reveals the grim reality of sanitation in early Seattle, where overcrowded and poorly drained boarding houses became breeding grounds for typhoid fever.
- The Empty Crib at the Corner of Third and Union
A quiet, haunting reflection from 1876 Seattle on the enduring grief of losing a child and the keepsakes that remain.
- The Laundry Business Boom of 1870
A local editor observes the financial success of Chinese laundries in California and urges Seattle entrepreneurs to claim the market.
- The Eccentric Professor: A Man of Culture Lost in the Streets
An itinerant lecturer with 'peculiarities' captivates Seattle crowds, leaving locals to wonder if he is a genius or just mad.
- The Wharfinger's Reward: A Real Estate Gift from Henry Yesler
In an era of rising industrial ambition, Seattle's pioneer mogul Henry Yesler gifted four prime city lots to his longtime wharf manager as a gesture of gratitude.
- The 1876 Plea to Ditch the City for the Soil
Amidst economic stagnation in a young Seattle, a local editorial poem urges the 'idle clerks' and unemployed of the city to trade their pens for plows.
- The Ball That Burned: A Seattle Saloon Mystery
In 1876, a patron at John Brendle’s beer saloon discovered that one of the billiard balls was made of highly flammable material, igniting instantly when pressed against his pipe.
- The Divorce Consultation That Did Not Go As Planned
A determined woman visits a Seattle attorney seeking help to evict her husband, only to be told that the law does not work quite the way she imagined.
- The Political Spoils System in 1876 Seattle
A satirical look at a local man's desperate, cascading web of nepotism surrounding the upcoming federal appointments.
- The Land Grab That Stalled Seattle’s Growth
A local editorial warns that the Northern Pacific Railroad’s hoarding of millions of acres is strangling settlement and development in Washington Territory.
- The Unwelcome Neighbor
When a Seattle doctor suggested a medical procedure involving a neighboring family, a local woman’s sharp refusal revealed the rigid social anxieties of the frontier.
- 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 Boy from the Desert
A young man, raised in the comfort of a merchant’s home, struggles with an inexplicable longing for a life he never knew.
- The Lawyer Who Couldn't Help: A Woman’s Disillusionment with Seattle’s Legal System
In April 1877, a desperate woman seeking financial support from her absent husband walked into a Griswold Street lawyer's office, only to leave more skeptical of the legal profession than when she arrived.