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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 2 |
14 stories matching bid
- The Crossing at Black River
In 1877, King County sought bids for a new bridge, marking a quiet moment of infrastructure expansion in a landscape that would soon be permanently altered by river rerouting.
- The Auction Block of 1878: A City’s Property Under the Hammer
While Seattle’s Common Council met to approve small municipal expenses, the sheriff was busy auctioning off downtown blocks to satisfy debt in the growing territory.
- Spanning the Black River
As Seattle grew in 1877, the County Commissioners sought to replace a private ferry with a permanent crossing over the now-vanished Black River.
- 'Free' Printing, $176 Later: Seattle's County Contract Scandal of 1877
The Dispatch accuses the Intelligencer of taking public money after bidding to do the county's printing for nothing—and demands the next contract be opened to honest bids.
- The Sisters of Providence Take Over Seattle's County Farm
In an era of rapid expansion, King County commissioners shift the burden of social welfare for the impoverished and ill to the Sisters of the House of Providence for a fixed annual rent.
- The Business of Death in King County
A stark 1877 notice reveals how Washington Territory handled the burial of those who died in poverty.
- The City That Almost Wasn't: How Seattle Lost Its Railroad Bet
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed Seattle in favor of Tacoma, local investors faced a choice: watch their city wither or build their own line.
- The 1880 Democratic Territorial Convention
Washington Territory’s Democrats gather in Kalama to organize their bid for statehood and select a delegate to Congress.
- The Pioneer Struggle to Pave Commercial Street
Before it was the bustling core of Pioneer Square, Seattle’s Commercial Street was a rough-hewn stretch of dirt and mud in dire need of basic infrastructure.
- How Washington Territory's Public Printing Became a Corrupt Political Perk
A Seattle editor rails against the patronage and fraud in the territory's printing contracts, revealing that one printer paid Secretary Smith $2,000 for the appointment.
- After the Bankruptcy, a Mill Town Bets on a Bonanza: Utsalady's 1877 Rebound
In a single March week, the Camano Island mill town of Utsalady snapped back from bankruptcy: a $30,000 mill sale, workmen arriving by steamer, plans for a new wharf — and a showman who decided to stay.
- The Forgotten Bid for a Puget Sound Navy Yard
Decades before the bustling military presence on the Sound, visionaries argued that a ship canal connecting Puget Sound to Lake Washington would provide the most natural navy yard in the world.
- The Great One Thing: Seattle’s First Bid to Stop Strangers from Leaving Empty-Handed
In 1876, a group of local citizens proposed an 'Immigration and Labor Bureau' to help newcomers find work and land, recognizing that Seattle was losing potential residents because they didn't know where to start.
- The Company Town That Built Itself: Inside Port Gamble's Lumber Empire
In 1876, the Puget Mill Company turned a remote bay into a model industrial community, complete with its own fleet, brass band, and company-owned housing.