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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 16 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 15 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 3 |
51 stories matching built
- The Wooden Walls of Puget Sound
A survey of the booming fleet of vessels built in Washington Territory in 1877, and why the local economy was missing out on the profits of its own timber.
- Instant Housing in the Northwest
When a family arrived in Dayton, Washington, and found no homes available for rent, they didn't wait—they built their own in a single afternoon.
- The First Railroad Built on 'Siwash' Labor
In a stark reflection of territorial labor practices, the first contracts for the Puyallup Valley Railroad have been awarded to Meeker & Mann, with plans to employ local Indigenous workers for four miles of track.
- The Gateway to the Skagit Gold Fields
Developers race to establish a supply town at the head of navigation as miners push into the remote wilderness of the Skagit River.
- A Maritime Giant Hits the Water
The largest vessel ever constructed on Puget Sound, designed to carry 1.3 million feet of lumber, successfully launches in Seabeck.
- The 'Seattle Way' of Building a Railroad
By shunning outside capital and high-salaried officers, local boosters claim they are carving a path through the Cascades using nothing but 'Seattle money and pluck.'
- The Whaler That Never Was: A Yankee Betrayal of Puget Sound
In 1877, a local newspaper exposed how Boston shipbuilders stole a lucrative contract from Seattle’s own yards, ignoring the region's superior timber and strategic advantage for whaling.
- The Boom-Town Pitch: Selling Washington’s Future
In 1877, a local politician’s grand argument for statehood painted Washington Territory as a bustling industrial powerhouse—and a future 'granary of America.'
- The Man Who Built a Road on His Own dime
While Seattle’s leaders debate and delay, a Walla Walla pioneer proves that private enterprise can conquer the wilderness where public funds fail.
- The Graveyard That Vanished: Seattle’s Urban Sprawl Swallows the Dead
As new dwellings rise on Front Street and Stewart Square, the old burial ground is being paved over, erasing a physical link to the city's earliest days.
- 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.
- 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 Rails That Built Seattle
Civic leaders convene to expand the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad, the ambitious line designed to link the growing city to the bounty of the east.
- The $6 Million Secret: How Seattle’s Future Railroads Were Sold to Washington Politicians
A shocking dispatch reveals that the Northern Pacific Railroad and its associated land companies were secretly divided among top U.S. Senators, Grant, and a 'army of lobbyists'—proving that the infrastructure shaping Puget Sound was built on political patronage.
- The Water Took Her: A Canoe Accident at Seattle's Wharf, 1877
A canoe overturns in the dark beside Mechanics' Wharf. The others make it to shore—but the old woman slips away before anyone can save her.
- The Great Seattle Construction Boom of 1878
Falling material costs spark a building frenzy in the frontier town, signaling a rapid expansion for early property owners.
- The Brick Fortress on Commercial Street
In 1872, Bailey Gatzert and Schwabacher Bros. erected a $26,000 commercial landmark that signaled Seattle’s arrival as a financial hub.
- The Price of a Prank on the Seattle Frontier
A late-night practical joke almost turns fatal when a nervous citizen, conditioned by the rough-and-tumble reality of the city, nearly draws his pistol on a group of teenagers.
- The Struggle to Build the First King County Jail
After years of delay, the King County Commissioners finally moved to secure land for a permanent jail—using $3,500 in county warrants to purchase a lot between Jefferson and Mill Streets.
- The Laws That Built the Frontier
A look back at the 1879 Territorial Assembly's agenda, from banning wandering hogs to regulating the earliest salmon canneries.
- Life on the Inland Sea: The Steamboats That Built Seattle
A detailed look at the vessels, crews, and wages of Puget Sound's maritime industry in the 1870s.
- The Solitary End of a Salmon Bay Logger
A lonely worker’s death by suicide at a cabin in Salmon Bay highlights the hidden struggles of the frontier laborers who built the region's early economy.
- The Fight for Rail Dominance: Seattle vs. Portland
In 1877, Seattle newspapers were already sparring with Portland over land grants and regional infrastructure, revealing the early economic anxieties of a growing port city.
- The Seattle-Tacoma Rivalry Began with Petty Insults
While Tacoma boosters once mocked Seattle’s 'niggardly' natural gifts, the Dispatch fired back with a masterclass in civic trash-talk.
- The Railway Land Grab: Seattle's Growth Tied to Northern Pacific Expansion
A new congressional bill promises to extend the Northern Pacific Railroad's deadline by a decade, while stripping away land grants intended for the vital link to Puget Sound.