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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 10 |
| 1878 | 9 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
42 stories matching capit
- The Labor Vulture: A Radical Manifesto in a Seattle Pawn Shop
An anonymous editorial titled 'Capital vs. Lamb' appeared in the Seattle press in 1876, arguing that laborers are currently enslaved by capitalists and must unite to seize all profits of their work.
- The Great Railroad Standoff: Seattle’s Future Hinges on a Visit
As Northern Pacific directors arrive to survey the route, local leaders warn that without a guaranteed connection north of Tacoma, capital will flee and population will drain to California.
- The Political Price of a Road
Seattle citizens threaten to trade the state capital to Walla Walla to secure a vital road link, as regional rivalries threaten to derail the city's future.
- The Railroad Gamble
In an 1878 editorial, the Seattle Weekly Dispatch argues that the economic survival of the region depends on using Chinese labor to build the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad, claiming that white capital refuses to invest unless labor costs are kept low.
- The Great Railway Gamble of 1878
Territorial lawmakers drafted a sweeping plan to bind Washington’s counties together with a railroad, tasking local voters with footing the bill through massive debt.
- The Price of Reputation in Early Seattle
A local editor defends the city's power brokers against 'malicious' newspaper attacks, arguing that persistent personal vituperation drives away the capital needed for infrastructure.
- The Great Seattle Water Alarm of 1877
A brief, wry note from the archives captures a moment of civic relief in a fledgling Seattle, highlighting the contrast between the fire-prone state capital and the rain-soaked Emerald City.
- The 'Witty' Baritone of Olympia
A skeptical newspaper editorial skewers a local social columnist for romanticizing a drunken political gathering at the state capital.
- Fourth of July Crowds in the Capital City
A bustling 1878 Independence Day celebration in Olympia draws throngs of visitors as regional sporting rivalries take center stage.
- The Great 'Puget City' Real Estate Scam
Promoters are peddling worthless 'paper towns' to investors by falsely claiming the Northern Pacific Railroad will build its western terminus there.
- 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.'
- A Family Homestead for Sale in 1872 Olympia
A historic property listing reveals the price of a comfortable cottage and orchard near the Old Courthouse in the territorial capital.
- The Struggle for Rails and Revenue in Pioneer Seattle
An editorial chastising local property holders for failing to invest in their own infrastructure, warning that without local buy-in, Seattle’s growth remains a hostage to outside capital.
- The Railroad That Bought Its Way to Glory
While the rest of Seattle debates politics and morality, a coalition of bankers and developers is quietly laying the groundwork for the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad, betting millions on land and gold bonds.
- A Seattle Fish Firm Fires Its Chinese Workers — and the Paper Cheers
In 1877, Tull & Co. dismissed all of its Chinese employees and hired white men in their place, a move the Dispatch celebrated as patriotism.
- The Rebirth of Seattle's Idle Mill
A dormant Seattle sawmill gets a new lease on life under San Francisco capital, signaling an era of rapid industrial expansion for the town.
- The Legal Tangle Over 'Criminal Joes'
A judicial disagreement reveals the complexities of federal vs. local authority in 1872 Seattle.
- The Great Seattle Saw-Mill Lottery
A frontier town turns to state-sanctioned gambling as a desperate economic strategy to boost local development.
- The City That 'Surprised' the Supreme Court
A Seattle editor's fiery defense of the city's potential, calling out San Francisco's economic blockade of Puget Sound.
- The Great Seattle Saw-Mill Gamble
When the city's leading industry, the Yesler Mill, was placed into a grand lottery to boost the local economy and resolve debt, it sparked a frontier frenzy of ticket-buying.
- The Myth of the 'Frozen' Northwest
An 1877 dispatch to a San Francisco newspaper explains the 'warm belt' of air—the Japan Current—that kept Puget Sound from being a frozen wasteland.
- The Great Timber Jackpot: Yesler’s Mill and the Lottery of Land
In 1876 Seattle, timber baron H.L. Yesler didn't just build the city's first mill; he turned his entire property into a $100,000 lottery prize, betting that luck would save him from debt.
- The Social Duty of Wealth in 1878 Seattle
A local editor challenges a wealthy property owner who claimed he owed nothing to the community that built his fortune.
- The Bold Dream to Remake Seattle's Waterways
In 1880, a group of prominent citizens proposed a canal between Lake Union and Puget Sound to drain Lake Washington, reclaim farmland, and create an industrial powerhouse.
- The Boom Before the Boom: Forecasting Washington's Future
An 1878 report predicted that Washington Territory’s natural resources and rapid population growth would soon make it a Pacific Northwest power, even as early settlers braced for statehood.