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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 10 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 19 |
| 1880 | 4 |
44 stories matching enter
- The $350 Fine That Stopped a Ship: Smuggling and Sovereignty on the Strait
In July 1876, the schooner Superior was seized by U.S. authorities for entering Victoria without clearance, sparking a legal battle over customs laws and the volatile border between Washington Territory and British Columbia.
- The Redemption of a Public Servant
A young man sheds a life of idle indulgence to find purpose as a prosecutor, sparking a debate over the value of public integrity in the Washington Territory.
- The Wool Seller’s Thanksgiving: A Farmer’s Wallet Meets Reality
In a moment of pure 1876 optimism, a local farmer bursts into a Seattle restaurant celebrating his wool sale—only to realize that luxury costs more than he thought.
- The Fight for Seattle’s Soil
A 19th-century editorial warns that land monopolies and timber speculation threaten to turn Washington into a land of feudal tenants, sparking a civic debate on who truly owns the future of the Northwest.
- The Price of Sin in Pioneer Seattle
While the city's elite debated municipal elections and infrastructure, a thief made off with a trunk full of coins and jewelry from a house on the margins of society.
- The Chicken Hustle of Old Seattle
An enterprising pair of thieves managed to con a local woman out of her own dinner in a brazen backyard heist.
- The Mystery of the Admiralty Bay Boatman
A lonely death in a remote bay leaves more questions than answers about a man whose final protest was written on a slip of paper.
- The Snohomish Cattle Scam
A local farmer gets more than he bargained for when he unknowingly buys his own stolen livestock back from a neighbor.
- The Church Usher Who Mistook a Fedora for a Faux Pas
A Sunday evening service at North Baptist Church ended in laughter after an overzealous usher attempted to enforce decorum on a woman in a Derby hat.
- Divorce and Duty in 1877 Seattle
A legal notice exposes the harsh realities of matrimonial dissolution and property disputes in late 19th-century Washington Territory.
- 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.
- The Price of a Smuggled Vice
Two brothers arrested with thirty pounds of opium off the steamer California face the cold reality of a federal court judgment.
- The Brutal Assault on a Young Chambermaid
A playful attempt to clean a hotel floor escalated into a vicious act of anti-Chinese violence in the heart of downtown Seattle.
- The Lottery That Wasn't: A Commissioner's Moral Standoff in 1876 Seattle
While the county board approved a gambling license for Val Wildman to fund a road project, one commissioner filed a formal protest, declaring the legislature's authority void and refusing to legitimize vice.
- The Great Seattle Homestead Fraud
A whistleblower exposes how workers were swindled out of their hard-earned money by a predatory land development scheme.
- The City’s Biggest Celebration
Athletic contests and a tense yacht race on the Sound defined Seattle's 1880 Fourth of July.
- The Price of a Scandal in 1877 Seattle
A public notice in the territorial court reveals the harsh, legal reality of a divorce filing on the grounds of 'frequent adultery' in late-19th-century Seattle.
- The Bear Who Sat Through Sermon
A black bear wandered into a North Creek church during Sunday service, causing panic among the congregation before calmly exiting—leaving behind a confused minister and an eager bear hunt.
- The Price of Separation in 1878
A legal summons published in the Puget Sound Dispatch highlights the harsh reality of divorce proceedings in territorial Seattle.
- The Bitter Newspaper Feud of 1876
A public, vitriolic war of words between two Seattle editors reveals the cutthroat nature of early Pacific Northwest journalism.
- The Great Land Ring of the Northern Pacific
Settlers of Washington Territory take on a powerful railroad corporation accused of hoarding public land for private profit.
- The Mail System is Broken
In 1880, Seattle residents faced endless delays and 'willful neglect' from the postal service—an early grievance about failing public infrastructure.
- An 1877 Plan for Workers to Buy Seattle Homes
As Seattle rents rise, the paper outlines a radical, cooperative vision for workers to escape the landlord's grip through building associations.
- The Troubled Piano Man of Seattle
After shooting himself in a drinking saloon, a local piano player insists on his right to die, highlighting the brutal intersections of addiction, mental health, and the public gaze in 1878 Seattle.
- Seattle’s First Steam Fire Engine
Facing a growing city's vulnerability, Seattle’s leadership authorized a massive expenditure in 1878 to modernize the local fire brigade.