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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 2 |
| 1872 | 7 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 11 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
43 stories matching establish
- A New Sanctuary for Seattle's Waterfront
Civic leaders mobilize to establish a dedicated Seamen's Home and library, seeking to instill 'frugal, industrious, and temperate' habits among the men of the sea.
- The Great Table Etiquette Debate
An editorial scrap between the Intelligencer and the Post-Intelligencer over whether eating with a knife is a sign of 'vulgar' breeding.
- 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.
- A Community Rallies After a Railway Tragedy
When a young brakeman loses his foot in a rail accident near the Cedar River, local citizens organize to secure his future.
- The Frontier Pulse: Seattle in 1871
A look back at the origins of the city, from the arrival of the first families and the Indian War to the rise of coal, sawmills, and the hope for a transcontinental terminus.
- The Last Great Salmon Run of 1876
While Seattle’s modern relationship with the Duwamish is defined by restoration, a century-old dispatch reveals the sheer industrial scale of the salmon harvest that once powered the region’s early economy.
- The Iron Horse and the Muddy Streets of Seattle
While the shipping of Talbot coal promises a bright economic future, the city's infrastructure remains stuck in the mud, waiting for the arrival of the railroad.
- The Renters and the Landless: Seattle’s Early Conflict over Property
An 1876 editorial from the Pacific Tribune calls out wealthy landowners for reaping the benefits of city growth created by the labor of the landless.
- The Great Cattle Stampede on Wharf Street
Eight head of prize beef from Puget Sound ignored the slaughterhouse route and raided a grain store instead.
- The New England Hotel's Ban
A local hotel owner strikes a blow against Chinese labor, signaling a rising tide of xenophobic economic policy in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Pioneer Struggle to Fund Washington's Common Schools
An 1877 legislative session in Olympia debates selling off University lands to fund the territory's school districts, highlighting the precarious nature of public education in the early days of the Washington Territory.
- 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.
- When Seattle Made Property Owners Pay for Street Grading
An 1878 ordinance reveals the early mechanics of Seattle’s urban development and the 'special assessment' taxes that forced property owners to pay for city street improvements.
- The Fight for the Pacific Trade
Seattle observes with anxiety as railroad titans and San Francisco money markets clash over the future of Puget Sound trade.
- The New Era of Women in the Workplace
A glimpse into 1875 Liverpool shows women claiming their space in commerce, prompting a reflection on the future of labor in the Pacific Northwest.
- The End of an Era: S. Baxter Steps Down from Bellingham Bay Coal
After five years as manager of the merchantile department for the Bellingham Bay Coal Company, S. Baxter has tendered his resignation, accepted by President Cornwall. D. Rogers is installed in his place.
- 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.
- Unidentified Man Found Slain Near Seattle
A young immigrant worker is found brutally murdered in the woods, highlighting the dangers facing newcomers in the rugged economy of 1880s Washington.
- The Industrial Kingdom of Port Gamble
In 1872, the Puget Mill Company reigned supreme over a company town that prioritized industrial output and 'refinement'—with a cemetery view to match.
- The Industrial Peril of Early Seattle
A newly established hospital opens its doors on Commercial Street to treat the rising toll of injuries from the region's expanding sawmills, coal mines, and logging camps.
- The Rules of the Game: How Seattle's First Lawyers Codified the Fight for Land
When the Washington Territorial legislature overhauled the rules of civil procedure, they essentially wrote the blueprint for how Seattle’s developers and land speculators would battle over the city’s footprint for decades to come.
- The Bureaucratic Standoff at Point-No-Point
A federal effort to build a lighthouse on Puget Sound hit a wall in 1878 when landowners demanded 'exorbitant' prices, sparking a debate over the government's power to acquire land.
- The Day Seattle Decided Its Own Elevation
A forgotten 1877 municipal ordinance reveals the precise moment the city set its literal foundation, anchoring the downtown grid to a granite step on Commercial Street.
- The Promised Land of Eastern Washington
A look at the thriving agricultural output of the territory's interior as a draw for new settlers.
- The Fight Against Washington’s Land Barons
An 1877 editorial warns that unchecked land speculation in the Washington Territory is turning away settlers and creating a class of 'land fiends' who gobble up public resources.