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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 3 |
| 1872 | 36 |
| 1876 | 37 |
| 1877 | 26 |
| 1878 | 26 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 20 |
149 stories matching first
- The Great Drift: Seattle’s First Regatta Ends in a Tie with the Wind
Fifteen boats battled light airs and navigational errors during the July 4th celebration on Puget Sound, proving that even in 1876, Seattle's weather was as unpredictable as its politics.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Seattle Lancers Prepare for Their Debut
A newly organized social club for the city's elite prepares to host their first formal dance series.
- The Arrival of the First Ice Shipment in Seattle
A historic crowd gathers at the wharf in 1872 to welcome the bark 'Osmyn' and its cargo of frozen luxury, signaling a new era of chilled comforts.
- The Perils of the Lumber Truck
A young boy narrowly escapes a gruesome fate after a tumble on Seattle's busy waterfront.
- The Tyrant of the High Seas: A Sailor’s Knife vs. a Mate’s Revolver
In a dramatic trial before U.S. Commissioner D.S. Smith, witnesses describe how the first mate of the brig *Sampson* beat a sailor into paralysis with an iron bar and revolver, sparking outrage over maritime abuse.
- Seattle Boarding House Ad Barred Chinese Workers in 1876
In 1876, a Seattle boarding house advertised that it would not employ Chinese cooks, a public exclusion that reflected rising anti-Asian sentiment and helped shape the city’s labor history.
- Industrial Hazards in 1876 Seattle
A furniture factory worker suffers the loss of his fingers in a dangerous machinery mishap, highlighting the grim reality of manual labor in early Seattle.
- The Rising Brick Skyline of Early Seattle
As Schwabacher Brothers prepares a massive new brick warehouse on Commercial Street, the city celebrates its shift from wooden frame town to a permanent commercial hub.
- The Dream of the Rail: Seattle’s Missed Connection
In 1876, a proposal to fund the first fifteen miles of a local railroad promised economic salvation, but petty greed and local infighting stood in the way of the city's growth.
- Miner Gershall Wardpil Dies by Suicide in 1872
An itinerant worker seeking a new start in the Washington territory ends his own life, leaving behind only a watch and a pocket of cash.
- The First Census of a Boomtown: Seattle’s Population Swells to Nearly 4,000
A newly published directory reveals the explosive growth of the Pacific Northwest's frontier city, detailing a population surge driven by logging camps and coal mines, while highlighting the stark racial demographics of 1876.
- The Unlikely Rise of Belltown
When William N. Bell first envisioned a northern suburb for Seattle, critics called his plan a 'chimerical scheme of a visionary.' Today, the hammers are ringing as the neighborhood transforms from dense forest into a city hub.
- The Legal Scramble for Maynard’s Land
A bitter newspaper feud reveals the messy reality of early Seattle’s land titles, where a complex divorce and a 'lost' first wife sparked a struggle over ownership in the city’s heart.
- The Bridge That Bound the Bay: Seattle’s Race to Connect with the World
As the final piles are driven for the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway, local magnate Henry Yesler and his partners bet their fortunes on a railroad that will turn this muddy port into a continental hub.
- The Skagit Gold Rush of 1880
A winter of record-breaking snow gives way to a spring of fevered anticipation as prospectors return to the Skagit River's golden banks.
- A Night of Political Fervor at Yesler's Hall
Hundreds pack the Seattle venue to hear Judge Thomas Burke and local speakers rally support for the Democratic ticket.
- The Hunt for the Runaway Wife
After his wife eloped to Seattle with a family friend, a jilted husband tracked her across the coast to initiate a legal reckoning.
- The First Strike of Chinese Railroad Workers in Seattle
A brief dispatch from 1872 reports that Chinese laborers brought in by the California railroad contractors walked off the job to demand higher wages.
- Convicted in Five Days: The 1877 Murder Case That Shocked a Seattle Editor
After Solomon Baxter was killed, John Thompson went from arrest to a first-degree murder conviction in less than a week. The local paper called it a 'summary proceeding' with no parallel in American law.
- The Perils of the Seattle Waterfront
While Seattle’s industrial boom demanded constant labor, workers were often left with crushed limbs and little recourse.
- Broken Promises at the Spokane Council
A failed federal attempt to force Spokane tribal members onto reservations leaves a legacy of distrust and looming conflict.
- Seattle’s First Call for a Seamen’s Bethel
In 1877, a local captain campaigned in New York to build a refuge for the thousands of sailors arriving in the 'future storehouse of the Territory'—a young, booming port that lacked any formal shelter for the maritime labor force.
- The Price of Early Seattle Prosperity
A sheriff’s notice reveals the fragile nature of early real estate speculation in King County.