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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
16 stories matching freight
- Minister Ties Columbia River Rapids to Costly Freight
A century and a half ago, Seattle boosters were already plotting to cut Portland out of the regional economy by building a railroad to the interior.
- The Cold Reality of Seattle’s Waterfront
While the city prepared for festive holidays, thirty Chinese laborers arrived from Port Blakely, unceremoniously discharged and packed onto a steamer like freight.
- Tragedy on the Skagit: Six Miners Lost in River Crossing
A supply-laden canoe capsized near the Portage, ending the lives of six men seeking their fortune in the gold-rich mountains.
- Snowed In: The California Mail Famine of 1872
For thirteen days, the telegraph was the only connection to the outside world, leaving businesses and citizens reeling from the silence of the snow-blocked passes.
- The Shoe That Could Save Seattle: Why We Must Stop Exporting Our Hides to San Francisco
An editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch argues that Seattle’s economic survival depends on manufacturing its own boots and shoes locally, rather than shipping raw hides south for a 10% premium.
- The Skagit River Navigation Feud
Seattle editors slam federal engineers and local delegates for failing to properly fund or understand the realities of river navigation.
- The Frontier Prospect: Surveying the Skagit River's Hidden Wealth
An 1872 exploration report charts the potential for settlement, steam navigation, and resource extraction along the Skagit River, framing the 'great jam' of timber as a challenge to be conquered by modern commerce.
- The Horse That Stopped a City: How an Epidemic Ground Seattle to a Halt
In October 1872, a mysterious disease swept through the Pacific Northwest, paralyzing streetcars and commerce. As merchants turned to oxen and hand carts, the Territory of Washington faced its first major public health crisis.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Industrial Revolution of the Puget Sound Frontier
Two local inventors debut a massive, horse-powered stump-pulling machine, promising to clear vast swaths of Washington timberland for a fraction of the cost.
- Sheriff Blocks 28 Miners From Landing — a Newspaper Calls Out the 'Chronic Pauper Hunter'
In 1877, a steamboat captain brought 28 out-of-work miners from Victoria to Port Townsend. The sheriff said they were paupers and refused to let them off the boat. This Seattle editor wasn't having it.
- The Pig That Pays the Bills: How Swine Became Puget Sound’s Secret Wealth
In 1876, while Seattle looked to timber and fish for its future, a local article argued that raising hogs on wheat stubble was the most reliable path to prosperity.
- Seattle’s 1872 Brothel Controversy and Public Hypocrisy
A scathing October 1872 letter to the editor condemned a Seattle establishment that advertised itself as a restaurant and skating rink while operating as a brothel, exposing the city’s hypocrisy.
- The Delegate Who Sold Seattle’s Future for Five Thousand Dollars
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch accuses Territorial Delegate George Freeman Willard of betraying Seattle’s interests—specifically the mud flats of Duwamish Bay—to secure his own political and financial gain, while simultaneously accepting bribes from rival railroad companies.