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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
24 stories matching intend
- The Failed Poison Dinner of Seattle
A meticulously planned attempt at mass murder by a man named Perry Dunfield was thwarted when his intended victims missed their appointment—but the tragedy still unfolded at home.
- 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.
- 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 Pioneer Woman Who Kept the Palouse Dream Alive
A mother who crossed the continent alone with nine children and a wagon team became the unsung hero of a new homestead in the Palouse, proving she could 'make a lazy man succeed in this country.'
- The Shadow Over San Juan Island
A Supreme Court justice warns that the legal limbo surrounding the San Juan islands threatens to turn the territory into a lawless refuge for criminals.
- The Mail Carrier of Port Gardner Bay
A harrowing tale of survival in the winter of 1872 when the mail route between Mukilteo and Snohomish met a sudden, icy squall.
- 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 Wedding-Journey Argument
A young couple's petty dispute over transportation during their honeymoon highlights the fragile nature of new love.
- 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.
- Showdown at the Seattle Wharf
A hotel runner's refusal to retract words during a wharfside confrontation leads to a dramatic, failed assassination attempt in broad daylight.
- The Seattle Lottery Scandal of 1876
A local editor confesses his regret for backing a 'legal' lottery that turned the city into an open gambling hell.
- The Paradox of Plenty: Seattle’s Lumber Boom Leaves No One to Live In
In August 1872, the city's primary industry is churning out lumber at a staggering rate, yet the town faces a bizarre crisis: there are simply no houses left to rent.
- The Political Brawl at the Territorial University
A scathing editorial from 1872 exposes a 'Klux clan' of government officials caught in a web of corruption, bribes, and public dishonesty.
- 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.
- The Miracle Cure-Alls of 1870s Seattle
Before modern medicine, newspaper columns were filled with aggressive marketing for 'Pain Eradicators' and 'Radical Cures' that promised to fix everything from catarrh to death itself.
- The Railway Land Grab: Seattle's Growth Tied to Northern Pacific Expansion
A new congressional bill promises to extend the Northern Pacific Railroad's deadline by a decade, while stripping away land grants intended for the vital link to Puget Sound.
- The Jail That Took Too Long
A Snohomish correspondent laments the bureaucratic foot-dragging that delayed the construction of the county's first lock-up.
- The Deadly Prescription of Clifton House
A physician’s sinister plot to poison his young wife for her inheritance ends in a gruesome, ironic justice on the frontier.
- The True Cost of a Store Tab in 1872 Seattle
A young couple's struggle with 'monthly accounts' reveals how merchant credit traps were the predatory debt cycles of the 19th century.
- The Futility of the Gallows
One month after Seattle's first judicial execution of a white man, the local press questions whether state-sanctioned violence actually deters crime or simply breeds contempt for the law.
- The Ghost of Whidby Island
A prominent Seattleite vanishes into the rural wilds, triggering a frantic search and a small-town communication breakdown.
- The Seattle Editor Who Fought a Mob
After being accused of being a 'blatant traitor' and a secret sympathizer of Lincoln’s assassin, Seattle publisher Beriah Brown strikes back at his political rival.
- The Great Emigration Heist: How Oregon and California Stole Washington’s Future
A territorial report reveals that aggressive agents in San Francisco are actively sabotaging settlers bound for the Pacific Northwest, leaving only one man from a Nebraska colony to tell the tale.
- 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.