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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 11 |
| 1876 | 19 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 14 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 3 |
59 stories matching keep
- The Hurdy-Gurdy House on Main Street
A Seattle neighborhood erupts in a formal complaint against the raucous music and nightly disturbances of a Main Street 'hurdy-gurdy house.'
- The 10-Cent Alternative to the Saloon
A local leader proposes a 'reading room and coffee house' to offer Seattle's young men a moral, affordable sanctuary away from the city's liquor dens.
- Grand Jury Exposes Seattle Brothels and Liquor Sales to Native Americans
In September 1876, a King County grand jury reported widespread lawlessness in Seattle, including indictments for selling liquor to Native Americans, running gambling houses, and maintaining public nuisances.
- The State's Duty to Your Dinner Plate
An 1878 editorial debate in the Seattle press over a 'Colusa Sun' piece satirizes the radical notion that government should provide housing and ensure personal satisfaction for citizens.
- The Brutal Theft Recovery in Genessee Valley
When a farmer lost $500, he turned to a horrific act of violence to extract a confession from the man he suspected.
- The Saloonkeeper’s Gunshot on Front Street
A quiet night near the Seattle Coal Company’s bunkers was shattered when a local woman took matters into her own hands regarding a stray dog.
- The Silent Killer in the Boarding House
An 1878 editorial warns Seattle residents that the city's obsession with airtight rooms and coal stoves is fueling a tuberculosis epidemic.
- City Charter Nullified: Seattle Police Turn to Private Charity
With the municipal charter declared void by the district court, Seattle's police force has been forced to solicit donations from local businesses to keep the streets safe from crime.
- The Unstable Ground Beneath Tacoma
A historic landslide on the Tacoma waterfront serves as a stark reminder of the city's precarious geography.
- The Burning of the Bon Ton
After the proprietor of the notorious Bon Ton was jailed for running a 'bawdy house,' his building was razed by a suspicious fire.
- Gambling over God: A Seattle Moral Crisis in 1878
A local editor wrestles with a report claiming Seattle's 'cosmopolitan' nature had left its churches empty while its poker tables stayed crowded.
- The Unfair Tax on Being Alive
An 1878 Seattle citizen challenges the 'double and treble taxation' of poll taxes, arguing that labor should not be penalized while property owners receive preferential treatment.
- The Landlady’s Fourth of July Ultimatum
A boarding house owner demands that her tenant stop practicing his political speeches to keep the peace and the stair-rods intact.
- The Jailhouse Drinker of Tenino
A clever prisoner manages to steal a gallon of whiskey while locked in a closet by using a funnel and his own fingers.
- The Human Spider of Occidental Square
A sailor scaled a 135-foot flagpole in downtown Seattle to keep the city’s Fourth of July celebrations on schedule.
- 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 Jailbreak Problem: When Every County Was Its Own Penitentiary
In 1877, Washington Territory struggled with a chaotic, decentralized justice system where county jails were crumbling and prisoners were held for profit.
- The Day Seattle’s Water Pipe Factory Saved Itself
While the rest of the country sweats through a historic heatwave, Tumwater’s industrial engine roars night and day to keep the city supplied.
- The Hotel Clerk’s Cold Comfort
A traveler spends a night of debauchery and wakes up convinced he’s been robbed—only to find the city's hospitality was more secure than his own memory.
- The Great Hops Hoax: Tacoma’s ‘Massive’ Landslide Turns Out to Be a Trifle
Panic swept the Sound when reports claimed a catastrophic slide at Tacoma had buried buildings and halted rail traffic. The Dispatch reveals the truth: only twenty acres of land moved, knocking over a few Chinese cabins, while the real drama was just steamers running late.
- 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 Great Egg Exodus: Why One Seattle Boarding House Keeper is Trading City Squalor for Fidalgo Island Farming
In a move that defies the city's booming real estate speculation, Mrs. Johnson abandons her Commercial Street boarding house to launch a poultry empire on Fidalgo Island, proving that sometimes the best investment is a flock of chickens.
- 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 Great Seattle Homestead Fraud
A whistleblower exposes how workers were swindled out of their hard-earned money by a predatory land development scheme.
- The Church That Leased Its Own Hypocrisy
In 1876 Seattle, a wealthy Presbyterian congregation found itself trapped by its own real estate deals, forced to collect rent from two saloons operating directly beneath their prayer hall.