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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
20 stories matching largest
- A Maritime Giant Hits the Water
The largest vessel ever constructed on Puget Sound, designed to carry 1.3 million feet of lumber, successfully launches in Seabeck.
- Life on the Inland Sea: The Steamboats That Built Seattle
A detailed look at the vessels, crews, and wages of Puget Sound's maritime industry in the 1870s.
- 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 City’s Biggest Celebration
Athletic contests and a tense yacht race on the Sound defined Seattle's 1880 Fourth of July.
- The Disastrous Nomination of Thomas H. Brents
Local political observers condemn the Republican Party's renomination of Thomas H. Brents, calling him an embarrassment to the Territory and a 'small specimen of humanity.'
- 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 Newspaper Feud That Put Seattle’s City Hall to Shame
When an anonymous local columnist tried to smear Seattle’s city leadership as 'unnecessary ornaments,' the Evening Dispatch fired back with a sharp defense of municipal stability.
- The Auditor’s Open Revolt
A defiant Seattle county official squares off against the city’s tax-paying elite, sparking a public war of words in the local press.
- The Industrial Gamble That Defined a City
How local visionary James M. Colman pushed Seattle into the future by betting his fortune—and demanding the town follow suit—on a critical rail link to the coal mines.
- 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 Traveling Show at Yesler’s Hall
A rare Seattle appearance of the Lilliputian Comic Opera Company promises a spectacle of stature—from 28-inch performers to a 600-pound giant.
- The Railroad That Bought Its Way to Glory
While the rest of Seattle debates politics and morality, a coalition of bankers and developers is quietly laying the groundwork for the Seattle and Walla Walla Railroad, betting millions on land and gold bonds.
- 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 Fish That Confessed: A Sturgeon’s Warning to a Sweeping Reporter
In this bizarre piece of 1876 satire, a newspaperman encounters a talking sturgeon at the market who reveals he is a reincarnated swindler, warning the reporter that frauds become fish after death.
- The Dog in the Manger: How Seattle’s Landlords Are Killing Its Future
An editorial in the 1876 Puget Sound Dispatch warns that greedy real estate owners are pricing out workers with usurious rents, comparing their tactics to Shylock and urging them to lower prices before the city stagnates.
- The Mayor’s War on the 'Ring': A Candidate’s Plea for Clean Government in 1879 Seattle
Bernard Cossen runs for mayor not for power, but to stop wealthy landowners from hoarding public funds and blocking civic progress.
- 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.
- The Mayor Who Bought His Seat with Lottery Money
In Seattle’s first hotly contested municipal election of 1876, the newspaper publisher who ran for mayor lost to Dr. Weed—not because he lacked support from mechanics and laborers, but because his opponent mobilized the city’s notorious lottery gamblers.
- 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 Battle for the Territory: Judson vs. Jacobs in the 1876 Election
As the nation grapples with the disputed presidential election of 1876, Washington Territory voters head to the polls to decide their own future, pitting Republican J.P. Judson against Democrat Judge Jacobs in a fierce contest for territorial supremacy.