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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 30 |
| 1876 | 27 |
| 1877 | 20 |
| 1878 | 40 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 5 |
126 stories matching present
- A Frontier Political Vendetta Over Voting Rights
A decade-old shooting incident in Oregon returns to haunt a Seattle man, sparking an unusual legal battle over his right to cast a ballot.
- When a Railroad Held the Territory Hostage: The 1877 Fight Over the Northern Pacific Land Grant
Governor Ferry's message to the Legislature proposes a 10-year extension for the Northern Pacific—but warns the territory will be crippled if the western terminus lands in Portland instead of Puget Sound.
- Seattle’s Desperate Need for Modern Firefighting
As the city rapidly expands, the Common Council scrambles to replace inadequate, antiquated fire gear before a disaster strikes.
- The Citizens' Revolt Against the 'Official Ring'
When an informal mass meeting in 1872 Seattle bypassed party conventions to nominate their own candidates, the local press didn't just report it—they waged a war against the city's political machine.
- The Great Seattle Construction Boom of 1878
Falling material costs spark a building frenzy in the frontier town, signaling a rapid expansion for early property owners.
- 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 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 Sidewalk That Wasn't There
Madison Street pedestrians face a five-foot drop into darkness as structural supports vanish, leaving only a 'shaky' plank over the void.
- The Great Incorporation Panic of 1878
When a legal technicality threatened to render Seattle’s entire municipal government illegitimate, a frantic scramble to re-incorporate revealed the fragile foundations of early frontier law.
- 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 Governor and the Ghost Democrats
When Territorial Governor Elisha Ferry was accused of lying to win a seat at a convention, his refusal to name thirty phantom 'Democrats' sparked a fierce political scandal in Seattle.
- 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.
- The Forgotten Wife at the Center of Seattle
Dr. David Maynard’s 1852 donation land claim, which comprises much of downtown Seattle, is tied up in a legal crisis over the validity of his divorce and the arrival of his first wife, Lydia A. Maynard.
- The Politics of Poverty: Seattle’s 1878 Voter Suppression Fight
A century and a half ago, local officials tried to implement a 'poll tax' to restrict voting rights, sparking a fierce debate over whether a citizen’s right to participate in democracy could be tied to their financial status.
- The Last Great Salmon Run of 1876
While Seattle’s modern relationship with the Duwamish is defined by restoration, a century-old dispatch reveals the sheer industrial scale of the salmon harvest that once powered the region’s early economy.
- The City Clerk’s Sharp Rebuke to the Intelligencer
In 1878, Seattle’s local government publicly called out the city’s leading newspaper for 'misrepresentation' regarding the municipal debt.
- The Captain’s Silence: A Seattle Court Rules on Brutality at Sea
In a landmark Admiralty case heard in Seattle in 1872, Judge Jacobs holds ship owner E.A. Nickels liable for the brutal beating of sailor Frank Griffin, establishing that a captain's failure to stop abuse is an endorsement of it.
- The Price of Industrial Progress: A Port Madison Tragedy
A dockside worker is crushed while maneuvering heavy machinery, highlighting the precarious nature of labor in the Puget Sound timber industry.
- A Father Returns from the Skagit to Claim His Own
A man arrives from the mining camps to marry the woman he fathered a child with, hoping to secure their future after she was jailed for an alleged act of desperation.
- 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.
- The Claret Rebellion in 1870s Seattle
At a meeting of the King County Farmers Club, a local leader tried to replace the frontier staple of 'bald-face' whiskey with homegrown wine, igniting a fiery debate about culture and grit.
- The Road to Nowhere: Seattle’s Infrastructure Crisis of 1876
As the city grows, its roads are crumbling into impassable mud, endangering farmers and merchants alike. A local editorial demands immediate action before the 'corduroy' turns to chaos.
- The Rails That Built Seattle
Civic leaders convene to expand the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad, the ambitious line designed to link the growing city to the bounty of the east.
- The Day the Talking Machine Arrived in Seattle
In 1878, Seattle citizens gathered at Yesler’s Hall for a demonstration of Thomas Edison's 'wonderful invention' that could capture and replay human speech.
- 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.