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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 5 |
15 stories matching proof
- The Rising Brick Skyline of Early Seattle
As Schwabacher Brothers prepares a massive new brick warehouse on Commercial Street, the city celebrates its shift from wooden frame town to a permanent commercial hub.
- The Widow’s Pension Legal Trap
A woman finds her pension rights threatened by the complex, shifting definitions of marriage under 19th-century law.
- The Mother, The Child, and The Purser’s Zeal
A desperate mother is arrested in Seattle after a daring escape from the hospital, exposing the cruelty of rigid legal intervention in the 1870s.
- The Hidden Stakes in Seattle's Founding
A legal dispute over Dr. David Maynard’s 640-acre donation claim reveals the overlooked property rights of his late wife, Lydia A. Maynard.
- The Retired Colonel and the County Treasurer
A judge instructs a Grand Jury on whether a retired U.S. Army officer is legally permitted to hold the civilian office of King County Treasurer.
- The Governor and the Libel Suit: A Battle for Political Character
When Governor Elisha P. Ferry sued the 'Democratic Press' for accusing him of selling pardons, he ignited a fierce debate about the limits of press freedom and the nature of public character.
- The Seattle Coal Boom of 1876
As Seattle mine exports topped 100,000 tons, boosters predicted a regional dominance that would sideline the competition.
- The Apprentice Who Chose Grime Over Gold
In 1872 Seattle, a young man defies his parents' expectations by rejecting his inheritance to work in a boiler shop—and finds his own path to dignity.
- The Mail System is Broken
In 1880, Seattle residents faced endless delays and 'willful neglect' from the postal service—an early grievance about failing public infrastructure.
- The Captain in the Counting House
A legal firestorm over whether a retired U.S. Army officer can serve as King County Treasurer.
- 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 Business of Veterans' Benefits in 1880s Seattle
An advertisement for a local attorney reveals the complex bureaucracy of settling Civil War military land claims and homestead rights for pioneers in the Washington Territory.
- The Great Railway Monopoly Struggle of 1877
An editorial from the Seattle Weekly Dispatch reveals the town's early, bitter fight against the Northern Pacific Railroad's land-grabbing tactics.
- Billy Fife: Self-Taught Caricaturist of Frontier Seattle
A biography of Billy Fife, a sailor and self-taught caricaturist whose sharp wit and rare artistic skill captured Seattle's frontier life.
- The Logger’s Dilemma: Why Cheap Labor Is Killing Washington's Future
In a fierce editorial from January 1877, the Puget Sound Dispatch argues that low wages for loggers don't just hurt workers—they stunt the growth of the entire territory, creating a class of 'mental and physical wrecks' instead of future statesmen.