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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 4 |
31 stories matching quit
- The Ghost of the Sound: A Swindler’s Vanishing Act
A glib salesman charms his way into the good graces of a prominent Seattle firm, only to disappear with their funds and a trail of aliases.
- A Perilous Afternoon near Lake Union
A brush with disaster in the rugged timberlands of 1877 Seattle, where an accidental axe blow turned a day of surveying into a desperate journey for survival.
- The Perils of Coasting: A Sidewalk Smash-up
Two local boys narrowly escape tragedy after a high-speed sledding accident on a steep Seattle street.
- The Logging Camp Cougar Standoff
A Christmas-season encounter on a trail near Snohomish leaves a local hotelier shaken when his revolver fails him.
- The Great Chicken Scandal of 1877
A wave of missing poultry in early Seattle highlights the city's growing anxiety over poverty, xenophobia, and the 'vagabond' population of the waterfront.
- Sunday School Picnics at Alki Point
The community gathers for a mass outing at Alki, featuring clambakes and speeches under a clear sky.
- The Miracle Cure of 1872
A Seattle resident documents his miraculous recovery from twenty years of deafness under the care of a visiting traveling physician.
- The Simple Logic of a Territorial Divorce
A jilted husband pens a candid letter to a Justice of the Peace, asking how to dissolve his marriage and if the court might offer a replacement wife.
- 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.
- Gold Fever on the Skagit: A Prospector's Report
Fresh from the gold fields, miners report that the Skagit region is sparkling with riches, promising to make skeptics take a backseat.
- The True Cost of a Hired Hand
A frank critique of the era's labor relations, arguing that farmer complaints about hired help often stem from poor treatment and meager food rather than a decline in worker character.
- 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 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 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 River That Ate Seattle: How High Water Threatened the Railroads and Left a Gift of Dirt
In December 1876, the Duwamish River swelled to dangerous levels, threatening the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad embankments. But as the waters receded, they left behind a rich layer of alluvial soil that would soon feed the region's agricultural boom.
- 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.
- A Family Tragedy in the Whatcom Courtroom
A mother and her twelve-year-old son were convicted of manslaughter after a deadly land dispute, highlighting the violent risks of territorial-era frontier claims.
- The Palace of Ink and Pine
A satirical look at a new, supposedly 'palatial' three-story printing office in Seattle, which turns out to be just one story above a Chinese wash-house.
- The Myth of the Lazy Laborer
A Seattle newspaper editorial in 1878 berates unemployed men for refusing to repair flood-damaged dykes, framing poverty as a moral failing despite local economic instability.
- The First Census of a Boomtown: Seattle’s Population Swells to Nearly 4,000
A newly published directory reveals the explosive growth of the Pacific Northwest's frontier city, detailing a population surge driven by logging camps and coal mines, while highlighting the stark racial demographics of 1876.
- Summer Days on the Sound
A lively report from a 1878 community on the Puget Sound, celebrating mill work, new infrastructure, and the social joys of the frontier era.
- The Shadowy Streets of 1870s Seattle
A wave of violent street crime hits the city as a mysterious gang terrorizes residents and burns down a derelict dance hall.
- The Silent Men of the Powder Mill
Working in the volatile shadow of Seattle's 1872 gunpowder industry, men labored in constant, hushed fear of an accidental explosion that could erase their existence in an instant.
- The Midnight Elopement on the Sound
When parents blocked a teenage romance in Port Gamble, a sympathetic reverend and a fast steamer turned a family feud into a dramatic escape across the border.
- The Renters and the Landless: Seattle’s Early Conflict over Property
An 1876 editorial from the Pacific Tribune calls out wealthy landowners for reaping the benefits of city growth created by the labor of the landless.