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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
22 stories matching select
- The Pioneer Variety Store's 'Clearance' Sale
A shopkeeper at Seattle's Pioneer Variety Store announces an urgent clearance sale to avoid 'carrying' his current stock into the coming year.
- The Price of Printing: A 19th Century Fight Against 'Cheap John' Contracting
An editorial from the 1873 Seattle Dispatch excoriates the municipal habit of awarding city printing contracts to the lowest bidder, arguing it degrades the press and serves only the interests of 'ward demagogues.'
- The Independent Candidate Who Fought the Party Machine
After suffering a broken arm, a local editor decries the 'spoils system' and the grip of party caucuses over Washington Territory's first constitutional process.
- The Chicken Hustle of Old Seattle
An enterprising pair of thieves managed to con a local woman out of her own dinner in a brazen backyard heist.
- The 1880 Democratic Territorial Convention
Washington Territory’s Democrats gather in Kalama to organize their bid for statehood and select a delegate to Congress.
- The Audacity of the Midnight Knife: A Burglary Attempt on Fourth Avenue
Two men risked everything to crack a store's back door in the dead of night, only to be thwarted by a vigilant clerk and the sound of sawing.
- A Night of Music and Politics in 1872 Seattle
A town gathering for a local official reflects a brief moment of unity in a territory weary of 'Carpet Bag' appointments.
- The Great Spelling Bee of 1873
Before high-speed internet and digital debates, Seattle’s social life centered on the grand Spelling Match, a community competition held at Yesler’s Hall.
- The Great Impersonator: Vivian Takes Seattle by Storm
In August 1872, the 'Grammatical Comic Impersonator' Chas. Vivian captivated the Pacific Northwest with his vocal mimicry and costume changes, performing alongside a dancer from the Paris Opera.
- The Dangerous Burden of Judging a Seattle Baby Show
Five of Seattle’s leading citizens face social catastrophe and financial ruin after being unwillingly drafted as judges for a high-stakes baby competition.
- The Great Land Sell-Off
The Northern Pacific Railroad begins dumping vast swaths of Washington Territory land onto actual settlers for $2.60 an acre.
- 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.
- The Battle for the Sunday Morning Calm
When Seattle’s businesses first debated the secular 'day of rest,' local editors questioned if the city’s newspapers should be forced to observe the Sabbath.
- How Washington Territory's Public Printing Became a Corrupt Political Perk
A Seattle editor rails against the patronage and fraud in the territory's printing contracts, revealing that one printer paid Secretary Smith $2,000 for the appointment.
- The 'Ring' and the Rot: A 1872 Call for Municipal Reform
A scathing letter to the editor of the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes a culture of county-level corruption and financial mismanagement that mirrors modern political frustrations.
- The Partisan’s Price: How Civil Service Reform Cost a Delegate His Seat
In 1876, King County’s Republican establishment turned on Judge O. Jacobs for refusing to hand out federal jobs to party loyalists, revealing the brutal mechanics of the spoils system in early Washington Territory.
- The Mule-Mounted Howitzer Fiasco
An ambitious Army experiment at a Western fort goes hilariously and dangerously wrong when a cannon-strapped mule decides to take matters into his own hooves.
- The Editor Who Sold His Paper to a Brothel Keeper
A scathing letter in the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes the corrupt alliance between Seattle’s Republican party and its most notorious vice kingpins, asking: 'What of that newspaper publisher... who for a palm share in the wages of prostitution gives his aid and influence?'
- The Centennial That Saved Seattle: How 8,000 Souls Turned a Territorial Mist into a City
On July 4, 1876, despite being late to statehood and lacking federal funding, Seattle’s pioneers pulled off a spectacle of flags, steamers, and speeches that proved the town was here to stay.
- 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.
- The Primary Teacher’s Plea: Why Seattle’s Schools Are Failing Our Children
Miss C.I.T. Parsons delivers a scathing indictment of the King County Teachers' Institute, arguing that cheap buildings and unqualified instructors are robbing Seattle’s youth of their potential.
- The First Teachers’ Institute: A Battle for Seattle’s Soul
In September 1872, the Territory’s top educators gathered in Seattle to debate everything from corporal punishment to the role of women in teaching, laying the groundwork for public education in Washington.