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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 18 |
| 1877 | 13 |
| 1878 | 32 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 11 |
83 stories matching third
- The Great Mill Auction: A Kingpin’s Empire Divided
In December 1876, the District Court in Seattle ordered the liquidation of a massive timber and land empire owned by A.M. Simpson, offering hundreds of acres and a high-capacity sawmill to the highest bidder.
- 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 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 Courthouse That Built Itself
As Seattle transitioned from a frontier lumber outpost into a formal city, the County Commissioners finally took the 'bull by the horns' to replace scattered offices with a grand civic monument.
- The Unlikely Hero of the Fire Escape
When a local doctor patented a new fire escape in 1878, he had to prove it could survive the ultimate test: a 'timid' gentleman from the New England Hotel climbing down from a third-story window.
- A Chaotic Buggy Crash on Third Street
A pair of young, half-broken horses went berserk in downtown Seattle, leading to a violent wreck that left the passengers with broken bones and the animals severely injured.
- The Crew of the 'Tidal Wave' Strikes for Back Pay
After the American bark 'Tidal Wave' terminated its voyage at Port Madison, fourteen sailors filed a legal action against the ship's owners to recover unpaid wages, lodging, and return expenses.
- The Crew of the 'Tidal Wave' Demands Their Due
After being discharged in Port Madison without full pay, fourteen mariners have filed a legal claim against the American bark 'Tidal Wave' in Seattle.
- The Deserted Family of Seattle
A husband is sued for divorce in 1872 on the grounds of cruel neglect and failure to provide for his family.
- The Price of a Scandal in 1877 Seattle
A public notice in the territorial court reveals the harsh, legal reality of a divorce filing on the grounds of 'frequent adultery' in late-19th-century Seattle.
- The Price of Separation in 1878
A legal summons published in the Puget Sound Dispatch highlights the harsh reality of divorce proceedings in territorial Seattle.
- The Man Who Crushed His Hand: A Seaman’s $3,000 Fight for Justice in Seattle
In the early days of Washington Territory, a sailor named Robert Johnson sued a ship’s captain and his vessel after a workplace accident left him permanently disabled. It was one of the first major labor lawsuits heard in the new federal court.
- The Divorce Decree: A Seattle Woman’s Fight for Freedom from Willful Abandonment
In July 1876, Eliza Carakaden was served with a summons in King County District Court, marking one of the earliest recorded legal battles for divorce in the young settlement of Seattle.
- The Ghost Ship in the Harbor: A Legal Drama of Unpaid Labor
A US Marshal’s notice reveals the desperate struggle for wages aboard the vessel 'Clipper,' abandoned in the waters of Puget Sound in 1880.
- The Divorce of a Pioneer: A Legal Battle in King County
In the early days of Seattle, legal proceedings were public record. This summons reveals the gritty reality of marriage dissolution in 1876, where 'abandonment' was a grounds for divorce and the courts were one of the few places to settle domestic disputes.
- The City Goes to the Polls in 1878
A rare glimpse into the logistical footprint of Seattle’s civic life during the era of wooden sidewalks and horse-drawn carriages.
- The Debt of 1877: A Seattle Legal Notice
A court summons in 1879 offers a rare, granular glimpse into the personal credit and legal entanglements of pioneer-era Seattle merchants.
- 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 Delegate Who Sold Seattle’s Future for Five Thousand Dollars
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch accuses Territorial Delegate George Freeman Willard of betraying Seattle’s interests—specifically the mud flats of Duwamish Bay—to secure his own political and financial gain, while simultaneously accepting bribes from rival railroad companies.
- The Great Seattle Saw-Mill Gamble
When the city's leading industry, the Yesler Mill, was placed into a grand lottery to boost the local economy and resolve debt, it sparked a frontier frenzy of ticket-buying.
- The Great Sound Mill Slowdown of 1879
A secret price-fixing agreement in San Francisco forces local mills to cut production, threatening the livelihoods of workers across the region.
- The Black Pall Over Washington’s Future
A proposed decade-long extension for the Northern Pacific Railroad threatens to monopolize the territory's vast timber and mineral wealth while stifling independent settlement.
- The Day the Seattle Gold Lottery Fell Apart
A grand public spectacle at Occidental Square took a sour turn when organizers confessed they had sold only half the tickets, forcing a desperate, on-the-spot slashing of prize money.
- The Taxation Trap: How Seattle’s Liquor Licenses Were Feeding the County, Not the City
In 1876, a territorial newspaper railed against a fiscal injustice: Seattle taxpayers were footing the bill for policing and street maintenance, while the county kept the revenue from liquor licenses sold within city limits.
- A Telegraph Prank Turned a Boat Trip into an Armed Standoff
When someone wired Port Ludlow that a steamer carried smallpox, the town's 'commercial travelers' met a wall of shotguns — and a joke got out of hand.