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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 11 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
39 stories matching tri
- The City That Wasn't: Seattle’s First Real Estate Scam
In April 1876, a man named Charles Smith claimed to own the entire town of Seattle and tried to sell it to investors. The local press exposed him as a fraud, but his audacity reveals how fragile the young city's land titles were.
- Acquitted: A High-Stakes Business Feud at the Occidental Hotel
A local partnership dispute ends in court, leaving the complaining witness to foot the bill for legal costs.
- The Logger Who Waited in Silence
A brutal ax wound and a stoic patience define the daily risks of Puyallup Valley labor in 1876.
- The Case of the Misunderstood Brawler
A sensational report of a violent street fight in Seattle turns out to be a classic case of mistaken identity, where a frightened man accidentally assaulted the wrong person.
- The Shadow of the Gallows in Early Seattle
A crowded courtroom watches as a man is sentenced to hang for a murder on San Juan Island, marking a grim moment in the early administration of justice in Washington Territory.
- The Man Who Slept in a Law Office Window
A destitute former resident of Chimacum is found crawling into a Seattle law office window, claiming he has nowhere else to go.
- The Deaf Dodge
A local drunkard tries to outsmart a judge by faking deafness, only to be tripped up by the prospect of a free drink.
- The High Price of Speculation
Real estate owners in 1872 Olympia are holding vacant lots hostage, refusing to sell or lease, effectively strangling the city's economic growth.
- The Best Birds for the Seattle Barnyard
A local expert’s guide to the poultry breeds that promise the most eggs and the heartiest meals for the pioneer household.
- The Water Took Her: A Canoe Accident at Seattle's Wharf, 1877
A canoe overturns in the dark beside Mechanics' Wharf. The others make it to shore—but the old woman slips away before anyone can save her.
- The 'Lava-Bed Ranger' and the Brawl at the Saloon
A rowdy evening in 1876 Seattle ends in a courtroom, highlighting the rough-and-tumble street life of a frontier town.
- Snowed In: The California Mail Famine of 1872
For thirteen days, the telegraph was the only connection to the outside world, leaving businesses and citizens reeling from the silence of the snow-blocked passes.
- The Great Sailor Shortage: Why Seattle’s Labor Market Was Starving for Hands
In December 1876, the city faced a paradoxical crisis: despite the suspension of summer logging work, sailors were vanishing from the docks. Commissioner Ballou reported that a single crewman was worth more than a pair of jacks in poker, as wages had to be inflated just to secure basic maritime labor.
- The Rowdiest Port in the Pacific Northwest
An 1872 report describes the brutal realities of the maritime labor market in Port Townsend, where sailors were coerced into service and returned to shore battered and bruised.
- The Lottery That Wasn't: A Commissioner's Moral Standoff in 1876 Seattle
While the county board approved a gambling license for Val Wildman to fund a road project, one commissioner filed a formal protest, declaring the legislature's authority void and refusing to legitimize vice.
- The Seattle Invention That Promised to Banish the 'Tremor' of Steamboats
A local citizen trials a double-inclined plane water wheel on Lake Union, aiming to solve the vibration and loss of power plaguing the steam-powered era.
- The Newspaper Feud That Put Seattle’s City Hall to Shame
When an anonymous local columnist tried to smear Seattle’s city leadership as 'unnecessary ornaments,' the Evening Dispatch fired back with a sharp defense of municipal stability.
- The audacious railroad land grab that made Seattle's delegate a target
Facing attacks from the Tacoma Herald, Judge Orange Jacobs is praised for blocking a Northern Pacific claim to 783,600 acres — land the railroad tried to take for building just 31 miles of a 'branch road' to a coal mine.
- 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 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 Hidden Dens of 1870s Seattle
A citizen appeal from 1872 exposes how unchecked public gambling was eroding the moral and financial fabric of the developing waterfront town.
- Seattle Miners Rush to Sultan River Gold Claims
When a chance discovery in the dry bed of the Sultan River sparked a desperate dash for fortune, the town of Snohomish was left nearly deserted as laborers abandoned their jobs to try their luck in the mud.
- The Politics of Personal Attack in 1872
A century and a half ago, a Seattle newspaper reflected on the toxic state of political discourse and the dangerous habit of substituting insults for policy debate.
- The Grammar Grudge of 1876
An editor and a local developer get into a petty, hilarious feud over building codes, split infinitives, and civic competence.
- The Seattle Editor Who Fought a Mob
After being accused of being a 'blatant traitor' and a secret sympathizer of Lincoln’s assassin, Seattle publisher Beriah Brown strikes back at his political rival.