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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1899 | 25 |
25 stories matching commenc
- The Widow Who Lost Her Groom (and Her Money) to a Man in Seattle
A San Francisco widow sues a local man for $2,000 after he vanished with her funds meant for his surgical instrument business, leaving her heartbroken and broke.
- The Tin Trust Betrayal: 2,000 Workers Left in the Dark
As Seattle celebrates commencement week and the Spanish-American War heats up, a massive industrial shutdown in nearby Duwamish leaves thousands of families without income.
- The City’s New Legal Nightmare: Lawsuits Filed Over the Pioneer Square Explosion
Attorneys Ronald and Rattle have been retained to represent relatives of the men killed in Tuesday’s boiler explosion, signaling a major battle for damages against Seattle.
- The Tax Case That Could Save Seattle’s Wallet
Attorney M. H. Sachs challenges the county treasurer in a high-stakes legal battle over property assessments that could force a massive refund to taxpayers.
- The Seattle-Tacoma Shipyard Feud
How Seattle’s industrial might secured a major contract for the transport ship 'Victoria,' leaving Tacoma business leaders fuming.
- Seattle’s First Battle for Clean Air
The city council passes a landmark ordinance to curb factory smoke, signaling a crackdown on the industrial polluters that have long choked the downtown air.
- The Sawmill Strike That Never Happened
When mill workers in Seattle banded together for a small wage increase, they didn't need to walk out to get it.
- The Klondike Gold Rush Arrives in Seattle
When the steamer Humboldt pulled into the Arlington Dock, it carried a fortune in gold dust and the dreams of men hoping to strike it rich in the North.
- The Odd Fellows' Tug-of-War Over Permanence
Members of the Odd Fellows gather in Tacoma to debate moving their Grand Lodge headquarters to Seattle, highlighting a long-standing regional rivalry.
- The Great Retail Panic of 1900
Facing a glut of inventory and the pressure of a 'flood-tide' of retail competition, a major Seattle department store launched a desperate, city-wide clearance event to move stock.
- The Vanishing of Ida Peak: A Seattle Restaurant Girl’s Disappearance Sparks a Search
Ida Peak, a waitress at the New York Wafer House on Cherry Street, vanished after claiming she was visiting her sister in Bellevue. Her family is left with only rumors and a missing person's description.
- Domestic Feud in Fremont Turns Police Matter
A laborer from the Fremont neighborhood faces accusations of threatening his wife, but local authorities point to the interference of a lodger as the true source of the discord.
- Saloon Owner Attacks Longshoreman as Crowd Watches
After a longshoreman shattered a saloon mirror, proprietor Dan McNamara beat him in the street while about thirty bystanders failed to intervene.
- The Great Peace Jubilee: Seattle’s Plan to Outshine Washington City
As the capital prepares for a national celebration of peace, Seattle residents are rallying with unprecedented unanimity to host their own magnificent reception for the First Washington Regiment, promising fireworks on Puget Sound and a naval battle reenactment.
- The Mill That Never Was: How Chicago Capitalists Tried to Buy Seattle’s Soul
In June 1899, Theo. Ludgate arrived in town promising 800 jobs and a massive milling enterprise. Instead, he sparked a legal battle over land leases and vanished back east, leaving behind only the ghost of an industrial boom.
- The Circus Comes to Town: Seattle’s First Big Top Spectacle
As the Hingling Bros. circus unloads its menagerie and performers in the Northern Pacific yards, locals gather for a parade and show that promises 'everything advertised.'
- The Rent Trap: Why Seattle's Business District Is Running Out of Room
As the city booms post-fire, merchants find themselves priced out of First Avenue, forced to migrate up Third and beyond in a desperate search for affordable space.
- The Divine Healer Who Buried Himself Alive: A Seattle Cult Leader’s Resurrection Claim
Rev. O. M. Schlatte, known as 'Schlatte the Divine Healer,' claims to have risen from a 40-day burial in the desert after fasting and praying for God's guidance. Now back in town, he asserts his authority over the famous 'Healer' of Kansas and prepares to resume his ministry.
- The Last Pioneer: Seattle’s Oldest Woman Faces the Poorhouse
Mrs. P.D. Maynard, a widow of the city's founding era, has been evicted from her rooming house and is now wandering the streets at age 73. With no family and dwindling resources, the community must decide whether to let one of Seattle’s earliest residents die in poverty or build her a home.
- The Lawyer Who Spoke 'Jargon' to Save a Man from Prison
In a Tacoma courtroom in the early days of Washington state, Attorney Frank Clark stunned federal prosecutors by abandoning legalese for Chinook Jargon, winning the acquittal of a poor logger accused of stealing timber.
- The Vanishing Mill: How Chicago Capital Was Driven Out of Vancouver by a City’s Defiant Stand
A Chicago millionaire’s plan to build a massive sawmill on an island in Vancouver, B.C., collapsed after local police and citizens physically evicted his workers. The fallout has sent the industrialist packing to Seattle, leaving behind political chaos and a debt of thousands to the Dominion government.
- The Great Odd Fellows Sleep-In: A Night of Fractured Rituals in Seattle
When the Grand Lodge of Odd Fellows convened in June 1909, a bizarre mix of procedural delays and social distractions turned a solemn ceremony into a chaotic spectacle that spilled onto the dance floor.
- The Haunted Cabin That Killed Twice
A Texas rancher’s murder mystery travels north to Washington, where a cowboy finds himself accused of killing his partner in the exact spot—and with the same knife—that vanished from a prosecutor's safe.
- The Seattle Star's 'Inklings': A Glimpse into 1906 Courtroom Drama and Civic Life
From a bitter divorce trial involving accusations of insanity to the arrest of nineteen men selling whisky to Native Americans, this page captures the gritty, colorful daily life of Seattle in April 1906.
- The Great Welcome: Seattle Plans a 'Rousing' Ovation for Returning War Heroes
Mayor Humes and city officials rally behind a public subscription to fund fireworks, banquets, and even a mock battle at Lake Washington to greet the Washington Volunteers returning from Manila.