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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 5 |
| 1894 | 2 |
| 1895 | 6 |
22 stories matching comprehens
- The Struggle for Seattle's Green Future
Citizens and city officials unite to plan a comprehensive park system before the city's growth makes it impossible.
- Left in the Dark: Seattle's Electrical Failure
When the lights went out across the city, a local resident spent the night navigating by touch.
- The Great Seattle Tax Delinquency List
A vast, published ledger of delinquent property owners across Seattle's emerging neighborhoods exposes the precariousness of early land ownership.
- The Price of Ownership: Seattle’s 1888 Delinquent Tax List
A sprawling registry of property owners, from the prominent to the 'Unknown,' failing to pay their dues during Seattle’s rapid expansion.
- The Unmeasured Wealth of Washington's Timber
A comprehensive statistical report from 1893 reveals the staggering scale of timber resources across the state and the birth of a major industry.
- Preserving the Bounty of Puget Sound
How local naturalists prepared a comprehensive collection of Washington's fish for the 1893 World's Fair.
- The Chaos of a Contested Election
Pierce County election officials struggle with poorly administered ballots, leaving dozens of precincts disqualified and the fate of legislative seats in limbo.
- State Land Board Begins Overhaul of Public Records
A newly formed commission finds local records missing and incomplete, setting the stage for a Supreme Court battle over tide land rights.
- Washington’s Hidden Bounty: The Oat Capital of 1889
Newly released federal statistics highlight the massive agricultural potential of Washington Territory, crowning it as the nation's premier producer of oats.
- The Great Seattle Teacher Pay Cut of 1894
Facing public backlash, a school board director defends controversial salary slashes that hit the lowest-paid educators hardest.
- The Loggers and the Law: A Ledger of Territory Disputes
In August 1888, the Seattle district court docket revealed a sprawling conflict over the Washington timber frontier, pitting private mills and railroads against the federal government.
- Seattle Angles for the Army's Puget Sound Rendezvous
As Congress takes up an army bill to concentrate troops at a handful of big Western posts, Washington's senators press Seattle's claim to the Puget Sound depot — while Oregon fights to keep its own fort alive.
- The Town That Was Moved by Rail
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed established Yakima City in favor of its own private land, it didn't just build a station—it forced an entire town to pack up and move.
- The Boy Mayor of Seattle
Harry White rose from an Iowa farm to become the youngest, most energetic architect of Seattle's rapid post-fire expansion.
- Buy Our Waterworks, or We'll Sell You to a Syndicate
Tacoma's Light and Water Company files its inventory for a $1.75 million city buyout — and a critic notes that the company has always known how to win a Tacoma election.
- The Governor Vetoes the Anti-Vivisection Bill
Washington's governor refuses to sign a sweeping ban on animal dissection in public schools, arguing that medical progress and anatomy lessons depend on it.
- A Cannery, a Reef, and the Indians’ Right to Fish
A federal injunction stops the Point Roberts packing company from taking sockeye while the cannery argues the reef was never reserved to the Lummi—and that 130 jobs hang in the balance.
- Olympia Wakes Up: Subpoenas, Telegraph Rates and a Suffrage Amendment
The 1895 Washington legislature moved from political strife to lawmaking, passing investigative subpoena power and jury reform while introducing bills to cap telegraph tolls, save Columbia salmon and give women the vote.
- Three Bickering Land Departments, Millions in Tide Lands, and a Demand for Answers
A state land commissioner admits the tide-land situation is 'chaotic in the extreme' and calls for a no-whitewash legislative probe — warning that divided authority is an open door to corruption.
- Seattle’s Park Chief Wanted a Boulevard Before the Speculators Got There
In his 1894 annual report, Superintendent E. O. Schwagerl argued that Seattle needed a grand park-and-boulevard plan before rising land values and piecemeal growth closed the window.
- Ellensburg's New Normal School Opens on the Hill
Ellensburg's new State Normal School opened to students, a brick-and-stone landmark with a gymnasium, auditorium, electric lights, and a rare surplus left in the building fund.
- The Legislators Who Came to See a Ditch—and Left Believers
A steamboat tour of Smith Cove and Lake Union turns Eastern Washington lawmakers into ship-canal converts.