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26 stories matching Ainsworth
- The Stockyards That Were Really About Raising the Value of Sand and Sagebrush
When Pasco promoters pushed stockyards at Ainsworth, Kennewick’s editor saw a railroad, a packer and owners of “practically worthless” land getting a public subsidy. He wanted no part of it.
- The Desert Bloom of Ainsworth
A skeptical traveler discovers a German immigrant coaxing bountiful gardens from the dusty sagebrush plains of the Snake River.
- The Willard Ainsworth's Dangerous Nine-Month Cruise
A Seattle sealing schooner heads for the coast of Japan and Siberia, defying revenue cutters and maritime pressure to secure a massive catch.
- The $18,784 Express Package That Vanished—and the Sheriff Arrested for It
A grand jury charged a Northern Pacific agent, a Franklin County sheriff and another man in a January 1894 express theft. The sheriff’s Ainsworth neighbors posted his bond—and doubted the charge.
- The great railway washout of 1883
Heavy spring snowmelt triggers dozens of washouts along the railway between Spokane and Ainsworth, leaving passengers stranded in the mud.
- The Missing Express Package
An express agent at Ainsworth finds himself in the middle of a $15,000 mystery after a package disappears under his watch.
- Knockout Drops at the Standard Saloon
A Tacoma man swears he was drugged, fleeced of $210, and knocked toothless—then asks the city to revoke the saloon's license.
- Salmon War on the Waterfront
Seattle fishermen organize a new union to challenge cannery owners over falling fish prices.
- The Rapid Rise of Ainsworth
A town that was nothing but sagebrush and coyotes four years ago is now a railroad terminus and a contender for the future state capital.
- The West Seattle Seine Clash
A standoff on the flats between unionized fishermen and independent dealers turns violent as the harbor becomes a theater of industrial war.
- The Great Land Grab: Tacoma Citizens Unite Against Northern Pacific’s ‘Squatter’ Tactics
In a packed hall at Reinig’s Hall, leading citizens condemn the railroad’s seizure of public lands and its attempt to claim hundreds of thousands of acres for a coal line that will never be built.
- The Price of a 'Sharp Practice'
An early Tacoma settler recounts how a handshake deal for a town site—and his trust in corporate promises—cost him a half-million-dollar fortune.
- The Governor Who Stood Between Corporations and the Workingman
When railroads threatened to use militia to break a strike in 1873, Governor Elisha Ferry refused to deploy state power until the laborers were paid, carving out a legendary reputation for fairness.
- Expanding Seattle's Waterfront for Global Trade
Local builders begin a massive wharf expansion project to accommodate the largest steamships on the Pacific.
- The Great Terminal Tug-of-War
Henry Villard's railway strategy promises to connect Seattle to the Pacific, but local pride turns the terminal question into a bitter race between rival cities.
- The Waterfront Salmon Strike and the Ghost of a Deal
A broken promise of a buyer, a scuffle over fishing rights, and the quiet departure of Chinese cannery workers reveal the volatility of the Seattle fishing industry.
- The General Who Laid Out Tacoma
Maj. Gen. John W. Sprague—Northern Pacific superintendent, Tacoma's first mayor and a founder of its bank and chamber—died at 74, leaving a city he helped place on the map.
- The Deserted Settlers of Yakima
How a powerful railroad corporation abandoned the communities it promised to serve.
- Ten Gales, Three Lost Schooners, and a Widow Who Wasn't
A Seattle seal hunter back from eight months in the North Pacific describes a season that swallowed whole crews — and explains why he'd rather kill seals with a spear than a gun.
- Northern Pacific Pushes Rail Construction Across the Cascades
The Northern Pacific Railway moves to bridge the gap between Yakima and Puget Sound, signaling a major boom for regional commerce.
- Speculation and Contests Arise Over Columbia River Sands
Long-neglected riverbank lands near the Snake River junction are suddenly subject to legal contests as settlers rush to file desert land claims.
- The Decade-Old Debt of the Log Drive
Local creditors hope to finally collect on a failed timber contract from the 1880s involving prominent political figures.
- The Uncharted Drift of the Little Lorenson
A schooner, untethered by high winds, nearly wreaks havoc in the Seattle harbor after snapping its lines near the waterfront.
- A Successful Maiden Voyage for the St. Lawrence
The new Ballard-built schooner returns with a heavy haul, proving the viability of the local fishing industry.
- Forging a Gateway Through the Cascades
A new mountain road promises to replace a 350-mile detour with a direct 120-mile route, finally linking Seattle to the agricultural bounty of Eastern Washington.