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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 6 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
42 stories matching abstract
- The Vice President's Cousin and the $1,000 Port Townsend Swindle
A smooth-tongued 'loan agent' traded on Adlai Stevenson's name to collect membership fees from Port Townsend's most respectable Democrats — then hid behind unreturned abstracts and 'free stock' worth $100 a share.
- Wood & Osborne Bring Order to Washington Territory Deeds
As Seattle's property market surged, the city's premier title firm was forced to expand its operations to keep up with the frantic pace of land speculation.
- The Great Tax Assessment Debacle of 1887
King County taxpayers find themselves in an uproar as a bungled property assessment, based on a worthless abstract, threatens the city’s financial stability.
- The Real Estate Swindler of the Haller Block
A local developer is arrested for allegedly using a doctored title abstract to secure a fraudulent mortgage, a scheme that left investors exposed and property records in doubt.
- King County's Bond Fight Ends With a New Treasurer—and a Demand for an Audit
After J.W. Maple fails to perfect his bond and Dr. Mitten resigns, commissioners appoint chief deputy John Riplinger and promise scrutiny of the treasurer's books.
- The Price of a Wagon Road: Financing the Frontier
A look at the logistical grunt work of early King County, from building roads to settling school district boundaries in 1878.
- A Dead Man’s Name on the Payroll
A Walla Walla ex-employee files twenty charges against L. T. Erwin, accusing the Yakima Indian agent of fraud, perjury, and turning the agency into a private larder.
- The Paper Trail That Went Up in Smoke
A King County tax assessor admitted that sworn property records were routinely burned, sparking a public outcry over local fiscal transparency.
- The Judge Who Warned Seattle Not to Sell Its Waterfront to a Canal Company
In 1894, Judge John J. McGilvra urged Congress to build the Lake Washington Ship Canal and warned that a private company's tideflat scheme would put tolls on the water and enrich speculators at public expense.
- The Captain Who Died for His Flag
A Seattle lawyer’s final wish—to be killed in battle while holding the American flag—was tragically fulfilled in Manila, casting a storm over the local community.
- The Land Office Conspiracy
A broken man returns to Tacoma to implicate prominent businessmen in a high-stakes scheme to forge property titles.
- The Bank Cashier Who Vanished
After leaving the North End bank during the workday, a prominent cashier disappeared, leaving behind a trail of confusing clues and a frantic search in the Olympic Mountains.
- A Stranger's Bullet Leaves Fraser Dying—and Page Asking Seattle for a Fair Shake
Shot and dying, Fraser made his will and gave a statement to prosecutors while the accused gunman, held in the county jail, denied being a gambler or a tough and pleaded for a square hearing.
- The Safe Combination Swindle
A merchant is arrested for grand larceny after allegedly tricking a sick man's wife into opening their safe to steal a promissory note.
- The Pulpit vs. The Machine: A Mayor’s Brewing Scandal
A fiery sermon accusing the Mayor of being an attorney for a powerful brewery ignites a political furor, revealing the uneasy intersections of church, commerce, and city hall.
- The Senate's Sudden Revolt Against Corporate Power
In an unexpected political shift, the U.S. Senate moves to curb the influence of corporations on Congress, shaking up the power dynamics in Washington Territory and beyond.
- The Iron Vanguard of the Pacific
While the USS Nipsic was an aging relic of a bygone naval era, its arrival at the Puget Sound station in 1892 marked a pivotal, hard-fought milestone in Seattle's rise as a major military port.
- The Lame-Duck Courthouse Deal That a Judge Had to Stop
Benton County's outgoing commissioners rammed through a courthouse contract and a $9,500 payment in their final hours — and the next morning the state Supreme Court's restraining order landed on the table.
- The Three-Way War: How Seattle’s Builders Are Trying to Stop the Bleeding
A national convention in New York reveals a desperate push for arbitration between owners, architects, and contractors—a conflict that is already tearing at the seams of Seattle’s construction industry.
- The Collapse of the Priest Rapids Irrigation Mutiny
A grassroots effort to dissolve the local irrigation district fails as land owners abandon the petition, fearing the cost of independence.
- The Great Fire’s Buried Treasure
A sewer crew working on Front Street unearths a long-lost safe, a fire-eaten relic from the ashes of Seattle’s 1889 catastrophe.
- The Road to Riches: Seattle’s $33,000 Gamble on the Snoqualmie Pass
In March 1877, local editors urged citizens to fund a toll road through the mountains, arguing that the vast grain fields east of the Cascades were Seattle's only true economic future.
- The Great Olympia Slot Machine Sting
Gamblers tried to stage a test case to strike down anti-gambling laws, but were outmaneuvered by the prosecuting attorney.
- The Fight for Clear Water Rights
A new commission report proposes sweeping changes to ensure farmers and businesses can finally secure legal titles to their water.
- The Price of Power: Benton County’s 1916 Election Scuffle
Candidates in the 1916 election face off over county spending, with one challenger promising a tax-payer-funded bond to slash office costs.
Also about this, in other words
- The Invisible Army Under the Microscope
A scientific lecture delivered in Snohomish contemplates the origins of life, the invisible world of bacteria, and the processes of decay.
- The Strict Moral Geometry of the Schoolroom
Teachers debate the merits of strict discipline, the threat of school suspensions, and the 'moral atmosphere' of the classroom.
- A City Councilman Fights Back After Late-Night Arrest
Alderman Dr. J. Eugene Jordan demands that his colleagues condemn the ‘un-American’ manner of his recent police apprehension.
- The Professor Who Gave Colour Photography Away for Free
An Oregon experiment-station scientist stumbles on a way to fix true flower colours permanently in a photographic print — then walks into Seattle and refuses to patent it.
- Mentalist Collapses on Seattle Stage
A theatrical performance of 'muscle reading' turned into a medical emergency when Prof. J. McIvor Tyndall collapsed in a cataleptic fit.
- The Art of Living Well in 1877 Seattle
While Seattle’s pioneer merchants touted their iron stoves and fine whiskies, the local press offered practical, timeless advice on navigating life’s demands.
- Turmoil at Washington Agricultural College
Board of Regents investigates student assault and political infighting over faculty appointments at the new state college.
- A Desperate Act of Domestic Despair
A local woman survives a suicide attempt following prolonged marital conflict and jealousy.