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61 stories matching annex
- The City That Almost Was: The 1891 Annexation Election
A historic ballot reveals how Seattle once planned its expansion by absorbing the suburban districts of Salmon Bay, Fremont, and Latona.
- Seattle’s $26 Million Gamble: The City That Voted on Its Own Future
In January 1891, Seattle voters faced two massive ballots: one to annex the booming town of Ballard, and another to issue $860,000 in bonds for street widening and debt relief. It was a defining moment of civic ambition.
- The Corporate Battle for Cosmopolis
Citizens of Cosmopolis are racing to annex their town to Aberdeen to escape the control of the Grays Harbor Commercial Company, which they fear plans to turn the city into a company-run mill settlement.
- The Great Annexation Fight: Seattle's Borders Expand as Ballard Demands Independence
As the City Council votes to absorb surrounding territories into Seattle's corporate limits, a fierce debate erupts over taxation, representation, and the future of the growing town of Ballard.
- The Great Annexation Vote: Seattle’s 1891 Expansion
Facing a mountain of debt, the city of Seattle calls for a special election to annex territory and consolidate its financial future.
- Seattle's Great Annexation Election of 1891
Voters head to the polls to decide the future footprint of a booming frontier city as Seattle proposes to annex neighboring Ballard and outlying precincts.
- The Great Annexation Ballot of 1891
Before the sprawling metropolis of today, Seattle held a massive, city-wide special election to incorporate its growing suburbs—from Ballard to Salmon Bay—into the city limits.
- Seattle’s $15 Million Gamble: Voters Decide the City’s Fate on Jan. 26
Two historic special elections converge on a single day in January 1891: one to annex vast tracts of land including Salmon Bay, and another to authorize massive bond issues for infrastructure and debt relief.
- Seattle's 1891 Ballot: Annexation and $861,704 in Bonds
Before Seattle grew to its modern size, the city held a massive special election to decide the future of its neighboring townships and fund its expanding infrastructure.
- The Fight Over the Hawaiian Islands
As Washington politicians and chambers of commerce clamor for annexation, locals weigh in on the imperial ambitions of the United States.
- The Great Partition: Why Walla Walla Wants to Leave Washington
A fiery editorial warns that the eastern half of the territory is plotting to join Oregon, leaving Seattle and the Puget Sound region stranded in a 'provincial' limbo.
- The City’s Botched Annexation Plan
Seattle’s attempt to annex surrounding lands hits a legal wall after a drafting error excludes parts of Ballard by mistake.
- Ballard’s High-Stakes Annexation Fight
As municipal elections approach, Ballard residents are divided over the high cost of local government and the prospect of merging with Seattle.
- The Great County Border War of 1886
When Pierce County attempted to poach King County's townships to bolster its own size and wealth, the local press didn't mince words about the 'unauthorized' territorial expansion.
- Seattle Voters Weigh Annexation in 1891 Special Election
Seattle prepares to redraw its boundaries, drafting a massive list of local citizens to man the polls for a city expansion that would fundamentally reshape the region.
- 1891 Special Election Asks Seattle-Area Voters to Annex Land
Seattle prepares for a sweeping expansion to pull the booming northern suburbs and Salmon Bay industrial corridors into the city limits.
- Vashon Islanders' Failed Bid for Annexation
A local election to transfer territory from King to Pierce County ends in a technical victory for King County authorities.
- Washington Territory's Eight-Year Push for Statehood
A Senate floor speech details the eight-year struggle for Washington Territory to shed its frontier status and become a state, including the controversial proposal to annex Idaho's northern panhandle.
- The Panhandle's Longing: A Century-Old Border Dispute
Before Washington became a state, Northern Idahoans fought for annexation, citing mountain barriers and shared economic interests with the Columbia River basin.
- The Tragedy at the Eagle Annex
A woman is found dead in a tent and her companion lies near death, leaving police with a grisly mystery and no murder weapon.
- Lincoln School Destroyed by Fire
A faulty water system leaves the city’s largest school in ruins after an outbuilding fire spreads.
- Fairhaven Objects to Whatcom Annexation Over Debt
Booster leaders argue that merging with Whatcom would be 'death' to Fairhaven’s budding identity and prosperity.
- Ballard’s Big Expansion Ambitions
The growing town of Ballard moves to annex territory, aiming to secure land before Seattle can claim it.
- The Idaho Capital Plot
Delegates from Lewiston arrive in Walla Walla with a desperate scheme to slice up territories and move the capital.
- The City-Line Land Grab
A real estate developer attempts to use municipal law to exclude his own property from city taxes while reaping the benefits of inclusion.
Also about this, in other words
- A Foul Nuisance in the Indian Addition
A rotting horse carcass left in the street sparks an urgent health complaint from a neighborhood near 34th and V.
- Chris Ennis Carves a Suburb Out of 73 Acres East of Town
The old Aeils tract is platted into acre lots and put on the market, as Walla Walla's edge pushes outward toward Mill Creek.
- The Unintended Boarding House Scandal
A Seattle property owner finds themselves in court after leasing a building to tenants who turned the premises into a 'disorderly house,' sparking a legal debate over landlord responsibility.
- The 'Other' America: How Seattle's Elite Feared the 'Unassimilable' Masses
A January 1889 federal report on immigration warns that new arrivals are too different to become citizens, fueling calls for exclusion just as Seattle prepares for its own explosive growth.
- Fairhaven Moves Toward Self-Governance
With the Municipal Incorporation Act signed, the city prepares for local administration while drawing a hard line against annexation by New Whatcom.
- Carving the Foundation for the World's Fair
The Cosmopolis mill is busy prepping massive logs to form the foundation of the Washington state building at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.
- The East End Fire Fight
After a local shop burned down, a councilman demands improved water access and fire equipment for the city's growing East End.
- The Stench of the Exchange
A Snohomish newspaper takes aim at an upstream sanitation disaster, warning that the town’s growth is outpacing its infrastructure.