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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
6 stories matching backwat
- The Unseen Hustle of the Seattle Waterfront
While critics dismissed the city as a sleepy backwater, the secret traffic of sloops and warehouses revealed a burgeoning trade hub.
- Draining the White River Valley
Engineers plan two new drainage ditches from Kent to the Black River to reclaim farmland from swamp.
- The River Took the Whole Calispel Crop. Now the Farmers Want a Dike.
After backwater from the Pend Oreille drowned nearly every acre in the Calispel valley — a loss of $50,000 to $75,000 — landowners meet, hire a Spokane lawyer and move to organize a diking district under state law.
- The City That Wasn't: Port Townsend’s Bold Pitch to Steal Seattle’s Thunder
In January 1889, the Mayor of Port Townsend published a scathing list of 'facts' in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, arguing that his town was the true commercial heart of the Pacific Northwest while Seattle remained a mere backwater.
- Olympia to Boston: 'The Athens of the Northwest' Makes Its Case
A Unitarian minister's letter to Eastern readers insists that the capital city, older than Seattle or Tacoma, is no backwater — and that the whole Sound country is bound to Boston by blood and history.
- The Canal Came With a Catch: Seattle Had to Secure the Land
Congress had finally committed to a Lake Washington ship canal, but the money came with a condition: Seattle had to secure a free right-of-way from property owners. In 1894, civic leaders began the campaign that would decide whether the project moved forward.