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63 stories matching ballast
- The Hoodooed Ship That Left Three Dead
At Port Townsend, sailors call the Linlithgowshire cursed after a third officer is killed—and the ship’s recent history makes the word stick.
- The City Council Bans Dumping at the Harbor’s Edge
Facing mounting concerns over the obstruction of commerce, Seattle’s early leadership passes a strict ordinance against dumping ship ballast into Elliott Bay.
- Great Northern Promises Newport a $20,000 Brick Depot
The railroad superintendent says work will soon begin on a new brick station on the old depot site, part of a wider burst of passing tracks and ballast work.
- The Mud-Hole of Commercial Street
An 1876 editorial campaign to transform Seattle's 'wretched' mud-caked thoroughfare into a paved road using convict labor and harbor ballast.
- The Ghost of Ballast Island
A laborer’s body washes up on the Seattle waterfront, leaving a trail of questions about a midnight splash and a missing man with a light overcoat.
- Seattle Kept Its Quarantine — and Cleared Every Native Family Off Ballast Island
With smallpox burning through Victoria and Vancouver, Seattle's health board refuses to reopen the port. Then a policeman hears Chinook on the waterfront and orders an entire encampment off the island 'until the quarantine is raised.'
- Another Attempt to Raise the Sunken Andelana
The Neptune Salvage Company is employing a new invention—a 'diving cage'—in a high-stakes effort to recover a ship that sank near the Puyallup River in 1899.
- The War-Ready Chief of Ballast Island
Grandson of Chief Seattle, 'Tyee Peter' rallies his followers to defend the U.S. against Chile—and reflects on a history of misunderstanding with the military.
- Newport's Telephone Revolution: A 600-Line Exchange Built for Growth
A Wisconsin telephone man bought out the old exchange, discarded it, and spent $11,000 to give Newport one of the most modern switchboards in the Northwest.
- The Smuggler's Hold in Port Townsend
A US Customs inspection reveals a secret cargo of sugar and pork, risking vessel forfeiture and perjury charges.
- 2,200 Men, a Steel Bridge and a Tunnel: The Railroad Eats the Valley
The Idaho & Washington Northern's Metaline extension is three-quarters graded out of Ione, the bridge north of Newport is spanned, and tracklayers expect to reach Dalkena by mid-June.
- The Railroad Pushes Seven Miles North—Dalkena by June 15
Tracklayers, ballast crews, and a stubborn slide: the Idaho Washington Northern extension is racing high water and sharp curves toward Dalkena.
- Steamer Grounded on Wharf Debris
A steamship ran aground on a pile of ballast at the foot of Pike Street, highlighting the dangers of dumping refuse into the harbor.
- A Steam Pipe Bursts Aboard the Nineveh
A donkey engine hoisting ballast aboard the British ship Nineveh exploded at Tacoma, leaving ship carpenter McPherson badly scalded and fighting for his life.
- An Elder Left to Suffer
A Native American elder, brutally assaulted at a local ranch, is left on an island without medical care by city and county officials.
- The Tragic Wreck of the Ferndale
Twenty men perished when the British iron bark Ferndale was driven onto the beach near Grays Harbor during the most violent storm ever recorded on the Washington coast.
- The Waterfront Showdown of 1877
A mob attempts to forcibly eject Chinese laborers from a coal ship, but is repelled by a quick-thinking mate and his revolver.
- The Iron Flash: How Spokane Fell for a Railroad
In a daring midnight maneuver that bypassed local obstructionists, the Oregon and Washington Territory railroad laid its tracks through downtown Spokane in a single night, turning a political standoff into a civic celebration.
- The First Legal Code of Washington Territory
A sweeping 1854 legislative act codified the rules of the frontier, from the punishment of corrupt jailers to the regulation of 'notorious barrators' and illegal gambling.
- Great Northern Crews Link Spokane and Push Toward the Columbia
Tracklaying reaches a fever pitch as James J. Hill's Great Northern connects to Spokane, with plans to bridge the Cascades and link Seattle to the East by the new year.
- Seattle's Bid to Be the Liverpool of America
In 1895, boosters imagined a Lake Washington ship canal turning Puget Sound into a freshwater harbor for world commerce, coal trade, and naval power.
- The $275,000 Plan to Dredge Olympia Into a Deep-Water Port
In 1892, a federal engineer proposed cutting a 12-foot channel through two miles of tide flats so ocean steamers could reach Fourth Street. The price tag was $275,000—and a bet on Olympia’s future.
- Blueslide Breakthrough: The Tunnel That Pushed the Idaho & Washington Northern Through
After months of hand drilling, a crew of more than 500 blows a heading through the Blueslide tunnel — while the railroad’s general manager limps on crutches after a freak construction accident.
- A Sudden Squall Rocks the Seattle Waterfront
A fierce windstorm capsizes a sailboat, sinks a boathouse, and tests the nerves of local sailors.
- Coastal Tempest Strands the Falcon on the Flats
A ferocious south-wester wreaks havoc on shipping, forcing rescues and leaving a merchant vessel stranded in the mud.
Also about this, in other words
- Tacoma Bets $300,000 of Its Own Credit on a Municipal Power Plant
With the engineer due Monday for the Nisqually plant, the sinking fund commission puts the bonds on the market — and invites anyone, including the state school fund, to bid.
- Fortifying the Northern Pacific's Coal Bunkers Against Sea Worms
An engineering miscalculation forces urgent retrofitting of new coal infrastructure against the destructive teredo worm.
- The Iron Horse and the Muddy Streets of Seattle
While the shipping of Talbot coal promises a bright economic future, the city's infrastructure remains stuck in the mud, waiting for the arrival of the railroad.
- The Unsinkable Cigar Barges of the Sound
Innovation in the Washington coal trade: will unique, cigar-shaped steel barges soon conquer the rough waters of the Pacific?
- The Seidlitz-Powder Scheme to Raise a Sunken Ship
Confident investors bought a wreck off Grays Harbor and promised to lift it with secret chemicals, carbonic gas, and a patent they had not quite finished.
- Tacoma Bets Its Streets on Brick and Bonds
The council approves bonded paving for Pacific Avenue — Tacoma's first block of hard pavement — while quietly asking whether the mayor still legally holds his office.
- The Global Price of Local Barley
Tacoma's grain markets feel the ripple effects of the Russo-Japanese War as international demand drives up local prices.
- Tacoma’s Great White Way: Tungsten Streetlights Arrive
A new electrical experiment on Pacific Avenue aims to slash power consumption while brightening the path to the city docks.