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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 21 |
| 1877 | 14 |
| 1878 | 12 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 8 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 17 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 20 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 25 |
| 1893 | 32 |
| 1894 | 22 |
| 1895 | 6 |
| 1899 | 11 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 17 |
| 1904 | 13 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1909 | 16 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 3 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
286 stories matching belling
- The Pony Express Ends: Lincoln Wins, But the South Sees War
As the Pony Express delivers the shocking news of Abraham Lincoln’s election to a nervous Sacramento, Olympia residents mark local weddings and watch their market prices hold steady.
- The Political Brawl for the Second Ward
A scathing letter from W. H. Reed exposes the business alliances and legislative record of city council candidate John M. Bell, setting off a local firestorm.
- The Disappearing Developer
A local real estate operator vanishes, leaving behind a trail of dishonored checks, uncompleted houses, and angry creditors across Tacoma.
- The Notorious Mail Robber's Local Swindle
Albert K. Bell, a known forger and mail thief, finds himself in trouble with Tacoma police after conning a local woodenware company president.
- The Cow-Bell Symphony of Old Seattle
For one sleepless resident, the chaotic nightly parade of loose cattle through the city streets became an unintentional, ear-piercing orchestra.
- The Thief Who Leaped from the Heights
A notorious international criminal is finally cornered in Tacoma after a dramatic chase involving a 200-foot plunge down an embankment.
- The Tragic End of Seattle’s Second-Born White Son
Austin A. Bell, a wealthy real estate developer and son of one of the city's founders, ends his life in a downtown office, haunted by the specter of his father’s mental decline.
- A Deadly Chase Along the Seattle Waterfront
A desperate flight from police ends in tragedy beneath the wheels of a switch engine in the Seattle rail yards.
- The Alarm Bells of North Seattle
A look at the logistical challenges of firefighting in 1885 Seattle, where volunteer companies managed city safety via university and church bells.
- The Sloop Race of the Century on Lake Washington
A summer-long rivalry between two local sloops concludes with a narrow, heart-pounding finish off the Madison Street wharf.
- The School Exhibition That Built a Community
A spirited evening of song, parody, and moral lessons raised enough cash to buy the Snohomish school its first organ.
- The Millionaire Forger in a Hospital Bed
A notorious mail robber and master forger is caught in Tacoma after a nationwide manhunt, but the city isn't letting him go just yet.
- The Building Boom of 1889: Seattle’s Rapid Transformation
A look at the official building permits issued in May 1889, documenting the surge of brick and frame construction that was reshaping the city just weeks before the Great Seattle Fire.
- The City That Built Itself: Seattle’s 1876 Bet on Railroads and Real Estate
While Portland urges unity to secure a transcontinental line, Seattle’s council quietly reshapes the city’s physical landscape—lowering street grades and paving sidewalks—betting that infrastructure will drive the boom.
- Judge Bell’s Hard Line on City Crime
A Seattle judge hands down stiff prison sentences for robbery to deter the criminal element in the city.
- The Delicate Sensitivity of Seattle’s Fire Alarm
An accidental rock throw reveals how fragile the city's early fire alarm infrastructure truly was.
- Seattle Tries to Halve Its Street-Light Bill
A council debate over arc versus incandescent lamps exposed ward rivalries and a fight over how much control the city should keep over a private lighting contract.
- Three Thousand Boosters Eat, Cheer, and Rebrand Tacoma
One night in February 1909: 3,000 boosters packed the armory, picked a new city slogan — 'You'll Like Tacoma' — and got sermons on land, liquor, and who should own the tide flats.
- The Con Man and the Tacoma Jail
After swindling banks for a half-million dollars, a notorious criminal is captured in Tacoma and offers an interview from behind bars.
- The 'Dead Horse' Auction of 1892
Hundreds of curious Seattleites crowded a Commercial Street warehouse to bid on the mysterious, unclaimed cargo of the Northern Pacific Express Company, turning forgotten packages into a city-wide gamble.
- The Rapid Transformation of 'Bell Town'
Seattle's northern district sheds its frontier skin with new hotels, street improvements, and a burgeoning commercial sector.
- The First Teachers’ Institute: A Battle for Seattle’s Soul
In September 1872, the Territory’s top educators gathered in Seattle to debate everything from corporal punishment to the role of women in teaching, laying the groundwork for public education in Washington.
- The Great Drift: Seattle’s First Regatta Ends in a Tie with the Wind
Fifteen boats battled light airs and navigational errors during the July 4th celebration on Puget Sound, proving that even in 1876, Seattle's weather was as unpredictable as its politics.
- Laborer Charlie Bell Found Dead in Snohomish River
A body discovered near the log boom turns out to be a local worker, marking a grim start to the summer season.
- The Palace of Belltown
W. W. Bell constructs a massive, modern hotel at Front and Battery streets, signaling a new era of growth for the northern expansion of Seattle.