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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 4 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 10 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 5 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 16 |
| 1886 | 12 |
| 1887 | 12 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 14 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 14 |
| 1892 | 60 |
| 1893 | 30 |
| 1894 | 44 |
| 1895 | 47 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 16 |
| 1904 | 15 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 38 |
| 1910 | 7 |
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| 1912 | 4 |
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| 1917 | 4 |
| 1923 | 3 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
414 stories matching condemn
- The Dairy Commissioner’s War on Adulterated Food
A Washington dairy official warns that fake honey, poisoned candy, oleomargarine and brewers’ grain are cheating farmers — and demands stronger pure-food laws.
- The Right to Seize Silent Tracks
In 1886, territorial legislators debated a radical bill to reclaim abandoned railroad rights-of-way, arguing that the public interest outweighed corporate ownership.
- City Condemns Waterfront 'Rookeries'
Building inspectors flag unsafe conditions on Pacific Avenue, marking the latest demolition in a series of condemned buildings.
- The Ward Clubs Revolt Over Delegate Math
Republican ward clubs across Seattle split over how county convention delegates were apportioned—and who got to name the primary judges.
- Great Northern Moves to Seize Downtown Blocks
The expanding railway network files suit to condemn an entire city block, displacing residents and businesses in the Whitechapel district.
- A City Accused of Stealing Its Water by Night
A rancher with an injunction, a mayor at the end of his borrowing power, and a reservoir that empties at dusk and fills by dawn: Tacoma's fight over Clover Creek water becomes a standoff between the city and the man who owns the creek.
- The Courthouse Deal Done in the Dark
Benton County commissioners quietly sold $125,000 in bonds for a new courthouse. Farmers from Finley to Prosser cried foul over up to $40,000 in extra interest—and demanded to know why it had to be secret.
- The Railroad That Laid Tracks Through a Burned Schoolyard
After a forest fire burned School District 135's schoolhouse near Blueslide, the Idaho & Washington Northern laid track over the ashes without condemning the right-of-way. The district is still trying to get paid.
- The Path to the Ship Canal
A new law empowers King County to condemn land for the long-awaited government canal connecting Puget Sound to Lake Washington.
- Seattle’s City Council Rejects Public Power in Favor of Private Monopoly
In a decisive vote that prioritized corporate interests over municipal control, Seattle leaders refused to condemn the city's water supply, effectively handing power to private developers.
- Bribery Scandal Rocks Great Northern Condemnation Trial
A railroad condemnation suit descends into chaos as court witnesses reveal a plot to buy off the jury.
- Railroads Clash in Court Over Seattle Waterfront Tracks
Great Northern's subsidiary sues to condemn a right-of-way through the industrial heart of Seattle's waterfront.
- The San Juan Island Standoff
Tensions between American settlers and British authorities on San Juan Island flare in the territorial legislature, sparking a debate over sovereignty and the treatment of American interests.
- The Battle for Kenney Street
A dispute over a blocked street in the Williams addition marks the first legal test of new laws allowing the city to condemn land for public use.
- Tacoma's Water Was Cut Off by a Court Order—and the City Went Looking for Wells
A judge holds Tacoma officials in contempt for ignoring an injunction over Clover and Spanaway creeks, forcing the city to shut off a major source and scramble for gulch water and Northern Pacific wells.
- The City vs. The Depot: Seattle's 1889 Eminent Domain Fight
When the Oregon Improvement Company tried to blockade South Third Street to protect their rail interests, the city council responded that the public interest was not for sale.
- The Struggle to Free the Snoqualmie Pass
King County files suit to condemn a privately owned toll road that had fallen into dangerous disrepair.
- Port Townsend Union Veterans Condemn Morning Leader Editorials
Farragut Post No. 14 of the Grand Army of the Republic condemned the Port Townsend Morning Leader for belittling pensioners and demeaning the Civil War, calling on citizens to boycott the newspaper.
- Condemned Shacks Near Downtown Face Demolition
Building inspector condemns wooden structures at a prime downtown intersection, forcing a transition to modern brick development.
- The War on Diseased Orchards
A fierce battle erupts between the State Horticultural Commissioner and outside nurserymen over the destruction of thousands of fruit trees.
- Federal Jury Discharged Amid Waterfront Speculation
Speculation mounts that the Northern Pacific Railway successfully stalled condemnation cases to replace a jury they found unfavorable.
- The Price of Opening a Street
A condemnation battle concludes, clearing the way for the extension of Center Street.
- The Judge Turned Off Tacoma’s Water
An unpaid condemnation judgment gave one man the power to shut down the city’s creeks—and the fashionable North End faced a water famine.
- The Ditch That Would Cut Seattle in Two
Washington's engineers begin staking the route of the government's Lake Washington canal, and condemnation suits are expected to follow on their heels.
- The Price of Fortification: Seattle Landowners Win Big Jury Verdict Against Federal Government
A federal jury in Port Orchard has valued land for a new military fort at $185,000—nearly double the government's appraisal. Officials warn the deal may collapse if the price is too steep.
Also about this, in other words
- A Freethinker Takes On the Pulpit in Olympia
At Liberal Hall, P. D. Moore answers a minister’s sermon on law with a call for a religion of nature, reason, and good conduct rather than wrath and dogma.
- ‘You Are Hanging an Innocent Man’: A Condemned Killer’s Last Words Before 4,000 Witnesses
Ezra Snoderly, one of the Cummins murderers, is hanged in Dayton’s courthouse square — insisting to the very end that he dies for another man’s crime, while the crowd judges him ‘game.’
- The Campaign Against the 'Mormon Menace'
A fiery editorial calls for the federal government to outlaw Mormon membership, framing the faith as a cancerous threat to social and moral order.
- A Preacher Was Hissed for Defending Seattle’s Catholics
At a packed American Protective Association meeting, Rev. Clark Davis called for tolerance and warned that bigotry would fail — then heard jeers from members who wanted red meat.
- The Pastor Who Refused to Be Shamed
When an anonymous article smeared a local minister, his Seattle congregation stood by their leader with a bold, public defense of his character.
- The Condemned Murderer Who Ran the Jailhouse Court
Thomas Blanck, awaiting execution for murder, was unanimously elected to preside over the county jail's prisoner-run tribunal—complete with fines, lashes, and a Bible in his cell.
- The Minister Who Left the Church for Socialism
Declaring the modern church a 'parasite,' Reverend J.C. Wiswell resigns to embrace the message of international Socialism.
- The Sermon on the Breach of Promise
A Seattle pastor sparks a local controversy by invoking the 'stones in glass houses' parable to defend the morals of the parties in the infamous national Pollard-Breckinridge scandal.