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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
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| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 3 |
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| 1883 | 4 |
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38 stories matching forego
- A Town Organizes a Vigilance Committee to Keep 'Northern Indians' Off Its Shore
Citizens meet at the Court House, resolve that 'no Northern Indians at any time be allowed to land at this place,' and appoint a standing Committee of Vigilance to enforce it.
- The Judge Who Warned Seattle Not to Sell Its Waterfront to a Canal Company
In 1894, Judge John J. McGilvra urged Congress to build the Lake Washington Ship Canal and warned that a private company's tideflat scheme would put tolls on the water and enrich speculators at public expense.
- The Town That Suddenly Didn't Exist
A Supreme Court ruling declaring sixty Washington towns unconstitutional leaves saloon keepers in Roslyn facing a massive $10,000 licensing bill.
- The Clam-Seller and the Street-Car: A Seattle Reckoning
When a man was killed by a train on a Seattle street, a bystander's callous comment sparked a confrontation that exposed the deep-seated tensions of the city's growing industrial landscape.
- American Lake Prepared for 25,000 Recruits
War Department designates Tacoma site as concentration camp for new national army training.
- The Land Grab That Built Tacoma: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Stole Millions of Acres
A furious editorial in the Seattle Star exposes the Northern Pacific Railroad’s scheme to misappropriate public lands for a private coal line, arguing that the company is using legal loopholes to steal from settlers in King and Snohomish counties.
- Spokane Merchants Take the Railroad Monopoly Back to Court
Thirty-five Spokane merchants ask a federal judge to force the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific to obey an 1891 Interstate Commerce Commission order that found the roads were gouging the inland city.
- The Railroad's Greed: How the Northern Pacific Extorted Kittitas County
Newly discovered reports reveal how the Northern Pacific railroad company used its immense corporate power to extort land from settlers and small-town business owners in Kittitas County.
- The Railroad That Threatened to Make Serfs of Us All
An 1884 open letter urges Democrats and independents to break the Northern Pacific's grip on land, taxes and the delegate election.
- The City’s Dirty Secret: A Plea for Seattle’s Health
In 1870, a local editorial warns that Seattle’s lack of sewage infrastructure is poisoning the community with disease, urging citizens to prioritize public health over fiscal caution.
- The Boy Who Stole a Horse to Earn His Keep
A 17-year-old’s desperate attempt to fund his future ends in jail, sparking a local debate on juvenile justice and the harsh realities of poverty in early Seattle.
- The Northern Pacific's Land Grab
A critique of federal legislation that allegedly grants the Northern Pacific Railroad millions of acres of public land under the guise of an extension.
- The Great Divide: The Fight for a Mountain Rail Link
As the population of Western Washington booms in 1882, Seattle residents grow tired of paying for infrastructure projects while Eastern Washington neighbors demand the work for free.
- The Paper War: Port Townsend vs. Seattle
In 1876, a small rival town accused Seattle of economic sabotage over who printed their business cards.
- The Battle for the Homecoming: Tacoma vs. Seattle Over the First Washington
As Secretary of War Alger hints that troops may bypass Seattle to land in Tacoma, a civic war erupts over who gets to welcome the returning volunteers from Manila.
- A Seattle Pastor on Trial: 'Attentions' to Another Woman, Harsh Words at Home, and a Public Rebuke
In 1877, the Presbytery of Puget Sound spent six days in Seattle deciding whether Rev. E. P. Dunning had crossed the line with another woman and mistreated his wife — then publicly reproved him and urged him to guard his conduct.
- The Gossips of Old Seattle: A Dispute Over a Deathbed
A local man defends his reputation after neighbors spread rumors regarding his care for a sick houseguest.
- The Great Statehood Gamble: How Washington Territory Bet Its Future on a Coin Flip
In February 1889, Congress passed the 'Omnibus Bill' granting statehood to four territories simultaneously. For Seattle and Tacoma, this wasn't just political news—it was a high-stakes gamble that would determine their city limits, tax structures, and place in history.
- The Night Seattle's Young Men Came to the Ball Alone
At the Olympic Tennis Club's Seattle Theater ball, many eligible young men arrived stag. Their excuse was simple: carriages, bouquets and suppers had made courtship too expensive.
- A Sidewalk Skirmish in Olympia
A citizen sets the record straight after being misidentified in a newspaper report about a public altercation with a deputy sheriff.
- The Homestead Scam That Turned Public Land Into a Speculator’s Prize
An 1883 exposé from Walla Walla describes how doctors, lawyers and merchants faked frontier residency to grab government land—and why the law made perjury easy.
- The Iron Gateway: Seattle's 1890 Vision for a Grand Union Depot
A rare exchange between rail magnates James J. Hill and Northern Pacific leadership confirms the city's ambition to become the primary western terminal for transcontinental trade.
- The Centennial Call: Snohomish Citizens Urged to Claim Their History
As the nation prepares for the 1876 Independence Day celebration, local leaders in Snohomish argue that the county must stop waiting for Seattle or other larger towns to represent them. Instead, they propose a unified county-wide gathering to preserve the region's unique settlement history.
- The Presbytery’s Verdict: A Minister’s Scandal and the Price of Repentance
In a trial that captivated Snohomish County, Reverend H.P. Dunning faced charges of domestic abuse and neglect. The court’s nuanced ruling offers a rare glimpse into the moral policing of 19th-century clergy.
- The Chamber of Commerce’s Grand Gesture: Seattle’s Business Elite Rally Behind Senator Squire
Over 500 merchants, officials, and their ladies board the steamer Bailey Gate for a two-day excursion to Olympia, aiming to sway the state senate with a show of unified commercial support.
Also about this, in other words
- The Price of a Gambling Habit
A young express agent faces financial ruin after losing his employer's money at Seattle's faro tables.
- A New 'Monte Carlo' in Fairhaven
Two entrepreneurs prepare to open a lavish new club and billiard room on McKenzie Street.
- A High-Stakes Gamble at the Front Street Poker Table
A desperate gambler nearly takes his own life after a losing streak in Seattle's underworld, only to be saved by a sudden twist of fortune.
- The Foreclosure Auction: Snohomish’s Housing Crisis in 1876
As the Territory of Washington grapples with economic instability, three separate Sheriff's sales are scheduled for January 1877, putting local homes and land on the block for unpaid debts.
- The Foreclosure Auction: Luke Walsh Loses His Farm to Louis Rottmann
A Benton County sheriff’s sale is set for May 2, 1914, as a judgment of over $1,200 forces the transfer of land from one local farmer to another.
- Police Raid Faro Game at 'Siorah's Old Home'
Detectives arrest a dealer after breaking up a gambling operation in a Commercial Street saloon.
- The Foreclosure of a Frontier Town: Snohomish’s Land Grab in 1877
As the region's economy shifted, three separate sheriff's sales were scheduled for April 1877, signaling that land ownership was becoming concentrated and precarious for local residents.
- The Rainier-Grand Hotel Swindle
A fugitive gambler arrested in Denver brings to light a high-stakes legal battle over Seattle's gambling dens.