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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 18 |
| 1877 | 18 |
| 1878 | 10 |
| 1880 | 12 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 14 |
| 1884 | 50 |
| 1885 | 39 |
| 1886 | 28 |
| 1887 | 14 |
| 1888 | 16 |
| 1889 | 47 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 16 |
| 1892 | 71 |
| 1893 | 85 |
| 1894 | 100 |
| 1895 | 16 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1899 | 32 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
613 stories matching grant
- The Great Western Land Grab
A federal investigation exposes how massive railroad corporations illicitly claimed hundreds of thousands of acres of public land by exploiting loopholes and keeping government clerks in the dark.
- The Forty-Year Stranglehold: Seattle’s Streetcar Franchise Fight
As promoters push for a massive consolidation of the city's transit lines under a 40-year franchise, local editors warn that handing over public infrastructure to private syndicates is a dangerous gamble for a rapidly growing metropolis.
- The Race for the Rails: Seattle’s Fight to Keep the Northern Pacific Branch
As Oregon competitors maneuver to steal federal land grants, a local correspondent warns that losing the railroad connection could leave Washington Territory behind for decades.
- A Massive Land Grab Stalled: Seattle’s Northern Pacific Victory
A pivotal decision in Washington Territory nullifies a $125,000,000 corporate claim on public land, forcing a reckoning for the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- Telescoped at the Crossing: A Grant Street Horror
When a Northern Pacific freight train plowed into an electric streetcar on May 20, 1909, one man died and dozens were mangled in the icy water below. The crash exposed dangerous speeds and negligent watchmen at a city intersection that remains vital today.
- The Armory Uprising: Seattle’s Battle for Public Transit
As the City Council prepares to vote on a controversial 40-year franchise for private street railways, citizens are mobilizing for a mass meeting at the Armory, demanding municipal ownership over corporate profit.
- The Land Grab That Stalled Seattle’s Growth
A local editorial warns that the Northern Pacific Railroad’s hoarding of millions of acres is strangling settlement and development in Washington Territory.
- 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.
- The Judge Who Gambled Away His Office: Soderberg’s Dramatic Resignation
After the grand jury returned five indictments for extortion and malfeasance in office, District Attorney Joseph Soderberg walked into court, tendered his resignation, and declared he would repay every illegal fee to the county treasury.
- The City That Forgot How to Ride: Seattle’s Battle for Short-Term Streetcar Franchises
In May 1899, the Seattle Star warned that granting long-term monopolies to street railway companies would leave the city trapped with obsolete technology and inflated prices. The paper argued fiercely for short-term grants to keep corporations accountable—a debate that echoes in today’s transit infrastructure battles.
- Streetcar Accident Leaves Injured Passenger Without Recourse
A teenage girl’s suit against the Grant Street Electric Railway is dismissed when a judge rules the company has no legal duty to provide safe passage to the sidewalk.
- Jim Hill’s Kanopolis Bluff: A Railway Empire in the Making
Great Northern President James J. Hill is quietly surveying a route through the Kanopolis Valley, sparking rumors that he intends to build up the area into a major hub rather than just passing through.
- The Great Front Street Fraud: City Council Exposes Fake Petition for Cable Car
In a stunning display of civic integrity, Seattle’s Common Council unmasks a fraudulent petition designed to grant a monopoly cable car franchise, revealing that applicants forged signatures and misrepresented property frontage.
- The Streetcar Stranglehold: Eastern Capitalists vs. Seattle’s Future
As a coalition of wealthy investors from the East seeks to monopolize Seattle’s street railway system with a 18-year franchise, local legal advisors warn that without it, the deal collapses—igniting a fierce debate over municipal ownership and corporate power.
- The Great Seattle Streetcar Franchise Fight: Why Short Leases Save the City
As city councilors debate a controversial 40-year lease for street railway operations, The Seattle Star argues that short-term concessions are the only way to prevent corporate greed from strangling public transit.
- Seattle Citizens Plot to Block Monopoly: Injunction Threatened Over 40-Year Streetcar Franchise
A coalition of concerned citizens is mobilizing against the city council's potential grant of a forty-year monopoly to the Seattle Railway Company, warning that legal action will follow if the charter is violated.
- The Franchise Fight: Seattle’s Battle for Control of the Streets
As the Corporation Committee prepares to report on the street railway franchise, a fierce debate erupts over whether the city should sell its public assets to private developers for 40 years or keep them in public hands.
- Government Moves to Forfeit Railroad Land Grants in Washington
Federal attorneys begin the legal process to reclaim millions of acres granted to railroad companies that failed to fulfill their construction promises.
- The Seattle Land Grab of 1880
A former Delegate to Congress accuses a prominent Seattle attorney of sabotaging a deal to save King County land, sparking a bitter political feud.
- The End of the Railroad Land Grab
A trio of government decisions finally ends the Northern Pacific's long-standing practice of seizing settler homes in Washington Territory.
- Committee Urges Forfeiting Northern Pacific Railroad Land Grant
A scathing House committee report accuses the Northern Pacific Railroad of failing its contractual obligations while hoarding millions of acres of public domain.
- The Price of a Vote: Bribery and Betrayal in the Legislature
F.J. Grant defends himself against allegations of attempting to bribe state legislators, accusing political rivals of forgery and perjury.
- The Woman Who Crossed the Lines: A Civil War Journey Ends in Seattle
Mrs. W. Harlan, who defied army orders and carried a lunch basket of soldiers' savings through Confederate country to reach her wounded husband, dies in Seattle.
- The Divorce That Split Seattle Real Estate
A Seattle judge grants Mrs. Steel her divorce, hands her the city property, and leaves her mining-magnate husband the Montana claims—while calling her 'indiscreet' but not adulterous.
- Seattle Declares War on the Northern Pacific
A packed town hall votes to demand the forfeiture of unearned railroad land grants, signaling a shift from boosterism to populist revolt.
Also about this, in other words
- The Senator and the Payoff
A Kittitas County legislative candidate’s signed letter reveals a brazen scheme to secure a US Senate seat through financial bribery in Seattle.
- The Knight in Blue: Officer Grant’s Chivalrous Knife Work Saves a Tacoma Lady
When a piece of lace tore during the Christian Endeavor convention, one Seattle policeman didn't just offer sympathy—he offered his pocketknife and a bow.
- The Bridge to Nowhere
A liability lawsuit reveals that the City of Seattle refuses to take responsibility for the Grant Street Bridge, claiming it sits on state tide lands.
- A Close Call on the Grant Street Bridge
A real estate agent’s commute turned chaotic when local duck hunters accidentally peppered his horse with birdshot.
- A Deadly Plunge off the Grant Street Bridge
A reckless driver and his span of horses tumble into the tide flats, prompting a lawsuit against the city for its lack of safety infrastructure.
- The Milkman Wars of Grant Street
A competition for customers on the Grant Street bridge turns into a physical altercation, leading to an arrest.