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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 27 |
| 1877 | 21 |
| 1878 | 9 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 14 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 17 |
| 1886 | 7 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 46 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 23 |
| 1892 | 24 |
| 1893 | 38 |
| 1894 | 47 |
| 1895 | 22 |
| 1899 | 7 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1901 | 1 |
| 1903 | 14 |
| 1904 | 9 |
| 1905 | 3 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 18 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 15 |
| 1917 | 6 |
| 1918 | 2 |
428 stories matching greater
- 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.
- New Whatcom’s Ledger Had a Credit Side, Too
After a defalcation and the Panic of 1893, New Whatcom’s mayor and a local editor argued over whether the city was broke or merely bruised.
- The Capitol Riots: How a Bribery Scandal Shook Washington’s First Legislature
In the halls of Olympia, Republican lawmakers turned on each other with fists and threats over a U.S. Senate seat, exposing a brazen attempt to buy votes that disgraced the young state.
- King County Commissioners Billed Taxpayers for 25,943 Miles—More Than the Earth's Circumference
A letter to the editor by F. F. Ames accuses the King County board of padding mileage, charging for trips to Olympia, and paying an unauthorized colleague from county funds—violating state law.
- The Great Lake-to-Sound Canal Dream
A century-old proposal to drain swampy lands and connect the Seattle lakes to the Puget Sound, fueled by fears of devastating floods and the need for new shipping channels.
- The Struggle for Water: Seattle’s 1889 Great Rebuilding
While the city charred in the aftermath of the Great Fire, citizens turned their eyes to a vital, contentious civic project: building a public water system.
- Seattle’s 'Reform' Government Promised Clean Streets and Low Taxes. Two Years Later, the Bill Came Due.
A furious 1894 editorial accuses the Democratic city administration of breaking every campaign promise—keeping Whitechapel open, protecting gambling, and cutting day laborers while salaried officials kept their pay.
- The Hunt for 'Stone'
A vigilante call to action follows the murder of a citizen.
- The Coal Wars of the Pacific
A mine manager argues that a higher tariff on Australian coal is the key to regional prosperity and industrial growth.
- Seattle's Schools Burst at the Seams as the City Booms
In 1893 the school board scrambles for classrooms, defends high-school education, and counts the cost of keeping up with a fast-growing city.
- The Pigeons That Flew Down From Rainier With News the Mountain Was Smoking
Seven homing pigeons carried dispatches from Mount Rainier's slopes, disproving the era's altitude limits and delivering word that the volcano was steaming.
- The Seattle Boom of 1882
An economic report reveals that property assessments in Seattle have jumped 150 percent in just three months, cementing the city's status as the wealthiest on the Pacific coast north of California.
- The Struggle for a Fire-Proof Seattle
In 1876, a local editor warns that Seattle’s reliance on wood-frame architecture is a dangerous gamble for a growing city.
- The Boomtown That Stretched Itself Thin
A local builder’s report from 1889 reveals how rapid development and land speculation transformed Snohomish into a fragmented town of 'additions,' while warning of an impending labor downturn.
- Seattle Merchants Rally to Keep the Tariff on Coal and Lumber
Meeting at the Chamber of Commerce, business men draft a memorial to Congress warning that free trade in lumber and coal will hand the Northwest's timber trade to British Columbia—then vote to put the whole fight off another week.
- The Little Steamer That Ate the Sound
The Flyer ran four Seattle–Tacoma trips a day, kept to the minute through fog, and logged a record 84,000 miles in a year.
- After the Great Fire: A Retail Giant Rises from the Ashes
How Seattle merchant Toklas, Singerman & Co. leveraged the trauma of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889 to expand and dominate the regional market.
- Seattle Firm Builds Temporary Store After Great Fire
After the catastrophic 1889 fire destroyed their downtown store, the merchants of Toklas, Singerman & Co. share a testament of resilience and their plans for a new, larger establishment.
- Seattle Lawyers Turn a Charity Baseball Game Into a Biblical War
Rival teams of Courthouse Hill lawyers announced themselves Philistines and Jacobites, issued mock proclamations, and promised a 500-pound batter—all to sell tickets for the Associated Charities.
- Life and Labor at the Newcastle Coal Mines
With over 250 men working around the clock, the Newcastle mining camp is booming, but workers are facing a severe housing shortage.
- The Rising Power of the Common Citizen
A look at the growing influence of public opinion against the encroachment of corporate monopolies in late 19th-century American politics.
- The Price of a Vote: Seattle’s 1884 Election Costs
A look back at the surprisingly high cost of democracy in early Seattle, where administrative overhead, printing, and legal red tape turned local elections into a financial burden for the growing town.
- City Hall's Fiscal Fantasy
A skeptical report on the retiring Walla Walla city council's claims of fiscal responsibility amidst rising taxes.
- A Gas Well Roars to Life in the Sagebrush — and Yakima Comes to Watch
Sixty North Yakima men drove out to a wildcat well 14 miles north of Benton City, where escaping gas hissed like a locomotive, then lit into a 20-foot tower of flame — and raised fresh hopes of oil under the desert. Spoiler: the gas wasn't there in commercial quantities yet.
- The Wheat Gamble: A Warning to Inland Empire Farmers
Former State College President E. A. Bryan cautions local farmers against abandoning diverse crops for the high-stakes 'wheat gamble' driven by war-time market trends.