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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 15 |
| 1908 | 1 |
23 stories matching hurd
- The Deadly Prescription of Clifton House
A physician’s sinister plot to poison his young wife for her inheritance ends in a gruesome, ironic justice on the frontier.
- The Free-Water Fight and the 'Idle Single Men'
A proposal to give the Seattle Industrial Co-operative Society free water for two months set off a council debate over poverty, manhood, and who deserved public help.
- The First Lacrosse Game Ever Played in Seattle
Five hundred spectators packed Madison Street Park as picked teams from Victoria introduced the city to lacrosse — and a stocky second-home nicknamed 'Billy' ran away with the show.
- City Council Wrestles a 50-Year Streetcar Franchise Into Shape
A committee debate over percentages of gross earnings reveals how Seattle gave away its transit future one clause at a time.
- Fireboat or No Fireboat: Insurers Threaten a 25% Rate Hike
Underwriters tell the city to staff its fireboat properly or watch waterfront insurance premiums jump a quarter.
- Starvation Wages and a Broken Light Contract: Seattle's Lower House Erupts
Delegates demand answers on Pike Street paving, city jobs parceled out by foremen, Kilbourne Avenue subcontracting, and the gas-electric company's failure to light the city.
- A Cold Night at City Hall
Seattle's council confirms a fire commissioner, stalls a plumbing nominee accused of theft, and warns unemployed workers to stay away.
- The Wandering Numismatist
Police arrest a man from Fidalgo City carrying a century-old coin collection and a concealed weapon.
- Seattle Paid 90 Cents for Fire Hose Spokane Got for 63, a Councilman Charged
A councilman's tip about a fire-hose price gap turned a routine purchase into a small procurement scandal — and the vendor promptly promised Seattle the lower price.
- The Council Keeps the Charter Pen
Seattle’s city council refused to pay for a freeholders’ election and voted to rewrite the city charter itself—setting up a fight over cost, legality and who gets to redraw city government.
- A City Turns Out for Its Dead: Seattle's Memorial Day, 1895
Three hundred and five veterans, three militia companies, high-school cadets and a twelve-foot column of flowers marched Front Street and filled the Seattle Theater — while the Board of Health kept the schoolchildren from singing.
- The Phrenologist's Wedding Scandal
A self-proclaimed doctor and phrenologist attempts to marry a woman without legal authority, leading to a public arrest and a heated courtroom spectacle in Olympia.
- City Hall Showdown: Council and Reformers Clash Over Charter Revision
A heated joint meeting of the city council and civic organizations debates whether to call a special election for a new city charter, with accusations of bullying and claims of wasted taxpayer money.
- The Cable Company Wanted More Time. Yesler Avenue Wanted Its Double Track.
In 1895, Seattle’s aldermen weighed whether to give a struggling street railway more time to double-track Yesler Avenue—or force it to honor the franchise the neighborhood had bought into.
- Seattle Shut Every School for Scarlet Fever
With 53 cases and a council fight over authority, Seattle's health board ordered public, private and Sunday schools closed in May 1895.
- Ten Cents a Month to Save Seattle's Library
With the library closed for lack of funds, the commission and City Council try a subscription fee—and a last-minute deal to reopen.
- City Hall Refuses to Rewrite Its Own Rulebook — and Dares the Supreme Court to Decide
Seattle's council rejects the freeholders' petition for a new city charter, declaring the enabling law unconstitutional, and offers to bankroll a test case all the way to Olympia.
- The Old Soldiers Wept as Seattle's Schoolchildren Sang
Memorial Day 1895 found Grand Army veterans in Seattle classrooms, trading Antietam memories for recitations of 'Barbara Frietchie'—then preparing a parade to the Seattle Theater and View Cemetery.
- Seattle to the Railway: Pave Your Share of Pike Street
The city council pressed the Seattle Railway Company to live up to its franchise and pave between its tracks on Pike Street, after hearing that the road's receiver was in no hurry.
- The Seattle Athletic Club Squares Off at Madison Street Park
A local football scrimmage draws a crowd of one hundred as the city gears up for a high-stakes Thanksgiving match against Tacoma.
- When Seattle Draped Its Church in Flags for the Union Dead
In 1895, veterans packed First Methodist at Third and Marion for an elaborate Memorial Sunday sermon, with stacked rifles, roses, palms and a choir.
- Newport Merchants Agree to Close at 6:30 — and Fine Themselves $50 If They Don’t
In 1908, local shopkeepers signed a pact to shorten business hours, hoping clerks and owners alike could finally take part in public life. Violators owed $50 to the Commercial Club.
- Ballard Asked Seattle for a Drink—and Hinted at Annexation
In 1895 Ballard was running on wells and springs. Seattle had Lake Washington to spare, and officials began talking rates, mains, and a merged city.
Also about this, in other words
- The Hurdy-Gurdy House on Main Street
A Seattle neighborhood erupts in a formal complaint against the raucous music and nightly disturbances of a Main Street 'hurdy-gurdy house.'
- A Mental Health Crisis in North Yakima
A young Scandinavian immigrant struggles with radical political theory before a desperate suicide attempt at the McGlothlen House.
- The Unkindest Cut
A young boy's poignant question about inclusion and dignity sheds light on the treatment of people with disabilities in our community.
- Monroe Doctrine Debated in Hover
The Kennewick debating team bested their Hover counterparts during a contest held at the local church, with a focus on the relevance of the Monroe Doctrine.
- Rent Pressures in the Red Light District
A street worker is arrested after struggling to meet the high rent demands of a boarding house landlord.
- Students Hustle for High Culture
Kennewick pupils raise significant funds for fine art reproductions through school-wide competition and performances.
- The Unlucky Duck Hunter of Riverside
A simple afternoon gesture turned into a painful lesson on the dangers of uneven ground when a farmer's attempt to shoo a bird resulted in a trip to the hospital.
- The Unraveling of the Northern Pacific Rail Empire
A scathing critique of Henry Villard’s financial management and the 'banana belt' myths that promised prosperity to the Pacific Northwest.