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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
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| 1877 | 5 |
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| 1889 | 6 |
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63 stories matching limbo
- Desert Land Dreams Turn to Dust
A failed irrigation scheme in Franklin County leaves thousands of acres of claims in limbo after a scathing government report.
- The Great Land Grab Ends: A Victory for Columbia Valley Settlers
A landmark decision by the Land Commissioner threatens to reclaim 4 million acres from the Northern Pacific Railroad, potentially opening up vast swaths of the Columbia River Valley to homesteaders.
- Judge Strikes Down State Road Laws
A landmark superior court ruling declares the state's method for seizing private property for public roads unconstitutional, throwing years of county construction projects into legal limbo.
- The Great Northern Paralyzed: A Railway Strike Grips the Northwest
American Railway Union members walk off the job, leaving trains idle and the city's rail infrastructure in limbo as local brotherhoods face a takeover by a newer, militant labor force.
- The Checkerboard Trap: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Hoarded Washington’s Land
An editorial in The Daily Intelligencer exposes how the railroad company used federal land grants to block settlers from claiming homesteads, leaving thousands of acres in legal limbo and stalling the growth of Seattle and Tacoma.
- The Forgotten Prisoners of McNeil Island
Thirteen men held in limbo for years, caught between a nation that didn't want them and a border that refused their return.
- The Disappearing Developer
A local real estate operator vanishes, leaving behind a trail of dishonored checks, uncompleted houses, and angry creditors across Tacoma.
- U.S. Supreme Court Voids Northern Pacific Land Sales
A landmark ruling leaves homeowners and farmers on railroad land in legal limbo, requiring an act of Congress to resolve.
- The Eight-Hour War: Seattle’s Labor Law Hits a Legal Wall
As the state’s landmark eight-hour workday law takes effect, prosecutors and judges clash over whether it applies to private contractors like the Pacific Bridge Company, leaving workers in limbo.
- The Unincorporated City of Seattle
In 1877, a legal crisis regarding Seattle's city charter left the municipal government in limbo, struggling to prove its own legitimacy while 'disaffected individuals' looked to take advantage of the chaos.
- The Unwedded Wife of Seattle
A judge grants a divorce but leaves the second Mrs. Beard in a legal limbo, sparking a courtroom scene.
- Harbor Line Commission Lapses After Heated House Debate
Legislative gridlock leaves Washington's tide lands in a state of administrative limbo.
- The Perjury Game in Tacoma’s Courts
Federal authorities struggle to stem the tide of fraudulent entry certificates as legal battles over the Geary Act intensify.
- Seattle Fire Commissioner Suspended Amidst Hose Scandal
Mayor Phelps fires T. Masel, alleging incompetence and a fraudulent fire hose contract, sparking a chaotic power struggle at City Hall.
- Old Town Mill Shuts Its Doors After 37 Years
Economic slump and overproduction force the closure of a historic Tacoma institution, leaving 250 workers in limbo.
- The Water Wars of the Yakima River
Two competing land companies engaged in a legal and physical standoff over irrigation rights, leaving laborers arrested and local farms in limbo.
- International Bank Shuts Doors in Seattle
A collapse in Mexico leaves hundreds of local depositors in limbo as investigators move in.
- Harbor Line Commission Ends, Leaving 120 Maps and Court Disputes
After two years of mapping Washington's vital waterways, a state commission is dissolved mid-work, leaving harbor development in legal limbo.
- The Bureaucracy of Abandonment
Olympia’s land office is paralyzed by backlogs, leaving settlers and their titles in legal limbo while officials in Washington, D.C. ignore local pleas for help.
- The Federal Land Freeze on the Pend Oreille
A sudden government order halts settlement along 30 miles of the Pend Oreille River, leaving homesteaders in limbo as a major power company eyes the region's massive hydroelectric potential.
- The Town That Can't Be Bought
Federal land withdrawals have frozen property rights in Metaline, leaving residents in a legal limbo as they wait for the government to clear their titles.
- Bureaucratic Delay, Bloody Quarrels: The Land Survey That Left Homesteaders in Limbo for 15 Years
Senator Squire demands answers from the General Land Office as settlers on townships 38-40 wait over a decade for their land titles, with boundary disputes turning deadly.
- The Great Washington Delay: How Congress Stalled Statehood for a Political Game
In January 1889, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an 'Omnibus Bill' to admit four territories as states, but fierce partisan fighting over Dakota and Montana left Washington Territory in limbo—delaying its entry into the Union by nearly two years.
- The Bureaucratic Limbo of Chinese Laborers in Transit
A legal opinion from the Attorney General clarifies the treatment of Chinese laborers attempting to pass through U.S. ports, stalling those stuck in New Orleans.
- The Chaos of a Contested Election
Pierce County election officials struggle with poorly administered ballots, leaving dozens of precincts disqualified and the fate of legislative seats in limbo.
Also about this, in other words
- The Lumbermen Who Worshipped a Black Cat
Seattle initiates into the Concatenated Order of Hoo-Hoo, a new fraternal society for lumbermen, complete with black robes, mock titles and a banquet.
- Two Years in Limbo: Whatcom's Failed Bank
Depositors in the Columbia National Bank get only a sliver of their money back while the officers scatter — one to Honolulu, one to the shingle business — and the receiver's promises dissolve.
- Carnival Performer Critically Injured
A teenage girl performing a 'loop-the-loop' stunt in Tacoma suffered catastrophic injuries due to alleged equipment negligence.
- Musicians Stranded in Seattle After Labor Dispute
Two orchestra members of the Shay Opera Company find themselves out of work and funds after requesting their pay.
- The River Fog Scare
A young man goes missing on the Columbia River after his launch engine fails, triggering a town-wide search.
- The Tragic Silence of a Lost Girl
An editorial reflection on the double standard of morality that led to a young woman's death in the Snohomish County jail.
- The Shadowed Life of a Russian Emigré
A man pursued from London to New York and Denver finds himself under arrest for arson in Seattle, caught in the web of international extradition.
- The Mysterious Disappearance of a Squak Valley Farmer
R. W. Barto, a reticent rancher near Redmond, vanished into the woods leaving behind only a thirty-dollar debt and questions about his fate.