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32 stories matching mcgilvra
- 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.
- Taxpayers vs. County Hall: The Municipal League's 1895 Revolt
A poorly attended Municipal League meeting still sent 200 taxpayers' signatures to the county commissioners, threatened impeachment, and fought over private counsel and school warrants.
- 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 Battle Over Corporate Power at Washington’s Constitutional Convention
As Washington delegates gathered to draft a new state constitution, a heated clash erupted over whether to explicitly restrain the influence of monopolies and the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Fight for Seattle’s Rail Future
In 1878, a local leader rallied Seattle to demand federal land reform and a railroad connection, decrying the influence of corporate interests over the prosperity of the Territory.
- The Broken Promise of the Puyallup Coal Road
A political scandal erupts as Seattle accuses an attorney of pocketing fees while failing to stop the Northern Pacific Railway from seizing massive swathes of King County land.
- The $430,000 Question: King County's Treasurer Bond Fight
A taxpayers' committee demands commissioners reduce John Maple's bond and seat him as county treasurer, but the board says his sureties aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
- The Wholesaler Tells the Growers the Truth: 'We Don't Love You'
Sixteen years in the Seattle commission trade and no patience left, R. Merchant tells a room of fruit growers that no middleman has ever cared about them — and that neat, uniform packing, not grievance, is the only thing that ever got a farmer paid.
- 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 Treasurer They Refused to Seat
A thousand men packed Seattle's Armory to demand that John W. Maple take office as county treasurer, threatening a tax strike against King County commissioners — until a collection plate emptied the room.
- The Great Land Ring of the Northern Pacific
Settlers of Washington Territory take on a powerful railroad corporation accused of hoarding public land for private profit.
- Who Gets to Rewrite Seattle's Charter — the Council or the People?
A crowded, argumentative hearing at City Hall: the Chamber of Commerce is accused of a 'somersault,' a lawyer sneers at 'the people,' and Dr. Ramsey answers a councilman with a line of Latin.
- The Forgotten Union Labor Platform of 1888
A century and a half ago, a Seattle candidate for the Union Labor Party laid out a vision for a government that serves the people, not the 'moneyed aristocracy.'
- The Great Boulevard Feud
A former city attorney accuses real estate speculators of using park plans to drive up land values.
- The Iron War for Seattle
How the city’s early pioneers fought a cutthroat land-monopoly struggle to ensure Seattle would not be sidelined by the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- 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.
- The Battle for Seattle's Soul: Who Owns the City?
As the Northern Pacific Railroad, wealthy speculators, and the City of Seattle clash in Olympia over a massive land claim, the future of Seattle’s streets and growth hangs in the balance.
- The Terminus Bait: How the Northern Pacific Played Seattle
In 1878, Washington residents saw through the railroad's broken promises and the cynical 'town lot' real estate schemes that kept the city waiting for a line.
- The Bold Dream to Remake Seattle's Waterways
In 1880, a group of prominent citizens proposed a canal between Lake Union and Puget Sound to drain Lake Washington, reclaim farmland, and create an industrial powerhouse.
- The Waterfront's First Industry Ends in Smoke
An abandoned barrel factory, once a symbol of Seattle's early industrial ambition, was destroyed by a fire lit by local children looking to warm up after a swim.
- The City’s First Legal Battle: Seattle vs. the Man Who Owned the Water
In April 1877, just months after Seattle was incorporated, the new Common Council authorized a lawsuit against Henry Yesler—the very man who built the city's first mill and gave it its name—over a dispute that would define municipal power.
- Seattle Coal Workers Strike at the Docks in 1886
A tense confrontation unfolds at the Seattle coal bunkers as workers strike against company intimidation.
- The First Teachers’ Institute: A Battle for Seattle’s Soul
In September 1872, the Territory’s top educators gathered in Seattle to debate everything from corporal punishment to the role of women in teaching, laying the groundwork for public education in Washington.
- A Final Adjournment for Colonel Haines
Seattle’s legal community gathers to mourn one of its own, suspending court business to honor a life of service and the harsh reality of illness.
- Searching for Efficiency in City Hall
A joint committee of the Municipal League and the Chamber of Commerce begins an investigation into the spending habits of King County officials.