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| Year | Stories |
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| 1872 | 1 |
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40 stories matching novelti
- The Electric-Pencil Inventor Who Left Seattle's Filipino Colony Holding Shares
Juan Urbano sold his interest in the World Novelty Co. and moved away, leaving local Filipino investors without the countryman who had led the company.
- The 'Novelty' Harness That Changed Farm Life
A skeptical farmer encounters a bizarre, iron-framed invention that promises to revolutionize how horses work the land.
- The Great Bridge Bid: Seattle’s War for the Snoqualmie Crossing
As county commissioners open bids for a massive new bridge over the Snoqualmie River at Novelty, local engineers face stiff competition from San Francisco giants in a contest that will define Seattle's western infrastructure.
- The Strange Lottery of Seattle’s 1889 Democratic Primary
While Republicans held conventional district conventions to nominate candidates for the constitutional convention, Seattle’s Democrats opted for the 'novel' method of picking delegates by lottery.
- "Will You Help to Build the Fence?"
The Washington Children's Home Society launches a billboard teaser campaign to raise a $500,000 endowment — a novelty in the Northwest — likening itself to a fence that keeps children from falling over a cliff.
- The Unflattering Portrait Gallery
After a shoplifting incident, a local merchant commissioned life-sized paintings of the thieves for public display.
- The Territory's First Mixed-Gender Jury
A trial in Justice Vrooman’s court draws a suffocating crowd to see if women can handle the rigors of the jury box.
- The Territory's First Women Jurors Take Their Seats
A landmark moment in Washington history sees three women summoned for grand jury service in Island County, marking a first for the Pacific Coast.
- The Mysterious Disappearance of Maggie McDevitt
A teenager vanishes from her home near the Snoqualmie River, leaving family in distress and the local community speculating on a secret marriage.
- 1889 Seattle Ad Pitches Lots by the Cable Line
Before the city sprawled into the suburbs, developers sold the dream of West Seattle and Queen Anne as idyllic, 'sightly' investments.
- After the Great Fire, a jeweler rebuilds
While Seattle recovers from the devastation of the Great Fire, a local watchmaker pivots to new inventory to serve the city’s rebuilding efforts.
- The Rock-Breaking Return of the Chain Gang
After years of disuse, Walla Walla city officials revived the ball-and-chain labor system as a punitive measure for minor offenders.
- The River That Walked
When the Columbia River froze solid, Hanford residents bypassed the ferry and walked across the ice to their ranches.
- Anxieties Over the 'Salvation Army' Invasion
A local observer frets over the arrival of the Salvation Army, viewing their religious enthusiasm as a dangerous, contagious social fever.
- The Day a Buggy Rolled Into the Quillayute Woods
After 24 years of settlement, the remote Clallam County woods see their first carriage—and locals can hardly believe their eyes.
- The Pacific Coast’s First Chivalric Tournament
Seattle society adopts the traditions of the antebellum South with a grand equestrian event at Madison Park.
- The Absurd Scheme to Build a Railway to the Top of Mount Rainier
When a coal mine failed, desperate land speculators proposed a preposterous tourist railroad to the summit of the mountain to boost property values.
- The Roller Rink Craze of 1872
Before the city's modern obsession with wellness, local promoters banked on a new indoor exercise to save Seattle’s youth from 'pernicious influences and vile haunts.'
- The Art of the Stage Ballet in 1890s Seattle
San Francisco dance instructor L. Cook visits Cordray’s Theater to teach elaborate, avant-garde ballets to local girls.
- The Comedian’s Shadow
A veteran actor watches from the wings as his son eclipses his own fading career on the Seattle stage.
- Abandoned and Destitute, a Migrant Wife Sues for Maintenance
A Seattle tailor's wife, recently arrived from Russia, petitions the court to freeze her husband's bank assets after he refuses to support her and their child.
- An Expedition to the 'Niagara of the North'
A rugged traveler describes a treacherous 1874 journey by canoe and foot to witness the majesty of Snoqualmie Falls.
- The West Seattle Intruder
A night watchman’s wife attempts suicide after a violent confrontation with a ship's officer in their home.
- When a Chinese Theater Company Rented Tester’s Hall
In 1883, a morning paper attacked the lease as a public offense. The Post-Intelligencer pushed back: the actors were no more immoral than any other troupe, and the hall was old anyway.
- A Night of Exchange at the Baptist Chinese Mission
A rare 1891 cultural exchange took place at the Baptist mission, featuring speeches and a feast that aimed to bridge racial divides through education.