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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1861 | 4 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 7 |
| 1876 | 65 |
| 1877 | 61 |
| 1878 | 52 |
| 1879 | 13 |
| 1880 | 8 |
| 1882 | 11 |
| 1883 | 55 |
| 1884 | 24 |
| 1885 | 49 |
| 1886 | 24 |
| 1887 | 26 |
| 1888 | 48 |
| 1889 | 89 |
| 1890 | 17 |
| 1891 | 73 |
| 1892 | 104 |
| 1893 | 118 |
| 1894 | 134 |
| 1895 | 50 |
| 1897 | 5 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 37 |
| 1900 | 6 |
| 1902 | 9 |
| 1903 | 63 |
| 1904 | 31 |
| 1905 | 8 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 25 |
| 1910 | 9 |
| 1911 | 8 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 19 |
| 1915 | 17 |
| 1916 | 49 |
| 1917 | 23 |
| 1918 | 3 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 3 |
| 1924 | 5 |
| 1925 | 6 |
1,377 stories matching per
- The Price of Survival in Frontier Snohomish
A look at the 1880s cost of living, from the price of butter and bacon to the wages of the average blacksmith.
- The Price of Survival in 1880s Snohomish
A look at the commodities and labor costs that defined life in the frontier settlement of Snohomish City.
- The Price of Living in Pioneer Snohomish
A look at the cost of goods and the local economy in 1880s Snohomish, from the price of work oxen to the cost of a barrel of flour.
- The Hypocrisy of a 'People's' Candidate
Promissory notes reveal the high-interest lending practices of a gubernatorial candidate campaigning on cheap money.
- Washington's Boom Was So Furious It Predicted a Million People by 1910
A 1903 state report counted 241,584 new residents in three years, put Everett's growth at 144 percent, and projected a population of 1,347,067 within seven years.
- The Real Estate Gold Rush: How Seattle’s Early Boomers Made Millions on Dirt
A Sunday editorial in the Post-Intelligencer lays bare the staggering profits of land speculation in 1883, revealing how a few savvy investors turned hundreds of dollars into fortunes through sheer timing and location.
- The Great Seattle Water Contract Scandal
A local newspaper investigation exposes suspicious water hydrant contracts, accusing city officials of mismanagement and sweetheart deals ahead of a heated municipal election.
- Cheaper to Ship Wheat to Liverpool Than to Seattle: An Inland Empire Farmer's Case Against the Railroads
A Whitman County grower tells the Post-Intelligencer that Palouse wheat can be raised for about 30 cents a bushel — and sent 16,000 miles to England for less than the railroad charges to haul it 400 miles to the Sound.
- The Great Hose Heist: How a Seattle Fire Department Was Almost Scammed by a New York Manufacturer
A peculiar dispute over fire equipment reveals the cutthroat world of late-19th-century municipal procurement, where agents played cities against manufacturers and warrants were used as currency.
- Shingleweavers Push for Living Wages and Health Protections
Organized labor in the Pacific Northwest votes to standardize mill pay and fight predatory company-mandated insurance schemes.
- The Great Front Street Fraud: City Council Exposes Fake Petition for Cable Car
In a stunning display of civic integrity, Seattle’s Common Council unmasks a fraudulent petition designed to grant a monopoly cable car franchise, revealing that applicants forged signatures and misrepresented property frontage.
- The Year Seattle's Water Department Turned Off the Sprinklers
Superintendent Andrew Jackson's 1894 report found savings in fuel and salaries, a 15 percent rate cut, and a citywide crackdown on irrigation scofflaws—plus thirty households that had never been billed.
- The Price of Survival in Early Snohomish
A look at the 1870s market ledger reveals the volatile costs of basic survival, from milch cows to butter and grain, in the burgeoning river town.
- The Steamboat Strike That Tied Up the Sound
Officers of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company refuse to accept wage cuts, halting ferry service between Seattle and Tacoma in a rare display of maritime labor solidarity.
- Seattle Cut Water Rates—Then Claimed the Lake
In one night at City Hall, the council trimmed water bills for every ratepayer and got legal cover to take Lake Washington water, even if it meant digging its own canal past a private company.
- Northern Pacific Workers Face Widespread Wage Cuts
Facing revenue declines, the Northern Pacific Railroad imposes sweeping pay reductions on its staff, sparking potential strike actions across the system.
- The Railroad That Couldn't Steal His Home
How a local homesteader outlasted the Northern Pacific Railway in a decade-long legal battle over land rights.
- The Ledger of Grief After Franklin
Roslyn miners pledged their September pay while Franklin’s relief committee set monthly sums for widows and orphans—and the veteran mine superintendent broke down.
- The Quartermaster’s Arithmetic: Scrip, Pork, and Profiteering in Washington Territory
A detailed audit of Quartermaster General W. W. Miller’s books exposed inflated prices, unexplained payments, and scrip issued for vouchers the commissioners had already disallowed.
- King County Lawmakers Want to Cut the Budget—and Railroad Rates
Ahead of the 1901 legislative session, King County’s representatives outline a shared agenda: slash state expenses, abolish useless commissions, lower railroad freight and passenger rates, and create a state grain inspector to protect farmers from brokers.
- The Taxpayers' League vs. The Railroads: A Battle for Fair Valuation in Columbia County
In May 1903, local citizens and tax experts challenged the massive capitalization of the Oregon Railway Navigation Company, arguing that its true value warranted a higher tax assessment to fund public services.
- Tacoma’s New Business Plan: Import High-Grade Opium for the Whole North
With the tariff cut, Tacoma entrepreneurs predicted they could supply wealthy opium users from Oregon to the Atlantic—and collect thousands in customs duties.
- 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.
- A Kingdom Waiting for Rails
In 1878, Eastern Washington farmers were literally building homes out of willow poles because the cost of shipping lumber across the Cascades was ruinous.
- King County Auditor Accused of Padding His Salary with Extra Jobs
A letter to the editor details how Auditor Frank Twichell drew extra pay as purchasing agent, building-fund agent, and legislative lobbyist—all while collecting his regular salary.
Also about this, in other words
- The Price of Five Cents an Hour
A labor organizer’s fiery speech in Everett challenges the exploitation of women workers and demands legislative protection for their health.
- The Persistent Promise of Easy Money
A classic 19th-century 'work from home' pitch promises Snohomish laborers a fortune for minimal effort.
- The Price of a Whitewash Job
A working man in Tacoma learns the hard way that 'at par' is a relative term when his employer tries to pass off devalued currency for honest labor.
- The Price of a Life: Labor Fights Back Against Dangerous Legislation
Organized labor in Everett rallies against a proposed senate bill that would cap death and injury payouts for workers at $5,000.
- The High Price of Ninety Cents
A jury finds a man guilty of stealing less than a dollar from an intoxicated victim, recommending leniency to the judge.
- The Hustle of the Territorial Frontier
A glimpse into the 19th-century mail-order economy, where ambitious merchants sought to capitalize on the labor and curiosity of working-class families across the Pacific Northwest.
- The True Cost of Living
A haunting poem from the era exposes the impossibility of supporting a family on a mill worker's starvation wage.
- The High Cost of Borrowing in Territorial Olympia
An indignant citizen writes to the editor to protest the predatory lending practices bankrupting the territory's early settlers.