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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 34 |
| 1877 | 38 |
| 1878 | 15 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 8 |
| 1882 | 10 |
| 1883 | 20 |
| 1884 | 16 |
| 1885 | 35 |
| 1886 | 23 |
| 1887 | 28 |
| 1888 | 12 |
| 1889 | 41 |
| 1890 | 11 |
| 1891 | 37 |
| 1892 | 85 |
| 1893 | 68 |
| 1894 | 77 |
| 1895 | 95 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 9 |
| 1899 | 18 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1902 | 5 |
| 1903 | 45 |
| 1904 | 24 |
| 1908 | 6 |
| 1909 | 33 |
| 1910 | 11 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 6 |
| 1915 | 9 |
| 1916 | 12 |
| 1917 | 8 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1925 | 2 |
869 stories matching poor
- The Town Rejects a Costly Poor House
Walla Walla residents push back against plans to build a new county poor house, prioritizing civic concerns over political posturing.
- The Price of Poverty in 1877 Seattle
When the County Commissioners opened a new poor house, they explicitly designed it as a workhouse to deter the 'dissolute class' from seeking public assistance.
- The Palace for the Poor
Walla Walla County commissioners spar over a controversial, high-cost proposal to replace the county’s humble poor farm with a luxury-equipped facility.
- The Poor Farm Inquiry
After an elderly inmate accused his manager of serving poor food, the county commissioners arrived for a surprise lunch inspection.
- The Struggle to House the Poor in Early Seattle
As the number of county residents in need grows, officials weigh ending the Sisters of Providence’s long-standing contract for a public poor farm.
- County Commissioners Push Through Costly Poor House
Walla Walla officials are accused of creating a new county building just to expand their own political machine.
- The City and County Spar Over the Poor
Seattle officials and King County commissioners reach a stalemate over who bears the responsibility for the city's indigent population.
- The Lonely End of Mike Steinburg
An elderly, indigent man dies alone at the county poor house after being found starving in a tent near Lowden.
- Why Do We Pity the Rich Criminal?
An editorial questioning the double standard applied to wealthy fraudster C. D. Hillman compared to the swift punishment of the poor.
- A Fireproof Infirmary for the Poor
After city officials refused to participate in a joint facility, the county moves forward with plans for a specialized, fireproof hospital at the poor farm.
- The Price of Compassion in Pioneer Seattle
Before social safety nets, King County sought the lowest bidder to provide medical care, board, and lodging for the 'indigent poor.'
- The Brutal Statistics of Poverty in 1880
A report in the Seattle Daily Intelligence uses cold, hard data to argue that the 'reproduction of capital'—human life—is threatened by the crushing weight of poverty and labor conditions.
- Who Cares for the Poor in King County?
A call for sealed bids to provide housing and medical care for the county's indigent population in 1877.
- The Price of Public Charity in 1877
King County seeks the lowest bidder to house and feed the poor, a stark reminder of the nineteenth-century approach to social safety nets.
- Bidding on the Destitute: Seattle’s 1877 Poverty Contracts
Before modern social safety nets, King County put the care of its 'indigent poor' up for competitive bid, seeking the lowest price for housing and medical services.
- Winter’s Toll on the Yakima Range
Deep snow and poor grazing conditions lead to mass livestock casualties as ranchers report dire losses.
- The Price of Compassion: King County's 1877 Call for Bids
In an era before robust public social services, King County officials solicited private bids for the 'care, lodging and medical attendance' of the city's indigent poor.
- The Wealth Gap and the Labor Question
A critical look at the ethics of extreme wealth versus the necessity of creating work over charity for the poor.
- The Price of Poverty in Pioneer Seattle
King County officials put out a call for bids to house and feed the 'indigent poor,' treating human welfare as a municipal contract.
- The Tax Reformer of Tacoma
A scathing 1888 editorial argues that tax exemptions for the wealthy create a 'system of injustice' that the state must dismantle for the sake of the common good.
- Denied Shelter at the Hospital, A Woman Gives Birth in a Police Station
A tragic case of medical red tape and bureaucratic cruelty exposes the lack of a social safety net in 1893 Seattle.
- The Struggle to Centralize Seattle's Poor Relief
A rector’s sermon critiques the chaotic overlap of city and county welfare, proposing a centralized bureau to replace piecemeal charity.
- The Forgotten Potential of Seattle's Poor Farm
A visit to the county-owned farm on the Duwamish reveals a rich historical site where city officials debated the ethics of poverty and public support in 1877.
- The Tragedy of Louise Nelson
Abandoned by her lover and turned away by her family, a young woman from North Dakota finds herself alone at a rural Washington poor farm.
- The Myth of the 'Hardened' Justice System
An 1892 editorial in the Post-Intelligencer argues against the notion that courts favor the wealthy, using the lengthy murder trial of Albert Friederich as proof that the poor received 'full protection' from the law.
Also about this, in other words
- Sixteen Paupers, a Clay-Bed Well, and a Farm Not Fit to Live On
County commissioners tour the county poor farm and find cracked fences, filthy bedding, horses bleeding on barbed wire and water unfit to drink. The old place will be sold, they say — but only if a poor farm is worth having at all.
- Kennewick Women Organize to Aid the Needy
A local charitable effort reveals hidden poverty in the community, prompting a call for the destitute to set aside pride and seek help.
- 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 Salvation Army's Plan to End Urban Poverty
A proposal to move impoverished tenement dwellers from congested cities onto government-allotted public lands in the West.
- A Family's Desperate Winter
A local family faces extreme poverty and illness, highlighting the precarious nature of life in the territory.
- The Struggle to Feed and House the Unemployed
As the economic depression deepens, a city mission at 604 Commercial Street reports on its efforts to sustain hundreds of displaced men.
- The Church's Radical Pivot on Poverty
A Tacoma newspaper editorial challenges the Home Mission Council to look past 'bad character' and confront the structural monopolies driving urban poverty.
- The Tragedy of the 'Professional Beggar'
A man sentenced to three months in the county jail for vagrancy writes a desperate letter from his cell, claiming he is dying and pleading for the bail money he cannot afford.