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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 21 |
| 1877 | 25 |
| 1878 | 12 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 5 |
| 1882 | 10 |
| 1883 | 11 |
| 1884 | 14 |
| 1885 | 29 |
| 1886 | 18 |
| 1887 | 24 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 26 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 13 |
| 1892 | 41 |
| 1893 | 59 |
| 1894 | 53 |
| 1895 | 80 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 12 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1917 | 1 |
478 stories matching poor
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- The Charity Bureau’s War on ‘Strawberry Jam’ Relief
A newly formed Associated Charities bureau boasts of cutting poor relief costs by policing the 'worthiness' of recipients and weeding out fraud.
- Floodwaters Threaten the County Farm
Spring flooding on the Duwamish River forces the county to intervene as a private sawmill's boom logs threaten to divert the current into public land.
- The Price of Public Care
King County officials weigh competing bids for the medical and basic care of the county's poor in 1883.
- The Struggle to Feed and House King County's Poor in 1876
Newly surfaced county records reveal the bureaucratic grind of managing public welfare, road construction, and the sequestration of municipal rents in 1870s Seattle.
- Tragedy at the County Poor Farm
A patient suffering from typhoid fever leaps to his death from a third-story window.
- The City vs. The County: A Dispute Over Who Feeds the Poor
A finger-pointing match erupts between the City of Seattle and King County as local officials refuse to fund the medical care of the indigent.
- The Forgotten Souls of the County Poor Farm
A rare, unflinching account of the grim conditions inside Seattle’s makeshift county asylum, where the elderly and infirm were left to languish on hard wooden planks.
- The River Blockade
A standoff between the County Auditor and a local mill company reaches a breaking point over the Duwamish River.
- The Inner Life of a Dining Room Waiter
A frank, cynical look at the power dynamics between restaurant staff and customers in early Seattle.
Also about this, in other words
- 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 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.