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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 10 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 19 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 13 |
| 1892 | 33 |
| 1893 | 23 |
| 1894 | 26 |
| 1895 | 40 |
| 1897 | 3 |
| 1898 | 4 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 14 |
| 1904 | 14 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 5 |
| 1909 | 17 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 4 |
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| 1916 | 3 |
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| 1922 | 2 |
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| 1924 | 1 |
305 stories matching retain
- The Delegate Who Sold Seattle’s Future for Five Thousand Dollars
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch accuses Territorial Delegate George Freeman Willard of betraying Seattle’s interests—specifically the mud flats of Duwamish Bay—to secure his own political and financial gain, while simultaneously accepting bribes from rival railroad companies.
- The Councilman Who Lived Across the State Line
A lawyer’s residency challenge nearly voided a railroad franchise—and forced Councilman Eckerson to offer his resignation.
- The City’s New Legal Nightmare: Lawsuits Filed Over the Pioneer Square Explosion
Attorneys Ronald and Rattle have been retained to represent relatives of the men killed in Tuesday’s boiler explosion, signaling a major battle for damages against Seattle.
- The County Attorney Wrote His Own Case—and a Commissioner Objected
Commissioner Peter Autzen accused two colleagues of signing a self-serving statement in a tax-fee dispute, exposing a conflict at the heart of Chehalis County government.
- The Judge Who Was Both Defendant and Accused
In a stunning legal double-header, Judge Wickersham is convicted of seduction in one court, then immediately indicted for perjury by the federal grand jury in the very same day.
- Telescoped at the Crossing: A Grant Street Horror
When a Northern Pacific freight train plowed into an electric streetcar on May 20, 1909, one man died and dozens were mangled in the icy water below. The crash exposed dangerous speeds and negligent watchmen at a city intersection that remains vital today.
- The Man Who Took the Bribe to Expose It
Representative Metcalfe’s daring sting operation against Senatorial corruption has turned him into a hero for reformers and a target for powerful enemies.
- Seattle's 1894 Election: Corruption, Fraud, and the Fight for City Hall
As voters head to the polls, the Post-Intelligencer unleashes a blistering attack on the Democratic administration, alleging graft, forgery, and a machine determined to hold power at any cost.
- The Violent Kidnapping at Lake Union
A domestic dispute escalates into gunfire as a father forces his child into a boat for a getaway to Victoria.
- 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.
- The Diamond Palace Jeweler Who Vanished With the Stock
Simon Rumpf’s 'Diamond Palace' is placed in receivership after creditors allege he conspired to transfer his stock and then disappeared.
- The $10,000 Bet That Built Seattle’s Front Street
Superintendent Thompson risks a fortune to beat the calendar, while a separate land dispute erupts over tide flats near Grant Street.
- The Disappearing Contractor of Madison Street
A Seattle infrastructure project hits a snag when the lead contractor vanishes with thousands of dollars in city funds, leaving his bondsmen to face the bill.
- The Battle for the Stamp Window
Tacoma citizens stage a successful revolt against their postmaster to save the jobs of female clerks.
- The City That Slid Away: Seattle’s Front Street Disaster of 1876
As the city expands up its steep hills, a critical retaining wall on Front Street collapses under the weight of new development, leaving officials to wonder if Seattle is building itself into a disaster.
- The Bitter Feud Over a Burnt Seattle Sawmill
A public legal dispute between two businessmen reveals the high-stakes cost of the 1880 fire that razed a local mill.
- The Great Mountain Name War
Tensions boil over as Tacoma citizens petition to rename the newly designated Mount Rainier reservation to Mount Tacoma, reigniting a 100-year-old geographic debate.
- The Battle for the Yakima Indian Reservation
Local political pressure mounts to retain Superintendent Jay Lynch amidst federal investigation allegations.
- The Case of the County's Vanishing Funds
A local editor questions why county attorneys are pocketing tax collections while leaving the county treasury empty-handed.
- The Hermit’s Missing Millions
A young Olympia lawyer inherits a $4 million fortune from an eccentric Port Angeles rancher—if the old man’s buried money, vanished books, and multiple wills can be untangled.
- The Crippled Driver: A Plea for Justice in City Hall
Patrol wagon driver J.C. Trosper, permanently injured in a mill fire while serving the city, finds his job on the line as a new administration takes office.
- The Price of Incompetence in Chehalis County
The local press takes the county commissioners to task for allegedly mismanaging public funds and obscuring delinquent tax revenue.
- The City Will Pave First Avenue—Cable Tracks or Not
Seattle's street committee orders brick pavement from Yesler to Pike and threatens to pave straight over the Front Street Cable Company's sagging rails if the company won't pay to raise them.
- The Mayor Hired to Break His Own Ordinance: A Teamster's Wagon Tests a Street Law
When a Front Street hauler blocks a druggist's doorway, the teamsters make a test case of it—and retain the very mayor who signed the rule to argue it down.
- King County Commissioners Slash Pay Instead of Staff
Facing pressure to retrench, county commissioners cut deputies’ salaries across the clerk, treasurer, auditor and prosecutor’s offices—while Treasurer Maple fought to keep all twelve of his clerks.
Also about this, in other words
- The Bank Asks Newport to Keep Its Nerve
Stockholders of the First State Bank of Newport pledged to cover depositors' losses and asked for time to collect loans as the Panic of 1907 tightened its grip on the country.
- The Right to Keep Your Home After a Tax Sale
Judge Langley rules on a pivotal case challenging whether the city can cut off a homeowner's redemption rights after property is sold for back taxes.
- Protecting the Tools of the Trade
Territorial legislators debate how much property a settler should be allowed to keep safe from debt collectors.
- The Landlady of Cherry Street
A Seattle lodging house keeper is hauled into court after an altercation with a troublesome tenant—a minor dispute that reveals the grit of a changing city.
- The 1885 Fight to Protect the Workingman’s Tools and Bedding
A proposed territorial law sought to expand property exemptions from debt, shielding everything from a mechanic's tools to a family's bedding from creditors.
- Legislature Moves to Protect Debtors from Foreclosure
A new bill seeks to allow judgment debtors to retain possession and profits of their property during the legal redemption period.
- A Public Retraction of Slander
After circulating damaging rumors about a young woman in camp, a local man takes to the newspaper to publicly clear her name.
- Keeping the Miners Fed When the Coal Market Collapsed
Receiver John H. Bryant asks a judge to spend $500 clearing company land near the Gilman mines so idle miners can grow hay for the company's horses — and keep drawing wages through the slump.