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| Year | Stories |
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| 1861 | 1 |
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58 stories matching retard
- Frustration Grows Over Seattle's 'Dual Council' Gridlock
A citizen writes to the Post-Intelligencer complaining that the newly adopted dual-house city government is stalling local street improvements and stifling progress.
- The Frontier Pulse: Seattle in 1871
A look back at the origins of the city, from the arrival of the first families and the Indian War to the rise of coal, sawmills, and the hope for a transcontinental terminus.
- The City That Almost Wasn't: How Seattle Lost Its Railroad Bet
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed Seattle in favor of Tacoma, local investors faced a choice: watch their city wither or build their own line.
- The Checkerboard Trap: How the Northern Pacific Railroad Hoarded Washington’s Land
An editorial in The Daily Intelligencer exposes how the railroad company used federal land grants to block settlers from claiming homesteads, leaving thousands of acres in legal limbo and stalling the growth of Seattle and Tacoma.
- The Panhandle's Longing: A Century-Old Border Dispute
Before Washington became a state, Northern Idahoans fought for annexation, citing mountain barriers and shared economic interests with the Columbia River basin.
- The State of the Territory: 1885
Governor Watson C. Squire delivers a wide-ranging address on Washington's rapid growth, the need for a penitentiary, and the rising 'anti-Chinese' labor tensions in Seattle.
- Washington Lawmaker Urges Sale of Puyallup Reservation Land
Representative John L. Wilson argues that the Puyallup reservation hinders Tacoma's industrial growth, proposing the removal of restrictions on land sales to clear the way for white development.
- The Great Nooksack Flood
Heavy rains and melting snows have devastated the Nooksack Valley, leaving farmers homeless and destroying livestock.
- Homesteaders Fight Railroad Land Grab
Settlers at Opera Hall band together to challenge the railroad company's claim to the land they built their homes on.
- A Gasser, a Picnic, and a Promise: Kennewick Bets on Oil and Gas
Drillers pause to case off 400 feet of water, 85 people picnic at the well, and a Yakima promoter promises a franchise — and maybe oil — by summer.
- The Unfinished Ditch That Could Have Remade Seattle
An 1877 proposal to carve a channel between Lake Washington and the Sound highlights the ambitious—and forgotten—infrastructure dreams that once defined the city’s early development.
- The Day Justice Went Mad: A Proprietor’s Threat and a Drunkard’s Triumph
In a Tacoma courtroom in January 1890, the owner of the Lomar House threatened to kill a man accused of drunkenness. The court watched, entertained, and ultimately acquitted the accused after witnesses proved he was sober.
- The Tragedy of the Forgotten Pallet
Police discover the body of a man in a squalid Seattle boarding spot, highlighting the grim conditions faced by laborers in a rapidly growing, exclusionary city.
- The Cold Truth at City Hall
A winter coal shortage brings a parade of desperate applicants to a city official who doles out fuel with a mix of bureaucratic cruelty and casual dismissals.
- A 1.5-Million-Acre Taking: The Colville Reservation Was About to Be Thrown Open
Federal officials and land agents anticipated a rush of white homesteaders into the southern half of the Colville Indian Reservation, framing Indigenous land as 'closed' and state growth as its natural destiny.
- The Struggle for the Pacific Northwest’s Iron Backbone
As the Northern Pacific Railroad languished in 1877, the Governor of Washington Territory demanded the company fulfill its land grant promises to break the cycle of land speculation and stagnation.
- The Half-Million Dollar Land War
After decades of legal battles involving divorce, disputed donation claims, and multiple claimants, a massive 80-acre swath of Seattle real estate finally changes hands.
- Seattle’s Post-Fire Financial Reckoning
City Comptroller Carson pushes a new bond issue to cover infrastructure costs and fire-related municipal debts.
- The Settlement of the Colville Valley
An engineer’s report argues that the Colville Valley is held back by the presence of Indigenous and mixed-race populations.
- The $300,000 Push to Dig Seattle's Canal
Businessmen and volunteers canvass the city for subscriptions to the Lake Washington Waterway, promising the money will be raised by Saturday.
- A Father Arrested at His Daughter's Bedside
While seven-year-old Lillian Hawkenson recovered from a leg amputation, her father's erratic behavior led to his arrest and removal from her bedside.
- Territorial Legislators Eye Rail Monopoly
A new memorial in the Washington Territorial Assembly seeks to return vast tracts of land to the public domain, citing the Northern Pacific Railroad's failure to build mandated lines.
- Settlers Rise Against Railroad Land Grab
Kittitas County citizens demand the federal government forfeit Northern Pacific railroad land grants, accusing the monopoly of stifling settlement and hoarding millions of acres of land.
- Transit Boss Rejects City's Big German Festival
A committee of German community leaders was rebuffed by the local streetcar manager, who refused to provide enough transit to handle the thousands of expected visitors.
- The Caucus That Wouldn't End: Olympia's 1895 Senate Deadlock
Republicans balloted again and again in a stormy Olympia caucus, while Spokane businessmen and Union veterans warned that nominating John L. Wilson would wreck the party in Eastern Washington.
Also about this, in other words
- The Deaf Dodge
A local drunkard tries to outsmart a judge by faking deafness, only to be tripped up by the prospect of a free drink.
- A Local Boy’s Dangerous Encounter with a Pet Raccoon
A young newsboy known as 'Pud' loses a finger after a rough encounter with a captive raccoon.
- A Runaway Team Charges Down Main Street
A dray team belonging to William DeSpain bolted, leading to a high-speed scene of terror on the main thoroughfare of Ritzville.
- Team of Horses Nearly Plunge Into The Bay
A local expressman is injured after his runaway team bolts through railroad yards and narrowly misses a deadly drop from a coal bunker.
- The Tragedy of a Family’s Despair
In an era of rapid expansion and brutal labor conditions, a desperate man in Palouse City took the lives of his family, citing his inability to bear their suffering.
- Rabies Quarantine Declared in Richland
State officials order lockdown of district between the Horn and the Columbia River to combat epidemic.
- Violent Workplace Confrontation
A quarrel between a conductor and an engineer at Lake Park ends in a brutal assault with a rock.
- The Mail Stage Goes Up in Smoke
A local mail carrier avoids disaster by saving the packages from his burning Reo sedan.