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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 5 |
| 1858 | 3 |
| 1859 | 10 |
| 1860 | 4 |
| 1861 | 14 |
| 1862 | 12 |
| 1863 | 3 |
| 1864 | 5 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 20 |
| 1876 | 136 |
| 1877 | 119 |
| 1878 | 102 |
| 1879 | 8 |
| 1880 | 28 |
| 1882 | 25 |
| 1883 | 114 |
| 1884 | 48 |
| 1885 | 156 |
| 1886 | 88 |
| 1887 | 117 |
| 1888 | 109 |
| 1889 | 201 |
| 1890 | 39 |
| 1891 | 225 |
| 1892 | 403 |
| 1893 | 280 |
| 1894 | 502 |
| 1895 | 724 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 17 |
| 1898 | 37 |
| 1899 | 119 |
| 1900 | 9 |
| 1902 | 14 |
| 1903 | 220 |
| 1904 | 166 |
| 1905 | 11 |
| 1907 | 6 |
| 1908 | 42 |
| 1909 | 172 |
| 1910 | 20 |
| 1911 | 8 |
| 1912 | 5 |
| 1914 | 32 |
| 1915 | 29 |
| 1916 | 55 |
| 1917 | 33 |
| 1918 | 6 |
| 1922 | 5 |
| 1923 | 14 |
| 1924 | 19 |
| 1925 | 7 |
| 1928 | 3 |
| 1929 | 4 |
4,557 stories matching said
- Knockout Drops at the Standard Saloon
A Tacoma man swears he was drugged, fleeced of $210, and knocked toothless—then asks the city to revoke the saloon's license.
- Who Owns the Water? Marcus Grants 25-Year Private Franchise
Stevens County commissioners hand a sweeping water system monopoly to a group of investors, with a two-year deadline to build or lose the right.
- The Privatization of Seattle's Waterfront
The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad declares exclusive ownership over tide lands south of King Street, locking the public out of the harbor.
- Fire Commissioner Accused of Drunkenness and Selling His Vote
Mayor Phelps files formal charges against George T. Masel, alleging he sold his vote for chief, kept the chief in fear, and attended a West Seattle fire drunk.
- The Unsettled Estate on the Edge of Lake Union
A legal notice from 1877 reveals the struggle of a widow attempting to settle a deceased spouse's debts by liquidating land near the wild, undeveloped frontier of Seattle's Lake Union.
- The Hungry Democrats of Adams County
A local lawyer files a mock legal complaint humorously detailing the political squabbling over patronage and power in late 19th-century Washington.
- The Ghost Ship in the Harbor: A Legal Drama of Unpaid Labor
A US Marshal’s notice reveals the desperate struggle for wages aboard the vessel 'Clipper,' abandoned in the waters of Puget Sound in 1880.
- The Battle for the Tidelands
A public notice asserts private ownership over Seattle's valuable tidelands, signaling a major shift in city land use.
- The Railroad Draws a Line in the Mud: Seattle's Tidelands Declared Off-Limits
In a public notice, the Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad Company claims every foot of Elliott Bay shore south of King Street — wet sand, deep water and all — and warns the public to keep off without written permission.
- The Unpaid Labor of the 'Lone Fisherman'
When the owner of a small steamer failed to pay his shipwrights, they took to the courts to reclaim their wages.
- The Territory's Failed Constitutional Bid
In a formal proclamation, Governor Elisha P. Ferry officially declared the rejection of a proposed state constitution and its supplemental articles by the voters of the Washington Territory.
- The Tax Protest on Madison Street
A Seattle property owner challenges the city's assessment for Madison Street improvements, calling the fees illegal and a cloud on the title.
- The Divorce Decree: A Seattle Woman’s Fight for Freedom from Willful Abandonment
In July 1876, Eliza Carakaden was served with a summons in King County District Court, marking one of the earliest recorded legal battles for divorce in the young settlement of Seattle.
- Railroad Claims Exclusive Rights to Seattle Tide Lands
The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad declares its ownership of the waterfront near King Street, barring public access.
- A Frontier Debt Still Owed
A legal dispute over unpaid wages from 1878 illuminates the precarious nature of labor and contract in early Snohomish.
- The Price of a Home: How Seattle’s Real Estate Market Was Built on Death and Debt
In June 1876, the probate courts of King County were awash with estate sales. As families grieved, their homes—like that of C.C. Teery—were auctioned off to pay debts, revealing a housing market where survival depended on liquidating one's past.
- The Man Who Crushed His Hand: A Seaman’s $3,000 Fight for Justice in Seattle
In the early days of Washington Territory, a sailor named Robert Johnson sued a ship’s captain and his vessel after a workplace accident left him permanently disabled. It was one of the first major labor lawsuits heard in the new federal court.
- Council Trims the Streetcar Franchise
Olympia’s aldermen refused the franchise on Union Street and Maple Park Avenue, barred local freight hauling, and demanded free use of the company’s poles for the city’s fire alarm.
- The Centennial Lottery Gamble
In 1876, the Washington Territorial Legislature authorized a public lottery to fund a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains, marking a desperate and creative approach to frontier infrastructure.
- 1861 Treaty Sets Aside Quinault and Quileute Reservation
Federal authorities announce the formal setting aside of lands for the Quinault and Quileute tribes, imposing new restrictions on settlers.
- The Great Land Grab: Tacoma Citizens Unite Against Northern Pacific’s ‘Squatter’ Tactics
In a packed hall at Reinig’s Hall, leading citizens condemn the railroad’s seizure of public lands and its attempt to claim hundreds of thousands of acres for a coal line that will never be built.
- The Price of Credit in Territorial Snohomish
A legal notice from 1878 reveals the steep cost of debt and the cold machinery of territorial law for two local men.
- The Price of a Wagon Road: Financing the Frontier
A look at the logistical grunt work of early King County, from building roads to settling school district boundaries in 1878.
- The Railroad Stakes a Claim on the Tide Lands
The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad issues a public warning regarding ownership of Seattle's tide lands.
- The Industrial Grasping of the Tideflats
A legal notice from 1885 reveals the early enclosure of Seattle's waterfront by the railroad, shaping the city's geography for the next century.