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1. The Puyallup Lands Went on Sale and Almost Nobody Bid

   A congressional commission put 1,100 acres of Puyallup reservation land on the block outside Tacoma, appraised at $30,000. Two days in, roughly $3,000 had been taken — and the Indians on the land were already organising their own counter-sale.

   May 3, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPuyallup Indian Reservation, Tacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money · Exclusion & Resistance

2. A Receivership Sale Rewires Seattle's Street Railway

   Bondholders sign a deal to merge the troubled Rainier Power and Railway Co. into a new Third Street Suburban Railway Company, with the Denny family’s claims still shaping the terms.

   Jan 27, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

3. The Aldermen Vote to License the 'Weed,' 34 to 27

   A year-old cigarette ban had become a dead letter, so Seattle's council moved to regulate rather than forbid — a $600 license, health inspections, a chemical analysis of every pack, and a fight over keeping the trade 1,000 feet from schoolhouses.

   May 8, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

4. The Foreclosure Auction: Snohomish’s Housing Crisis in 1876

   As the Territory of Washington grapples with economic instability, three separate Sheriff's sales are scheduled for January 1877, putting local homes and land on the block for unpaid debts.

   Jan 6, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyHousing & Rent

5. The Puyallup Land Sale the Tribe Tried to Stop

   Hours before the reservation auction, attorney Charles Woodworth filed revocations for nearly half the lands, arguing the Indians—not the commission—controlled the sale.

   May 1, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPuyallup Reservation, Puyallup, Pierce CountyFollow the Money · Exclusion & Resistance

6. Seattle’s Yesler Donation Claim Goes on the Auction Block

   An administrator petitions to carve 86 lots out of Sarah B. Yesler’s donation claim to settle an estate drowning in debt and taxes.

   Jan 1, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

7. 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.

   Sep 1, 1894The Seattle Post-Intelligencer620 Second Avenue, SeattleFollow the Money · True Crime

8. The Fight Over Everett’s Land Grab

   A legal battle erupts in Olympia over accusations of fraud and collusion in the original sale of Everett real estate.

   Oct 5, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerEverett, Snohomish CountyFollow the Money

9. The Puyallup Reservation Goes on the Auction Block

   In a Tacoma storefront, commissioners began selling off 1,000 acres of Puyallup Indian land — and a brick company snatched up the valuable clay first.

   May 2, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money · Exclusion & Resistance

10. The Chief Knew Seattle’s Dance Halls Were Selling Beer. He Had One Question.

    A Post-Intelligencer investigation found liquor flowing openly in variety theaters despite state law and police orders—then the police chief asked reporters whether it was true.

    Jul 30, 1903The Evening StatesmanSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

11. The Auction Mania in Seattle

    A jewelry merchant's retirement sale sparks a reflection on the city's obsession with bargain hunting and the reality behind the storefront liquidations.

    Nov 26, 1893The Seattle Post-Intelligencer804 First Avenue, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

12. Treasurer Hill's Tax Blunder

    A local civic scandal as the City Treasurer faces accusations of incompetence and overreach regarding delinquent tax sales.

    Apr 1, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Scandal

13. The Renton Addition Gold Rush

    Before the neighborhood existed, Seattle land speculators stoked a frenzy for 'prime' lots along Madison Street, capping sales to prevent a total buyout on the first day.

    Apr 12, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMadison Street, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

14. Puyallup Land Sales Spark Tension With Federal Agent

    Agent Eells defends his role in the controversial sale of tribal lands, claiming the Puyallup people are being manipulated by real estate speculators.

    May 28, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPuyallup Reservation, Tacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money · City Hall · Exclusion & Resistance

15. The Rainier Avenue Electric Railway Sold for a Song

    After years of litigation and financial struggle, the Rainier Avenue line is auctioned off at the courthouse, leaving the identity of the true buyer in question.

    Jun 9, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerKing County Courthouse, SeattleFollow the Money

16. The Mayor Moves to Shut the Dives and Gambling Rooms

    A sweeping message from the mayor demands that the council revoke the licenses of saloons and music halls where girls sell liquor and gamblers run their games—passed in full by the aldermen even as auditors report a $27,000 hole in the street-improvement funds.

    May 22, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle City Hall, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

17. Her Wages Bought the House at Fourth and Plum. The Sheriff’s Deed Was Canceled.

    Elizabeth Burkett turned a $700 gift into a hotel and a home. When a Pierce County judgment against her husband threatened it, a Thurston County judge traced the property back to her own labor.

    Oct 23, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money

18. A Christmas Auction That Fell Short—and a Mother Sent Home

    Donations expected to bring $600 fetch only $158.40, but the Bureau of Associated Charities still outfits 100 families and buys a destitute mother a ticket to Kansas City.

    Dec 24, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

19. Seattle's Tax Delinquency Sale Draws a Crowd

    A rare look at how the city handled unpaid property taxes in 1892, with far fewer lots left on the market than in previous years.

    Jul 27, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerCity Hall, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

20. Lincoln Orders Sale of Washington Public Lands

    A sweeping federal proclamation sets the stage for a massive auction of land parcels across the Washington Territory, excluding donation claims and mineral tracts.

    May 23, 1863Washington StandardOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money

21. The Bondholders Take the Terminal Elevator

    After years of litigation, the Seattle Terminal Railway Elevator and Warehouse properties are sold at sheriff's sale to the bondholders for $34,178.66, clearing title and opening the way for larger wheat shipments.

    May 25, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

22. A Missing Victoria Man Turns Up in Seattle—With a Messy Family Scandal

    John Petticrew was tracked to a Seattle laundry after vanishing from Victoria. He says his wife ran off with a former sailor, came back once, then left again.

    Jan 30, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyScandal

23. The Tiny Post Office Outperforming Cities

    While the nation mobilizes for the Great War, the remote community of Paterson sets a local sales record for War Savings stamps that eclipses larger towns.

    Jan 10, 1918The Kennewick Courier-ReporterPaterson, Benton CountyStrange But True

24. Portland Stock Buyers Head to Kennewick for Auction

    General manager of the Union Stock Yards to attend first annual thoroughbred hog sale at the O-W. R. & N. depot.

    Feb 4, 1915The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton County

25. 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.

    Jun 8, 1876The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyHousing & Rent

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