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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 4 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 2 |
| 1861 | 5 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1872 | 5 |
| 1876 | 25 |
| 1877 | 16 |
| 1878 | 8 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 12 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 27 |
| 1884 | 9 |
| 1885 | 20 |
| 1886 | 13 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 13 |
| 1889 | 48 |
| 1890 | 5 |
| 1891 | 28 |
| 1892 | 81 |
| 1893 | 57 |
| 1894 | 60 |
| 1895 | 62 |
| 1899 | 16 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1903 | 31 |
| 1904 | 13 |
| 1905 | 4 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 19 |
| 1909 | 29 |
| 1910 | 5 |
| 1911 | 8 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 15 |
| 1917 | 6 |
| 1923 | 4 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 1 |
689 stories matching seat
- Olympia Trustees Protest County Seat Move to Tumwater
Olympia trustees fight to keep the county seat, accusing Tumwater commissioners of political maneuvering and bad faith in property dealings.
- The County Seat Was in the Courtroom
Defendants in a Snohomish debt suit tried to derail the case by arguing the county seat had moved to Everett—and that the court was therefore sitting in the wrong place.
- The Battle for the Stevens County Seat
Colville fights to remain the seat of government as the county commissioners attempt to move it to Kettle Falls.
- The Art of the 'Back-Seat Sermon'
A Seattle preacher shares his cunning, slightly cynical strategy to force young couples in the back pews to stop courting and actually listen to the gospel.
- The Seat of Government Stays Put
The Supreme Court of Washington Territory voids legislative attempts to relocate the capital from Olympia to Vancouver.
- The Council Seat That Went to Court
After Blake outpolled Morris in December, the city council seated Morris anyway. Judge Langley rules that the courts, not the council, must decide who really won.
- Snohomish to Everett: ‘We’ll Teach You a Lesson in County Politics’
A cannon-call mass meeting at the Cathcart Opera House rallies Snohomish against the county-seat removal campaign, with cheers loud enough to reach Everett.
- The Girl Who Survived a Broken Seat: A Pullman Accident
Miss Lelia Bowman was thrown from her carriage when the seat collapsed, with the wheel crushing over her shoulder. Miraculously, she survived.
- A Judge Calls the County-Seat Law ‘Nefarious’
Judge Ballinger dismisses Snohomish’s appeal over moving the county seat to Everett, blasting officials for defiance and the legislature for a law that leaves the court powerless.
- 1889 Ballot Pairs Capital Site With Suffrage and Prohibition
North Yakima lobbies to become the permanent seat of government as the territory prepares for statehood.
- The Circus That Outsmarted Its Own Management
When an underestimated Walla Walla crowd flocked to the Campbell Brothers' circus, the staff scrambled to haul seats back from the rail cars to avoid a ticket-holder disaster.
- A County Seat Fight With More Petition Signers Than Voters
Pacific County commissioners agreed to put the county seat up to a vote — then discovered that South Bend and Sealand had turned in 2,373 signatures from a county with barely 1,500 voters.
- The Ballard Council Standoff
A Ballard councilman refuses to vacate his chair, leading to a tense and absurd political showdown.
- The Commissioner Battle Finally Settled
After an election victory and months of legal maneuvering, C. E. DeBow prepares to take his seat as County Commissioner despite an appeal.
- The Struggle for a New County
Citizens in the Wenatchee Valley argue that traveling across the Cascades to reach their county seats is an unreasonable burden for local governance.
- The Struggle for Representation in Chelan County
Residents of the Chelan region are campaigning to split the county, citing the immense hardship of traveling 45 miles to reach the county seat.
- The Day a Witticism Knocked the Stuffing Out of the University Debate
A classic legislative quip in Olympia reveals the intense regional rivalry between Seattle and Tacoma over the location of the Territorial University.
- The Battle for the County Seat
Judge Ballinger grants an injunction preventing the removal of the Snohomish County seat to Everett, sparking celebrations in the streets.
- The Three-Way Split: How Bitter Feuds Carved Eastern Washington
In January 1891, the state legislature dissolved Lincoln County into three new entities—Grant, Big Bend, and remaining Lincoln—to settle a decades-long battle over county seats that once involved armed men holding courthouse keys.
- A New Play-House for Walla Walla
The Edward Shields company is renovating the Stahl building to create a 600-seat theater.
- The Prank on the Train
A flirtatious encounter on a local commute leads to an unexpected and humiliating lesson for an overly confident young man.
- The Skagit County Seat Heist
A secret 'Business Men’s Association' in Anacortes hatches a high-stakes campaign to pilfer the county seat from Mount Vernon, complete with paid-off laborers and promises of a grand courthouse.
- Olympia Named Temporary Seat of Government
The Council debates and finalizes the definition of judicial districts, securing Olympia's status as the provisional capital.
- The Bitter Fight Over Moving Snohomish County’s Seat to Everett
Snohomish’s county treasurer appealed the commissioners’ order to move the seat to Everett, alleging a rushed vote count and forged returns.
- The Seattle Mill Revolt
When mill workers walked off the job in 1886 to protest the hiring of Chinese labor, the resulting confrontation revealed the era's deep-seated exclusionary labor politics.