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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1892 | 3 |
| 1893 | 1 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
20 stories matching slum
- The Real Story of the Slums
A young playwright captures the grim reality of life in city tenements, challenging the comfortable assumptions of the press.
- When General Booth Packed the Seattle Armory
William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, receives a civic welcome from Seattle’s mayor, clergy, and a capacity Armory crowd—then talks social reform, London’s slums, and a cure for drunkenness.
- General Booth Brings the Salvation Army’s Hallelujah Show to Seattle
A visiting evangelist fills the Armory, keeps a basement congregation on its knees, and explains why the Army is not a church.
- The Governor’s Unacknowledged Son
A condemned prisoner in the city jail delivers a final, shattering letter to the Governor, revealing a secret connection that exposes the cruel indifference of the ruling class.
- The Wig and the Wire: How a Tacoma Newspaper Owner Tried to Destroy a Judge
In the sensational Wickersham trial of 1889, prosecutor R.P. Radebaugh’s own past and his alleged conspiracy to frame Judge Wickersham for 'immorality' were laid bare in court.
- Debs Comes to Seattle, Fresh From Jail, and Tells the Crowd How He Got Six Months
A thousand workingmen meet the Pullman strike leader at the boat landing, march him through town, and pack the Seattle theater to hear him name the real conspirators.
- The Struggle for a Baby's Safety in the Waterfront Slums
A twelve-month-old Japanese child was rescued by neighbors after being neglected and abused by the couple hired to care for him.
- The Salvation Army’s Plan to Turn a Kitsap Farm Into a Lifeline for Seattle’s Unemployed
With a 250-acre bequest near Sidney and a crowded food-and-shelter depot at Weller and South Third, the Army proposed a co-operative farm, woodyard and prison-gate brigade to put hundreds of jobless men to work.
- The Clearing of 'Whitescapel'
Prominent citizens argue that a new Great Northern depot will sanitize a notorious South Seattle slum.
- The True Cost of Breaking a Strike
Financial reports from the Union Pacific reveal the heavy price corporations pay to replace union labor with forced, guarded workers.
- The Secret Lunch of the Frugal Merchant
A chance encounter in a 'tough' neighborhood restaurant reveals the hidden economic anxieties of Seattle's business class during a local recession.
- The 'Scrawniest Things' on Second Street: A 1889 Fight Over Slum Housing
When the city's building inspector sought clarification on code, he triggered a blistering critique of the shoddy, dangerous 'rookeries' being erected in the shadow of the Great Seattle Fire.
- Seattle’s Looming Epidemic
Facing a potential outbreak of cholera, the city council debates the urgent need for drainage and cleaning up the ‘rank smelling’ slums of Seattle in 1885.
- The Street Parade That Scandalized Victorian Seattle
A boisterous variety theater's promotional procession—featuring 'bold and painted women'—ignited a fierce public outcry in 1892, highlighting the era's clashing views on morality and civic decorum.
- Seattle Pastor Warns of Anarchy and Labor Unrest in 1893 Sermon
Rev. Dr. D. C. Garrett told St. Mark's Episcopal congregation that labor troubles stem from a failure to render unto God and Caesar.
- The Seattle Editor Who Fought a Mob
After being accused of being a 'blatant traitor' and a secret sympathizer of Lincoln’s assassin, Seattle publisher Beriah Brown strikes back at his political rival.
- The Sumner Chicken Thieves
A band of seven men accused of intimidating locals and raiding rural chicken coops in Sumner are hauled off to the county jail.
- A Thousand Dogs for the Klondike
A Seattle syndicate imported stray dogs by the carload from Chicago, trained them to haul gold-rush supplies, and kenneled the pack in an abandoned brickyard.
- The Man Behind Newport's Electric Lights
A Chicago utility magnate's company invests $100,000 to bring electric power to Newport, promising modern service at fair rates.
- The Economic Anxiety of the 1888 Seattle Labor Market
A century and a half ago, Seattle’s labor leaders were already wrestling with the volatile intersection of rapid immigration, wage standards, and protectionist sentiment.
Also about this, in other words
- The Seneca Street Sludge
A persistent drainage issue on a downtown sidewalk sparks frustration among Seattle pedestrians, highlighting the lack of basic civic maintenance in the growing city.
- A Neighborhood's Battle Against Filth
Tacoma residents at 11th and Sprague demand city action to clear stagnant wells and sloughs breeding typhoid.
- The Midnight Scavenger of Old Seattle
A modest advertisement for a 'night worker' reveals the grim, necessary sanitation infrastructure of 1880s Seattle.
- The Great Sewer Struggle of 1899
Over 100 residents in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Seattle petitioned the city to stop the dumping of raw sewage into the local lakes.
- The Ghost in the Slough
The body of an unidentified Chinese man was discovered near Pioneer in a disturbing scene, underscoring the climate of violence against immigrants in the region.
- The Health Board Targets Opera Alley's Squalor
City officials inspect disease-breeding housing conditions occupied by foreign laborers.
- City Council Targets 'Disorderly' Tenements
A new ordinance aims to clear out homes deemed a public nuisance based on the 'customs and habits' of residents.
- The Port Townsend Lottery Fugitive
A pillar of local society is unmasked as the mastermind behind a massive multi-city lottery swindle.