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1. 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.

   Jun 1, 1878Puget Sound DispatchSnoqualmie, King CountyCity Hall

2. The Judge Who Gambled Away His Office: Soderberg’s Dramatic Resignation

   After the grand jury returned five indictments for extortion and malfeasance in office, District Attorney Joseph Soderberg walked into court, tendered his resignation, and declared he would repay every illegal fee to the county treasury.

   Jun 14, 1888The Seattle Post-IntelligencerKing County Courthouse, SeattleCity Hall · True Crime

3. A Bank President Accused of Looting His Own Vault

   Deputy Internal Revenue Collector James P. Gleason says he bought $10,000 in Commercial National Bank stock on promises that turned out to be worthless—and that H. W. Wheeler used a mortgage company to hide the assets.

   Mar 27, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSuperior Court of Washington for King County, SeattleFollow the Money

4. The Treasurer-Elect Can't Find Bondsmen for a $400,000 Bond

   J. W. Maple's search for sureties exposes a quiet fight over King County's swelling public funds—and the commissioners say they actually let him off easy.

   Jan 4, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

5. The Great Seattle Gamblers' Bailout: How the City's Elite Let Off the Hook

   In a crowded courtroom, dozens of men accused of running illegal gambling rings were released on massive bonds, while the sheriff’s office scrambled to account for thousands in cash.

   Jan 15, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime

6. 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.

   May 4, 1884Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerMadison Street, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

7. The Judge Who Warned Seattle Not to Sell Its Waterfront to a Canal Company

   In 1894, Judge John J. McGilvra urged Congress to build the Lake Washington Ship Canal and warned that a private company's tideflat scheme would put tolls on the water and enrich speculators at public expense.

   Jul 15, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money

8. 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

9. A City Accused of Stealing Its Water by Night

   A rancher with an injunction, a mayor at the end of his borrowing power, and a reservoir that empties at dusk and fills by dawn: Tacoma's fight over Clover Creek water becomes a standoff between the city and the man who owns the creek.

   Mar 16, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerClover Creek, Tacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

10. A Legislative Committee Finds the University of Washington Packed, Broke, and Worth Building

    After touring the cramped old campus and the rising new grounds between Lake Union and Lake Washington, a joint legislative committee urges bonds, more books, a smaller board of regents, and a dry zone around the university.

    Mar 6, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerUniversity of Washington campus, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

11. Seattle's $100,000 Night: The Armory Meeting That Sold the Ship Canal

    Boosters packed the Armory in 1895 and pledged a fortune for locks and bridges on a Lake Washington canal—payable only after a ship made the passage from Elliott Bay.

    Mar 29, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerArmory, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

12. Seattle Raises a Half-Million to Cut a Canal to the Sea

    In a dreary year, the Queen City's newsboys, millionaires and merchants finished a voluntary $500,000 subsidy for the Lake Washington ship canal—proof, admirers said, that Seattle could fight its own battles and win.

    May 21, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerLake Washington Ship Canal, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

13. How Seattle Raised $50,000 for Its Canal — Bootblacks Included

    A San Francisco paper marveled that Seattle's Lake Washington canal fund came in small donations from rich and poor alike, a civic-spirit story with a Puget Sound lesson.

    May 26, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerLake Washington Canal, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

14. Commissioners Weigh $10,000 for Stubblefield Home

    Walla Walla County Commissioners face a showdown over a $10,000 appropriation for a proposed charitable home as taxpayers threaten legal action.

    Oct 31, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall

15. The Senator’s Lament: Puget Sound vs. the Columbia River

    In 1892, Senator Watson Squire sparred with his colleagues over federal infrastructure spending, arguing that sinking millions into the Columbia River served only Portland while neglecting the burgeoning commercial potential of Puget Sound.

    Mar 23, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money

16. Samuel Hill Warns Seattle Would 'Die Like Rats in a Trap' Without Highways

    As Congress weighs the Latimer and Brownlow road-funding bills, the Seattle utility magnate and son-in-law of James J. Hill makes the case that paved highways out of the city are a matter of survival, not comfort.

    Mar 15, 1904The RanchSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

17. Washington's Public Lands Were Run by a Patchwork. Reformers Wanted One Powerful Board.

    A joint legislative committee concludes that county tide-land boards, roving land cruisers and district attorneys have wasted public money, and recommends a three-member state land board to manage school and tide lands.

    Mar 12, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

18. Boosters Pass the Hat for the Ship Canal

    Tacoma coal money, St. Louis money and Vancouver money swell Seattle's canal subsidy fund — even as promoters insist the waterway is 'a Seattle affair.'

    Apr 17, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

19. Prosser Bets $3,000 of Its Own Money to Land a State Experiment Farm

    The college regents accept 80 acres from E. F. Benson and the Northern Pacific — but only if the town's businessmen can raise the cash to break ground first.

    Feb 7, 1918The Kennewick Courier-ReporterProsser, Benton CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

20. The Price of a Fire

    A local merchant sues an insurance company after a warehouse blaze leaves him empty-handed.

    Dec 19, 1903The Evening StatesmanMain Street, Walla Walla, Walla Walla County

21. The Hustlers of the Waterfront: Regulating Seattle's Hotel Runners

    In 1878, the Seattle City Council cracked down on the aggressive solicitors who haunted the docks, requiring them to wear badges and pay a quarterly tax for the right to hawk boarding houses.

    Aug 17, 1878Puget Sound DispatchSeattle Waterfront, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

22. The Promoter Who Built a Town on Paper

    J.K. Edmiston promised Columbia City buyers houses, church sites and Rainier Avenue lot profits. They got a lawsuit and a clouded title.

    Mar 30, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerRainier Avenue, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

23. A Militia Captain Cleared—Then He Quit

    Company D's investigators found no missing money and called forgery charges a 'malicious lie,' but Capt. Elmer R. Brady still handed in his resignation.

    Sep 18, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerArmory, Seattle, King CountyScandal

24. Newport Merchants Agree to Close at 6:30 — and Fine Themselves $50 If They Don’t

    In 1908, local shopkeepers signed a pact to shorten business hours, hoping clerks and owners alike could finally take part in public life. Violators owed $50 to the Commercial Club.

    Jan 30, 1908The Newport Miner (Newport, WA) 1899-CurrentNewport, Pend Oreille CountyWork & Pay

25. Spokane Falls Council Tackles Charter, Cash, and a Dead Horse

    In August 1883, the Spokane Falls City Council met to discuss a new city charter, unpaid bills, street assessments, and the problem of a dead horse. The meeting offers a glimpse into the challenges of a growing frontier town.

    Aug 11, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

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