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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
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| 1878 | 2 |
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26 stories matching surmount
- An Electrifying Encounter at the Drug Store
A Seattlite's bonnet catches fire, leading to a rather unconventional rescue by an observant clerk.
- New Blood for the Snohomish Valley
Eight to ten new families are arriving to carve out homesteads in the river valley, marking a pivotal moment for the growing settlement.
- The City of Destiny Lights Up for the Fair
Tacoma plans a massive electrical display of double arches across Pacific Avenue to welcome visitors for the upcoming A.-V.-P. fair.
- A New Home for Engine No. 1
Seattle's volunteer firefighters get a state-of-the-art brick headquarters on Columbia Street.
- The Industrial Army Marches Through Seattle
Hundreds of unemployed laborers parade through downtown with banners and brass bands, seeking work and recognition.
- A Monument for the Forgotten Conflict
Walla Walla's Red Cross society secures a contract for a Spanish-American War memorial, sparking debate over its placement in the city.
- Mapping the Road to Monticello
Commissioners finish surveying a new route from Olympia to the Cowlitz River, planning to bridge the gap between territorial settlements.
- Pushing the Northern Pacific Through the Cascades
Contractors overcome swamp and tangled brush to advance the critical rail link between Puget Sound and the East.
- The Final Edition of the Snohomish Sun
After three years of chronicling the growth of Puget Sound, the publisher of the Snohomish Sun shutters his paper, citing bankruptcy, personal heartbreak, and the 'paralyzed' logging industry of 1879.
- Mount Baker Wakes: Smoke, a New Rent, and an Earthquake at Dawn
Smoke rises a thousand feet from the Twin Sisters and Mount Baker, a fresh quarter-mile crack opens in the mountain, and a predawn shock rattles Whatcom County residents.
- The Newport Hardware Man Who Went Through Johnstown — and Kept the River Mud to Prove It
In his store window, E. E. Reid displays a gilded St. George torn from a clock and a rocking chair pulled from the 1889 Johnstown flood — silt still hardened in the crevices — and jokes that he is still selling hardware because the flood only went through him, not over him.
- A Massive New Landmark for Seattle
Construction begins on a state-of-the-art Catholic hospital, featuring the city’s first steam elevator and a futuristic ventilation system to serve the rapidly growing region.
- Suspicious Fire at Standard Oil Plant
A locked gate was forced open and three horses perished in a midnight blaze that local authorities believe was no accident.
- The Sisters' Sanctuary on Fifth Street
In 1878, the Sisters of Charity opened Seattle’s first formal hospital, establishing a legacy of public health and care for the city’s 'afflicted and homeless.'
- The Nickel Strike That Wasn’t a Boom—Yet
A Kittitas County nickel discovery promised one of the largest deposits in the country, but capital and roads had to be convinced before the wealth could move.
- The Street That Vanished into the Tide
A Seattle citizen recalls his lonely fight against a railroad company's takeover of Columbia Street, a legal battle that exposed the city's early history of corporate land giveaways.
- The Seattle Marksman Who Shot Himself Into a Nervous Breakdown
A hardware store's promotional stunt goes horribly wrong when counting shot holes leads to a mental collapse.
- The Day Seattle Rode the Rails to Lake Union
In 1872, the completion of the Seattle Coal Company’s railway from the waterfront to the lake offered a thrilling, soot-stained excursion for a city eager to join the industrial age.
- Seattle’s Fourth of July: A City Adorned in Light and Iron
As the nation celebrates its birthday, Seattle’s business leaders have transformed downtown into a spectacle of gas jets, electric lamps, and iron arches, proving that the young city is ready for its moment on the national stage.
- The Stone Capitol Olympia Was Promised
Architect Ernest Flagg says the foundation is finished and bids are about to go out for a fireproof statehouse—one built to last, if the legislature will pay for it.
- The Self-Made Man of Spokane Falls and His 240-Acre 'Idlewild'
A profile of James E. Roe, who arrived four years ago with not a dollar and now owns a livery stable, a sawmill interest, and a ranch of surpassing beauty eight miles east of the city.
- Sixteen Seattleites Climb Rainier, With Carrier Pigeons and a Night on the Crater
Two members of a Seattle climbing party return from Mount Rainier after the rest push on to the summit, where they plan to camp amid volcanic steam and signal the city with bonfires.
- Billy Fife: Self-Taught Caricaturist of Frontier Seattle
A biography of Billy Fife, a sailor and self-taught caricaturist whose sharp wit and rare artistic skill captured Seattle's frontier life.
- The Homestead Scam That Turned Public Land Into a Speculator’s Prize
An 1883 exposé from Walla Walla describes how doctors, lawyers and merchants faked frontier residency to grab government land—and why the law made perjury easy.
- Two Farmers Who Started With Nothing and Built Dairy Fortunes
A Scandinavian immigrant with no money and an Ilwaco homesteader who once lacked even winter underclothing became models of dairy success through testing, breeding, and relentless work.