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| Year | Stories |
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25 stories matching yea
- The City That Built Itself: Seattle’s 1876 Bet on Railroads and Real Estate
While Portland urges unity to secure a transcontinental line, Seattle’s council quietly reshapes the city’s physical landscape—lowering street grades and paving sidewalks—betting that infrastructure will drive the boom.
- The Legislature Votes Itself a Territorial Rifle
In a moment of classic political opportunism, the Council passes a measure granting every member a firearm at public expense.
- The Great Washington Delay: How Congress Stalled Statehood for a Political Game
In January 1889, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an 'Omnibus Bill' to admit four territories as states, but fierce partisan fighting over Dakota and Montana left Washington Territory in limbo—delaying its entry into the Union by nearly two years.
- Lincoln County Carved Out
Legislative battle ends in the creation of a new county despite local opposition.
- The Territory's Loyalty Crisis
A bitter partisan divide breaks out in the Legislative Assembly over a set of resolutions affirming support for the Union and the Lincoln administration.
- The 'Kicker' of the City Council
A councilman breaks his silence to accuse the Yakima city government of blatant corruption and insider contracting.
- The Great Cow Standoff: When Seattle’s Streets Were Held Hostage by Livestock
In September 1878, a herd of cattle and horses blocked the wharf district, forcing pedestrians to halt in their tracks. The city council was forced to intervene as commerce ground to a standstill.
- The Birth of Washington Territory
Arthur Denny recounts the 1852 Monticello Convention that successfully petitioned Congress to split the Washington territory from Oregon.
- The Great Railway Freight Revolt
In a 1891 legislative showdown, Washington lawmakers slashed freight rates by 25 percent to combat railroad monopolies, sparking a fierce debate over state versus corporate control.
- The Political 'Linen-Washing' of 1892
In a frantic bid for the labor vote in Tacoma, mayoral candidate Alexander Parker is forced to scrub his reputation of sympathy for the city's persecuted Chinese community.
- The Underground Economy of Club Love Letters
A century before texting, Seattle's gentlemen of leisure found ways to bypass the stuffy, anti-romance rules of private social clubs.
- The Canal Fight That Would Reshape Seattle
Senator Allen's enemies are attacking him over his support for the Lake Washington ship canal — but the 1889 legislative memorial shows one of his loudest critics once voted for it.
- Olympia’s Capitol Fight: Donate the Land or Lose the Statehouse
A late-night Senate debate over the new state capitol turned on eleven acres, a $150,000 land scheme and whether Olympia should pay to keep the building—before the bill passed to applause.
- The Sunday Saloon Wars: How Seattle Debated the 'Law and Order' Ordinance
In 1885, Seattle’s City Council erupted into a fierce debate over a proposal to force saloons to close on Sundays, pitting reformers against tavern owners in a struggle over civic control and personal liberty.
- The Judge Escapes the Legislature—For Now
Damning reports on Judge W. W. Langhorne reach the House, but lawmakers postpone impeachment and hand the case to the Supreme Court.
- The Great Walla Walla Dental Scandal: Did the President Have False Teeth?
A local political feud erupts when the Ankeny organ accuses President Roosevelt of sporting dentures during a private dinner at Senator Ankeny's home.
- A Packed House Watches a Dying Cardinal Bring Down the Curse of Rome
Touring tragedian Keene fills the Olympia Theater with Bulwer's 'Richelieu' — and promises Shakespeare's Richard III for tonight, with 'but a few seats left.'
- The Great Tacoma License Revolt: Mayor vs. The People Over Harry Morgan’s Saloon
In a dramatic showdown at City Hall, the Tacoma Common Council voted to revoke the liquor and theater license of Harry Morgan, sparking petitions from both sides and accusations of bribery involving the *Tacoma Daily Bulletin*. But did the city really win?
- The Chief’s Last Stand: A Vision of Justice Beyond the Grave
In a rare and poignant interview, Spotted Tail articulates a theology of retribution where the Great Spirit favors the Native American over the white settler in the afterlife.
- When Seattle Draped Its Church in Flags for the Union Dead
In 1895, veterans packed First Methodist at Third and Marion for an elaborate Memorial Sunday sermon, with stacked rifles, roses, palms and a choir.
- The Railroads Beat the Farmers in Olympia
A bill to cut freight and passenger rates across Washington goes down in the state Senate after a bruising fight, handing the railroads their biggest Northwest victory yet.
- The Battle for the Territory: Judson vs. Jacobs in the 1876 Election
As the nation grapples with the disputed presidential election of 1876, Washington Territory voters head to the polls to decide their own future, pitting Republican J.P. Judson against Democrat Judge Jacobs in a fierce contest for territorial supremacy.
- Washington's Fourth Legislature Adjourns After a Marathon Final Day
Lawmakers pass 53 bills, defeat a school-book trust, kill a Seattle-Tacoma bridewell, and bury woman suffrage for at least two years.
- The Seal Pup Wars: A Local Naturalist vs. The Smithsonian’s ‘Sense-Keeper’
James G. Swan, a long-time Neah Bay resident and customs inspector, challenges Henry W. Elliott’s decades-old claim that newborn fur seal pups sink like stones, offering eyewitness testimony from Captain Elijah McAlmond that they swim.
- 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.