On February 20, 1877, an enormous log jam on the Nooksack River near Ferndale (Whatcom County) is reported to have been cleared. The three-quarters-of-a-mile-long jam had represented a serious impedim...
On March 7, 1877, owner James M. Colman (1832-1906) operates the first train over the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad, a line that runs from Seattle to the coal town of Renton.
On April 24, 1877, General Oliver O. Howard (1830-1909), newly appointed commander of the U.S. Army's Department of the Columbia, meets in a day-long council with Smohalla (1815?-1895), an influential...
In May 1877, three nuns from the Roman Catholic Sisters of Charity of the House of Providence open the poor home and hospital in Georgetown on a contract with King County. After 14 months, they find t...
On May 17, 1877, the City of Seattle passes Ordinance 138, establishing a datum point -- the point at which all other elevations in the city will be based. Prior to determining this "zero point" of th...
On June 17, 1877, citizens of Colfax panic upon hearing news, which turns out to be a false rumor, of imminent Indian attack. The context is the start of the Nez Perce War, which broke out in Idaho on...
On July 9, 1877, voters re-elect Gideon A. Weed as mayor of the City of Seattle.
From May 1 to August 8, 1877, more than 3,000 cattle are driven from Yakima Valley over Snoqualmie Pass into the Puget Sound region.
On September 28, 1877, in the town of Renton at the south end of Lake Washington, John Thompson is hanged. A jury has convicted Thompson of murder. This is the first legal hanging in King County and t...
On September 29, 1877, Charles B. Hopkins (1855-1920) and Lucien E. Kellogg (1851-1930) publish the first issue of the Palouse Gazette in the small Eastern Washington town of Colfax. According to the ...
During 1878, Western Union Telegraph Company demonstrates a phonograph in Seattle. The firm charges 25 cents a listen.
In 1878, Andrew Hemrich establishes the Seattle Brewing and Malting Company. The company produces a premium beer called Rainier.
During 1878, the Western Union Telegraph Company demonstrates the first telephone in Seattle. The telephone line runs eight miles from Pioneer Square in to Milton (renamed West Seattle). The demo...
In 1878, Layfayette Stevens discovers coal in the foothills northeast of Sedro, at a place later called Cokedale (in Skagit County). This joins earlier nearby strikes to produce coal fever in the regi...
In 1878, Madrone's first homesteaders, Riley and Martha Hoskinson and their children, arrive at Eagle Harbor on the southeast side of Bainbridge Island. The island is located in central Puget Sound di...
On February 5, 1878, the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad reaches the coal town, Newcastle, Washington. The railroad hauls 400 to 800 tons of coal to Seattle daily.
On June 11, 1878, Washington Territory legislators meet in Walla Walla to craft a state constitution. Walla Walla is the largest city in the territory in 1878 and the most logical place for politician...
On July 8, 1878, voters elect People's Ticket candidate Beriah Brown (1815-1900) as mayor of the City of Seattle. Brown is one of the owners of the Puget Sound Dispatch newspaper.
On July 9, 1878, newlyweds Blanche Bunting Perkins (1856-1878) and Lorenzo Perkins (1836-1878) have the extreme misfortune of crossing paths with a small group of renegade Bannocks and Paiutes (someti...
On August 2, 1878, the Sisters of Charity of Providence open their first Seattle hospital at 5th Avenue and Madison Street. Known as "the Builder," Mother Joseph (1823-1902) designed and supervised co...
On August 22, 1878, the New Castle Post Office is established. On July 12, 1894, the spelling will change to Newcastle. James N. Roach is the first postmaster, operating the post office in t...
On November 5, 1878, the voters of the Territory of Washington approve a resolution asking the U.S. Congress for admission to statehood. Congress declines. Eleven more years pass before statehood is a...
On November 5, 1878, Klickitat County residents vote to move the county seat from its temporary location on a farm near Rockland Flats to the recently established town of Goldendale. Despite oppositi...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. The Milton Post Office is established on December 3, 1878. Walter D. Cotton is the first postmaster. The post offic...