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Old newspapers, pinned to the places they wrote about — the streets you can still walk today.
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A witness testifies that one suspect predicted the killing hours in advance, and a bloody butcher knife is found in a kitchen wall. Three Japanese men are ordered held without bail for the murder of a Japanese boss near Christopher.
“I think Mayeda die at 2 o'clock tonight.”
A man named Spafford is arrested for the gruesome killing of his wife in a small village near the White River after he attempted to perform an illegal abortion.
“When asked why he had dosed his wife with carbolic acid, he replied: 'Oh, her breath was so bad I wanted to purify it.'”
Robert Stevenson reflects on a grueling 1860 forest clearing journey and the vanished fort on the White River.
“I used to load his old cannon with rivets, sawteeth, scrap iron and all sorts of missiles, and after laying low for the redskins let them have a whole broadside when they were passing the fort.”
In July 1876, 70 miners at the Wellington colliery were fired for refusing a wage reduction, bringing the mine to a halt in a struggle that defined labor relations on the Pacific Northwest frontier.
A well-dressed, unidentified man is found murdered near Auburn, leaving local authorities with few clues and a growing sense of alarm.
“The murder compares, in a matter of cold blood, with almost any in the criminal history of the county.”
A brother arrives in Walla Walla to identify the body of a man found dead near the tracks in Auburn, convinced that enemies from the Tri-Cities followed him to his grave.
“He believes the murderers of his brother followed him from the mountains near Kennewick, every step of the way seeking his death.”
As floodwaters finally begin to recede, residents and rail companies assess the massive destruction left in the wake of the '92 deluge.
“We look to you commissioners to protect our roads and not to permit any such damnable corporation as the Northern Pacific railroad or any other to spoil our roads.”
A jury convicts Jacky Smokalem of killing his wife after a fatal domestic dispute, while a local tribal leader's own heroism in the Indian Wars is recounted during the trial.
“Big George is a nephew of Chief Seattle, and was a friend to the 'Bostons,' as the white people were called by the Indians, during the Indian war.”
Decades after the violence of 1855, the estate of a pioneer family is resurrected in court, revealing a grim history of frontier life.
“The bodies of the Joneses were found in their burned house, the flesh roasted by the heat, and their remains partially eaten by hogs.”
A brewing legal and ecological battle in the White River valley pits farmers against a railway company, as shifting waters threaten to swallow millions in property.
“The White River penetrates the heart of King County, and it is a land flowing with milk and honey, but the farmers there are in a state of great apprehension.”
The body of a woman who vanished from her Auburn home was discovered on the tracks, prompting a suspicious death investigation by local authorities.
“The body was cut to pieces and the woman's death is surrounded by suspicious circumstances.”
A young Japanese labor contractor was beaten and killed as he slept in a cabin on J.W. Nails's farm; a roommate was jailed while blood trails, a loaded musket and an opium pipe deepened the mystery.
“Clotted blood concealed the dead man's features, but underneath could be seen cuts and bruises that showed how fiendish had been the actions of the murderer.”
A citizen posse chasing three men over a property dispute ended in a fatal shooting, with local authorities absolving the shooter of any wrongdoing.
“The Auburn authorities have decided that... they were justified in shooting the fugitive tramps if necessary.”
A saloon shooting on the Green River turns into a tragic lesson on the dangers of 'doping' whisky and the thin line between murder and manslaughter.
“Oh, we'll kill the — if he makes any trouble.”
A railroad worker is arrested after his home is destroyed by fire, revealing the brutal murder of his four children.
“The children's skulls had been crushed in, while the mattresses on which they lay were saturated with blood.”
An Auburn father faces arrest after his children succumb to starvation while he allegedly schemed to remarry.
“It is charged further that Parks wanted to marry again, and that the woman he aspired to win refused to accept him while he had so many children.”
A hatchet, a wages quarrel and a suspect who answered every question 'I don't know'—the killing near Auburn that drew Seattle's Japanese community into the hunt for a murderer.
“No matter what is asked him he says, 'I don't know.'”
A young bridge builder falls thirty feet to his death on the Northern Pacific railroad line, leaving a grieving mother in Oak Harbor.
“After lingering for seven hours, during which he suffered the most excruciating pain, Frank O'Leary breathed his last.”
A lonely homesteader is found dead in the woods, his cabin undisturbed and his secrets kept, sparking a flurry of local suspicion.
“The place is almost entirely inaccessible, and no one envied Creegan the possession of his place. That he was murdered I have not the slightest doubt.”
In the county jail, Japanese laborers finally tell their side of the Mayeda killing—and one points the finger at a man who was never arrested.
““If they give me a fair trial,” he said, “I am not afraid of the results, for I am an innocent man.””
The killing of a Japanese man near Auburn left investigators with little cooperation and a suspect named Joe; a Japanese-born interpreter was brought in as officials waited for more evidence.
“It seems as if every Japanese around Auburn had suddenly become dumb. They either don't know how to talk or won't for fear of getting into trouble themselves or placing some one else's head in jeopardy.”
A jury finds that the death of a woman on the railroad tracks near Stuck was a tragedy, not a crime.
“The jury attached no blame to Henry Kalem... who have been held in the county jail pending the result of the investigation.”
At a mill near Auburn, Edward McKeown lost a leg to a circular saw. W. M. Rodgers’s makeshift tourniquet and a hurried call for doctors kept him alive.
“The rapidity of Mr. Rodgers’s movements saved the man’s life, and three-quarters of an hour later, on the arrival of the two Doctors Hoy, of Auburn, the bleeding had almost ceased.”
John Morse of Seattle shoots a man near Steele's Landing over money matters and escapes; the wounded man is not expected to live.
“It seems they had some discussion about money matters, which culminated in Morse's shooting the other through the kidneys, after which he made his escape.”
A tragic household accident on the White River ends in the death of a toddler when a borrowed rifle discharges during a demonstration.
“While Mr. Ritter is to be censured for his lack of caution and his carelessness, the grief of himself and wife causes a general feeling of sympathy in their great sorrow.”
A group of settlers in the White River Valley accuses a King County commissioner of misusing taxpayer money to build a bridge near his own property, ignoring the needs of the actual traveling public.
“It is to satisfy his desire to increase the value of his land and make easier his journeys to Seattle that the County Commissioners propose to deflect the line of travel.”
As local growers mobilized against a proposed federal tariff reduction on hops, an 1892 letter to the editor captures the early struggle between agricultural protectionism and corporate interests in the White River Valley.
“I don't believe there is a grower of hops throughout this White river, Green river and Puyallup valleys that will refuse to sign a petition.”
With smallpox concerns keeping Indigenous pickers away, farmers in White River and Puyallup valleys appeal to white families to harvest the crop.
“Hop-picking is light, easy work and, being done in the open air at the finest season of the year, is like a summer outing to many people who have few opportunities to escape from their city homes.”
A partnership turns sour when a farmer allegedly assaults his partner with a piece of lumber during the curing process.
“Graham charges that as he was engaged in arranging the leaves for curing Yank became enraged at him, assaulted him with a piece of scantling and drove him away.”
Citizens of Slaughter petition the legislature to rebrand their town to something more inviting.
“The meeting unanimously agreed upon the name of Auburn, and a petition signed by over 80 percent of the voters of the town was sent to the legislature.”
An outspoken Auburn farmer rallies regional hop growers to challenge a buyers' monopoly, citing the success of a New York growers' association in forcing price hikes.
“In unison there is strength. It is your duty. Your labors and the amount invested demand all that the market will pay for your product.”
An Auburn grower reports that 'red spiders' and extreme heat are devastating hop crops from Washington to England, threatening massive yield shortages.
“Dry weather with continuous sun, combined with the ravages of the red spider, is drying up our hops on the poles to a most alarming extent and reducing our crop immensely.”
A jury acquits a young laborer following a violent camp dispute that exposed the raw realities of life in the hop fields.
“They all declared that in the melee which followed the throwing of the bottle by Slade, no one could tell who jumped on the old man.”
A laborer left to die alone by the roadside near Auburn serves as a grim reminder of the precarity of life for itinerant workers.
“They did not care to get out of bed and go after him, so he was left until morning.”
Railroad expansion and hop farming are bringing sudden, unprecedented prosperity to the valley.
“Those who have 'taken time by the forelock' and have got something to sell, are in luck.”
An Indigenous man appointed by local farmers to guard a river channel finds himself in court after confronting trespassers with a rifle.
“The Indian took his position seriously and met some explorers in the preserved district with a rifle in his hands.”
A remote Clallam County murder is solved when a mysterious note arrives at the sheriff's office.
“The back of the skull was smashed as if by a sledge, and while the skull was being examined a 32-caliber bullet fell out.”
A routine digging job on a Washington farm turned into a bizarre geological mystery when a well-digger hit a void that seemingly had no end.
“A heavy stone was dropped into the hole, and at the same time noting the time, it was as much as thirty seconds before a dull thud was heard from deep in the earth.”
A jury exonerates John North for the killing of Charles Paulson after hearing testimony that the act was carried out under the direction of the city marshal.
“The jury found that Paulson came to his death from a gunshot wound inflicted by North under the direction of the city marshal of Auburn.”
A landowner is fighting a legal battle to evict a tenant who allegedly obtained permission to pitch a tent on the property only to move into the main house.
“His alleged method of getting in is unique. It is stated that... he asked to be allowed to pitch a tent on the piece of land and to remain there until the season ended.”
A husband and father vanishes into the woods, leaving his family behind as the town whispers of a dark insurance scheme.
“He reportedly had a history of disappearing for weeks at a time.”
A panicked herd causes a fire and widespread destruction near Seattle, leaving the community reeling from the sudden calamity.
“The creatures turned and ran, and in their mad rush, they burned Charles Hanes' barn and stable.”
A century before modern infrastructure debates, King County residents were struggling with the same basic problem: a river that split a community in two.
“For a distance of eleven miles there is no bridge across the stream and the people living on one side are divided from their neighbors on the other almost as completely as if many miles intervened between them.”
A ten-year-old girl is committed to an insane asylum after suffering from a paranoid delusion that her own family was trying to kill her.
“She imagines that she is pursued by snakes and other reptiles and that all her relatives are trying to murder her.”
For decades, pioneers in the White River Valley have battled shifting channels and massive log jams that threaten to drown the farmland—and now, a desperate, explosive attempt to save the riverbank has left the community divided.
“The force of the current is so great that great trees striking an obstruction are lifted bodily and hurled, with a roar like thunder, forward into the flood.”
Farmers organize to challenge monopolistic dealers and price manipulation.
“We can sell all our hops at from 26 to 29 cents, but we are holding out like a stone wall.”
An ambitious attempt by local hop farmers to form a collective against industry speculators collapses when attendees refuse to take leadership.
“Farmers have been denouncing trusts and combines for years, but they go on just the same, and they are good for those who are in the ring.”
A desperate marriage on the White River ends in a violent brush with death, defying a father's attempt to keep the couple apart.
“This case of love did not run smoothly—but it run, and was consummated in spite of death and hell combined.”
An early settler describes the agricultural promise of the river valley and the social isolation of the men carving out homesteads in the dense wilderness.
“Bachelors hall! what a queer-looking place it is! Yes, it lacks wife, mother, sister and brother to cheer the man and speed his plow.”
Zenga Maseda was killed near Auburn. Two Japanese men were arrested, then released for lack of evidence, while deputies kept hunting the murderer.
“Sheriff Woolery and Prosecuting Attorney Miller think that “Joe” might throw some light on the case if he would talk, but the evidence in the hands of the state did not warrant further detention.”
A young boy drowns while crossing the river in a skiff as his sisters watch helplessly.
“During his struggles for help, his sisters succeeded in reaching a stick within a few inches of his hand, but unconsciously he would grasp anything but the proffered aid.”
A suspicious fire destroys a downtown block in the town of Slaughter, leaving citizens to form a bucket brigade to save the town's remaining structures.
“A fire brigade was then formed, every man, woman and child in town being in line, and buckets of water passed.”
John Scott had been married only four weeks when an undermined tree fell across the log jam where he was working near Auburn.
“Deceased was a member of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and had been married only about four weeks.”
A German laborer and two employees of H. C. Jefls trade blows in a roadside altercation that lands both parties in front of a judge.
“He had to defend himself, slashing left and right. He does not deny cutting both of the men, but says he did it to save his life and prevent being robbed of his money.”
A crowd of 300 spectators, including many from Seattle, gathered in Auburn to watch a lopsided boxing match that ended in a bloody knockout.
“Hodge would not have it that way and cried back: 'Let him go on; what's the trouble with you?'”
An unknown motorist dropped a two-hour-old baby boy on Alfred Collins' doorstep in the middle of the night.
“In a few minutes the cries of the baby aroused the family, which had heard the strange actions of the persons in the auto, and the infant was taken in.”
Nels Hansen claims the town of Auburn's poor construction of a new river channel caused the total loss of his home and barn.
“the banks of this channel were improperly constructed and could not resist the current”
Local law enforcement intervenes in a late-night prizefight held just outside of town, resulting in arrests for the illicit sporting event.
“The fight began about 10:30 at night... but was interrupted by Brown after one game round had been fought.”
Residents between Seattle and Tacoma refuse to ride, picket stations, and invite the same 'conspiracy' charge that organized labor faced in the Buck's Stove boycott.
“The fact of the matter is that "the boycott" is a weapon used by every class of people, but it makes a difference whose ox is gored.”
A contractor was accosted by two armed men at his own residence and robbed of a substantial sum of money.
“Both men at once took to their heels and disappeared.”
A local sportsman finds his gun jammed while a bear charges, forcing a desperate, makeshift solution.
“Mike then seized it by the barrel and commenced whacking the bear over the head.”
Two young boys find themselves behind bars after a destructive incident at a local schoolhouse, sparking anxiety in a respectable city family.
“One of them belongs to a respectable family in this city.”
A young drifter recounts how he and his companions, spurred by a mysterious 'big fellow,' turned a quiet schoolhouse into a scene of chaotic destruction.
“I don't know the big fellow's name who put us up to do the mischief, but I think he ought to be arrested, too.”
A botanical report on how the 'indomitable' white clover quietly conquered the hay fields of 19th-century King County, displacing the farmer’s preferred timothy.
“This white clover is almost worthless for hay, as it is too light, lifting from the ground under the blade of the mower like a thin fleece of green wool.”
Railroad detectives apprehend three men accused of breaking into a Northern Pacific freight car bound for Tacoma.
“The men claimed that they were laborers and had entered the car to rest. The train started for Tacoma, so it is said, and the men were unable to get out.”
Speculation about a new Green River line reveals the frantic, often unfulfilled, infrastructure dreams of 1890s Washington.
“McCabe says the company will devote its greatest energy next year in perfecting trackage already constructed in this state.”
A look at the turn-of-the-century land speculation market in King County, where suburban tracts were sold as the path to prosperity.
“Here is a chance for a speculator to make money.”
As harvest season peaks in the shadow of the Great Seattle Fire, a local firm attempts to manage the precarious trade of Washington hops to the London market.
“One will be to a certain extent judged by the company he is in; so will the general character of our hops be judged by the general average.”
An 1878 dispatch from the Snohomish Eye surveys the thriving, overlooked agricultural juggernaut of the White River Valley, long ignored by travelers bound for the city.
“Many visitors travel some 600 miles by steamer, over one of the most beautiful inland seas in existence, yet will not see scarcely an acre of fertile agricultural land on his whole route.”
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