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Old newspapers, pinned to the places they wrote about — the streets you can still walk today.
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Thousands gathered for the burial of Peter C. Stanup, a Presbyterian minister and activist who sought to lead his people toward the rights of citizenship.
“He was a reformer, and fought to bring his people out of bondage into the rights of citizenship, and because of his efforts in behalf of his people, he has been made the first martyr in the cause which he advocated.”
Seattle and Tacoma detachments of the Industrial Army unite in a rainy camp, bracing for a confrontation as state and railroad authorities mobilize.
“Jumbo promptly placed himself at the head of the two contingents and is looked up to, as he expresses it, as 'da main guy of de hull works.'”
In a bold act of agrarian rebellion on the Fourth of July, Stuck River farmers used dynamite to destroy the White River dam, draining the muck and reclaiming their land.
A passenger train traveling through the Puyallup Indian reservation is targeted by gunfire, narrowly missing a non-union engineer.
“At first the engineer, thinking the shots were torpedoes, slowed down, but when he realized they were shots he threw the throttle wide open.”
As Coxey's 'Industrial Army' traverses Washington, cold, hungry men turn to rail-hopping and the kindness of strangers to reach their destination.
“The Commonwealers, most of whom were from Seattle, had to make the best of pancakes made from a mixture of flour, baking powder and salt.”
A man living in an abandoned log house on the Puyallup reservation describes the violent standoff that led to his arrest and the shooting of a local sheriff.
“The pain made me crazy and then I shot through the door and hit the stout man. I wouldn't have shot him if I had known he was the sheriff.”
While General 'Jumbo' Cantwell rallies unemployed protesters with fiery rhetoric, Northern Pacific officials and U.S. marshals prepare for a train-seizure confrontation.
“If we, the people, vote to take that which is ours, there ain't marshals enough in the country to prevent it.”
Striking workers and the 'Industrial Army' face infighting and skeptical local authorities as they try to push for transport to Washington, D.C.
“The poor people were going to have money or have blood.”
Striking workers and federal marshals exchange fire on the rails near Puyallup as the 1894 Pullman strike grips Western Washington.
“The only thing the marshals could see to fire at was the smoke from the assailants' pistols.”
After the death of Peter C. Stanup, documents were discovered detailing an ambitious plan for an Indian-led university on the Puyallup reservation.
“The objects for which this corporation is formed are to create and maintain a university for the education of the youth of the founders hereof and others in the arts and sciences and all branches of learning.”
In a historic shift, local indigenous farmers take the first step toward independent hop production.
“This is the first step ever taken by the Indians toward producing hops themselves, although they are ever ready to pick for the Boston man.”
Sam B. Duelnberre, a pillar of the local banking community, is charged with embezzling $41,000 from his shuttered bank.
“Some of the bad debts of the bank have been charged up to Mr. Duelnberre, it is said, and he is held responsible when the responsibility does not rest with him.”
In 1877, a booming agricultural industry turned the Puyallup Valley into a high-stakes arena of heavy capital, immigrant labor, and unpredictable environmental risks.
“The price of hops varies so from year to year, that many who one year fancy themselves independent, the next year are plunged almost hopelessly in debt.”
A standoff between a local traveler, a 10-year-old boy, and law enforcement leaves one man dead and another wounded in a remote cabin near Puyallup.
“Immediately two pistols appeared in the opening and the man inside began pumping lead at the three men outside.”
After a long period of waiting, Puyallup families have finally received land patents as the reservation is divided into 167 tracts.
“The Indians have long been anxiously awaiting the news of their patents, and they celebrated the event in great style upon the reservation.”
A local meeting of citizens and the Sheriff turns into a mass swearing-in of deputy sheriffs as anti-Chinese agitation reaches a fever pitch.
“The Chinese question is at present absorbing the minds of a large portion of our people, and while I know and am satisfied that the substantial portion of our people... would discourage and resent any act of riot, violence or unlawful means, yet I realize that the proper and necessary precautions should be taken.”
In a tense standoff on the White River, Pierce County cattlemen illegally dammed the waterway to protect their pastures, forcing King County officials to ride out with Winchester rifles to avert a violent conflict.
A wealthy Puyallup man is dead after a dispute in a saloon leads to a violent, racially charged assault.
“Bob resented the insult quickly and, as all had been drinking, blows and more insulting epithets followed.”
An old Pierce County resident says a white man, Jim Riley, shot an Indigenous man without cause—and asks voters not to let the case die.
“The Indian stammered out that Mr. Riley had shot him, and with so much fright that he could hardly speak.”
After his family splintered, a 14-year-old boy arrived in Tacoma alone, setting off a chain of bicycle thefts as he tried to find a way home.
“Believing that the boy's life is no one continuous round of pleasure, the prosecuting witnesses are willing to withdraw their complaint.”
A train car was reduced to twisted wreckage near Puyallup by a high-pressure gas explosion; authorities believe it was fortunate the train was empty at the time.
“Had the accident occurred an hour later... a number of casualties would have resulted.”
In 1890, Puyallup was a bustling, bank-rich agricultural hub defined by Ezra Meeker’s hop empire and massive infrastructure investments.
“There is no doubt that the fact of Puyallup being the chief hop market of Washington accounts to a large extent for its exceptional prosperity.”
A banker, postmaster, probate judge and territorial legislator died suddenly at 61, leaving behind a handwritten memoir of a journey from New York to the Puyallup Valley.
“He took a donation claim of 160 acres where the present city of Puyallup now stands.”
A quiet day in the woods turns fatal when an open door and a gust of wind ignite a powder horn, destroying a home and claiming lives.
“James and Patrick were instantly killed; Hubert miraculously escaped. There is no clue to the perpetrators.”
When the Puyallup city council halted new liquor licenses, the local brewing industry retaliated with an economic embargo on the valley’s hop farmers.
“By way of retaliation, the liquor dealers who have any influence with the breweries, and most of them have some influence, propose to have Puyallup valley hops boycotted.”
With harvest season underway in the Puyallup and Yakima valleys, 10,000 workers descend on the fields for a grueling, seasonal labor rush.
“It is necessary to pick the crop as quickly as possible and house it safely before the fall rains commence.”
The federal government establishes a precedent for canceling land claims after a Puyallup Valley settler failed to live on his property.
“Said Varner has abandoned his claim to the land... and has forfeited his rights and cannot now be permitted to purchase said land.”
A pioneer report from 1853 describes a rush of settlers onto rich timberland and the struggle to navigate the inaccessible river banks.
“As soon as one man’s stakes are set, another follows along who thinks the claim beyond is just as good.”
How an accidental crop grown in a kitchen fire turned into a Pacific Northwest agricultural empire.
“From that single bale, weighing 180 pounds, sprang the business that culminated in the production of 50,000 bales in one year.”
A pioneer’s remains discovered in a clearing near the Puyallup River, leaving behind only questions about a solitary life.
“Just how he came to his death is all supposititious, as he lived alone and had no near neighbors.”
A thirteen-year-old runaway from Seattle takes over a house in Puyallup, leaving authorities baffled and without a place to put her.
“The girl walked into a house in Puyallup and took complete possession, and when any person attempted to eject her, she threatened to kill them.”
Industrial marchers find themselves stranded and under federal surveillance after failing to secure a rail transport to Washington D.C.
“The star of Cantwell, who at one time threatened to supersede Gen. Shepard and take charge of both commands, is distinctly on the wane.”
The body of Frank Mozen was discovered near his cabin with four bullet wounds, suggesting a targeted robbery.
“The body had been lying on the ground less than a week, judging from its appearance. Part of the head had been gnawed by some carnivorous animal.”
An 1887 agricultural columnist dissects the volatile global hop market, warning Pacific Northwest farmers against reckless expansion while grappling with the realities of 'hired hand' labor versus high-yield ambitions.
“Do not go into out-of-the-way places inaccessible to pickers and market facilities to plant hops, or upon unsuitable and untried grounds; for, as sure as fate, if you do you will lose.”
As hop growers in the Puyallup and White River valleys race to harvest before the rains, a debate stirs over the reliance on Indigenous and migrant labor versus the desire for white, school-aged workers.
“The grower knows that if the packers do not come, he is done for the season, and his labor already bestowed upon the hops is lost.”
As the timber industry boomed and population surged, local workers found themselves in a housing crunch that sounds all too familiar today.
“There is not an empty building of any description in town.”
Ezra Meeker pushes back against public criticism, defending his company’s labor practices during the hard times of 1894.
“A man or a newspaper that takes occasion to try to cause trouble between employers and employes, or tries to ferment discontent among the employees, is an enemy of that class to be shunned.”
When four prominent temperance leaders and a local businessman tried to close down a suspected illegal saloon, they were met on the street and pelted with rotten eggs.
“These men have been active in fighting the saloons and are engaged in the crusade for the arrest of a party who is charged with running a club house.”
In the Puyallup Valley, growers try to hold the line at two cents a pound. Crews register, balk and bargain — while Native pickers from British Columbia are turned away in favor of white workers.
“He would rather sell them at this low price, which will let him out, than not pick them and lose what was put into the cultivation.”
Boosterism and labor anxiety collide as Washington Territory's hop production booms in Pierce and King Counties.
“The large increase of acreage will not only enable the pickers... to dictate terms, but will render it difficult to harvest the entire crop in the proper season.”
A simmering conflict between local factions erupts into a legal investigation, with druggists under fire for allegedly selling liquor in a 'closed town.'
“It is a well known fact that several prominent persons of Puyallup have been dissatisfied with the 'closed town' ordinance and have managed to procure their liquor regardless of every precaution.”
A train full of high-ranking U.S. officials is forced to a screeching halt in Washington Territory because they ran out of wine.
“The air in the immediate neighborhood assumed a bluish aspect, ceased by the imprecations of delayed and weary passengers.”
A high-stakes political battle in the U.S. Senate over land worth thousands of dollars per acre near Puyallup.
“The lands sought to be patented were worth $200 to $1,000 per acre.”
The Bank of Puyallup closes its doors due to over-extension on agricultural crop loans.
“The temporary closing of this bank does not in any way affect the status of the First National bank of Puyallup or any other bank or firm.”
Two young brothers perish in a drowning accident while their mother and a nearby observer look on helplessly.
“He got excited, and, as he could not swim and was afraid to leave the horses, he rode away for help, while the boys drowned.”
Citizens and volunteers rush to save a critical bridge in the Puyallup valley as wildfires ravage timberlands.
“Word was sent to Puyallup and a number of her citizens with buckets, went to the scene and succeeded in putting out the fire in the vicinity of the bridge.”
A real estate developer attempts to use municipal law to exclude his own property from city taxes while reaping the benefits of inclusion.
“It is thought that this provision will defeat the annexation.”
A traveling account reveals a local man's elaborate deception, as his supposedly dead family is found alive and well at the Puyallup station.
“Judge of our surprise on meeting Mrs. Harbin and her oldest daughter at Puyallup station... and he told this story for a blind.”
Settlers in the isolated Green River valley are fighting for a direct road to Seattle, claiming the Northern Pacific Railroad is trying to isolate them to siphon their trade to other towns.
“The Northern Pacific Railroad is building through the heart of the settlement, and the company is doing what it can to alienate the people from us, and carry their trade to another town.”
A spicy letter from a 'Little Worker' challenges a farm editor’s complaints about the difficulty of finding domestic help.
“What on earth makes a man’s time worth more than a woman’s, and why not pay the women as much as the men—and then you will get plenty of help.”
As growers struggle with a partial crop failure and a late season, local farmers debate the best scientific methods to save the region's hops.
“We interfere with nature's process when we attempt to do differently.”
A railroad worker is killed near Meeker after falling between cars while intoxicated.
“I was just remarking to the conductor that it was dangerous for the man to be on the train in that condition, when somebody shouted 'There's a man under the wheels,' and we felt a bump as the car passed over him.”
Puyallup Presbyterians clash over the retention of their pastor, Rev. Mann, amidst accusations of outside interference.
“It is a quarrel between themselves.”
After a season of unprecedented late spring rains, hop growers are working overtime to get their crop in the ground.
“They have had rains extraordinarily late, as last week work was stopped for half a day, which was something unheard of.”
Federal inertia leaves a key commission unappointed, as the Interior Department claims it is too busy with the national silver debate.
“The only answer vouchsafed him was that no action whatever would be taken in reference to the appointment of a commission until after the silver question had been settled in Congress.”
Washington's governor publicly rejects the march of the unemployed to Washington D.C., calling their movement a threat to law and order.
“To gather armies to march on the capital to intimidate and compel legislation by threats is to invite revolution.”
Local fishermen take a heated debate about fish biology all the way to Stanford University.
“When a man makes a catch of this kind the fish are trout, but when the other fellow catches them they are surely salmon.”
A health-hazard stagnant pond in the center of town sparks a call for action.
“It is a sight to make doctors laugh and undertakers rejoice.”
Contractors scramble to hold the line as melting mountain snows turn the river into a destructive force against railway infrastructure.
“The waters are colored by the sediment and earth which have been washed down from the embankments.”
After jumping from Seattle to Oregon, a man wanted for forgery and a Seattle jailbreak is apprehended at his parents' home.
“While on duty in the Philippines he went crazy and was sent home. Although he has apparently recovered the use of his mental faculties, he has never been the same man.”
A weekend of drunken chaos led to the arrest of three saloon keepers for selling liquor to minors and ignoring Sunday closing laws.
“Respectable people were compelled to draw their curtains and remain indoors while the debauchers ran riot.”
A farmer appeals to commissioners as a diverted river threatens to swallow his town.
“It is eating away the bank and threatening the whole town of McMillan.”
A local man was struck and killed by a Northern Pacific train near the Stevenson mill.
“McLean was walking along the tracks near the Stevenson mill, on the outskirts of Puyallup, when the train approached from behind.”
Local residents in Puyallup form a committee to challenge railway pricing on the new, shorter line to Tacoma.
“The new line is only 10 miles long and the people believe the fare should be reduced to 15 cents for the round trip.”
The state supreme court rules that a public dedication survives the town's invalid original incorporation, leaving Puyallup's park in the city's hands.
“The court holds that the land was properly dedicated to the public and that the city succeeded to the title.”
Puyallup leader Peter Stanup told an Olympia convention that Sen. Dawes, not Allen, blocked the reservation bill.
“I want it distinctly understood that in no sense is Senator Allen responsible for the failure of the bill to pass.”
A logger named T. J. Sullivan was struck and killed by a motor car while sleeping on the tracks near his camp.
“A whisky bottle was found today where the body lay, so it is thought he was intoxicated.”
As hop lice decimate the region's vines, farmers scramble for a solution to salvage the failing harvest.
“Some growers do not seem to appreciate the delicacy of plant life, and may try so many different experiments to save a few dollars that before they know it their hops will be gone, root and vine.”
When a man fell ill, his family turned to a 'Christian Science faith curist' instead of a doctor, leading to a fatal outcome that shook the community.
“Mr. West died from want of medical attendance, nothing having been done.”
A record-breaking year sees the fairgrounds overflowing with agricultural exhibits and local livestock.
“Home of the fair that comes up to expectations, we thank you for your co-operation.”
A breakthrough in the Puyallup Valley reveals the hidden life cycle of the pest destroying Washington's hop industry.
“Every stem louse exterminated means the keeping out of existence at least 50,000 lice for the season.”
A local farmer fights to modernize dairy production in the Puyallup Valley, navigating wet soil, crop selection, and the skepticism of neighboring dairymen.
“Selling hay is like selling the farm by piecemeal, unless other crops are raised and feed or special manures bought to compensate for the material sold.”
Pierce County officials scramble to find a solution for a Korean man suffering from leprosy.
“The county commissioners have a problem on their hands in the case of one Chun, a Korean.”
A $12,000 legislative appropriation for the branch agricultural station is vetoed, forcing the college to lease the land and sell the livestock.
“This action on the part of the agricultural college authorities was made necessary by the governor's veto of the $12,000 appropriation made by the legislature for the Puyallup station.”
A skeptical farmer encounters a bizarre, iron-framed invention that promises to revolutionize how horses work the land.
“They had not gone ten feet before my mind was made up that there was merit in it.”
Welterweight boxers James Ryan and Barney Curtis face off in a secret bout outside Puyallup, evading legal scrutiny.
“A railroad official acted as referee.”
After weeks of encampment, the 'army' of unemployed men departs the city for Washington D.C., leaving the streets quiet.
“The Commonweal army is gone, whisked away to silence, and only the ashes of the campfires and the footprints of many feet are left to tell the tale.”
Growers and buyers are deadlocked over hop prices, with many farmers facing the threat of foreclosure if they cannot secure better rates.
“It is feared by some that the growers who were obliged to mortgage their crops... will come to grief by the mortgage coming due before a good price is offered.”
A novice opium smuggler is nabbed in Puyallup after his anxious behavior at the train station tipped off the local police chief.
“He aroused Jeffries' suspicion by being anxious about the trunk being forwarded.”
After a grueling dry spell, welcome rains have cleared the harvest smoke and signaled a better market for Puyallup Valley growers.
“The rain has done no damage to the crop, and has been a benefit by dispelling the smoke and letting in the sun to ripen the hops.”
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