To our readers
Old newspapers, pinned to the places they wrote about — the streets you can still walk today.
Showing Whidbey Island only. Show the whole archive · browse other towns
A ranching partnership ends in a fatal, cold-blooded ambush near Useless Bay.
“When Dale learned of this transaction, he was very indignant, applying abusive epithets to Herron and telling him he had no interest in the property.”
A quiet Sunday trip to church turns to tragedy for the Kellogg family after a pair of startled horses wreck their wagon in a field of stumps.
“Suffer little children to remain at home and bring them not, for verily I say unto you, it is far better for them to quietly repose in their trundle beds than to be weeping and wailing and gnashing their gums.”
Federal authorities captured a launch near Whidbey Island, but the white smugglers escaped into the night, leaving eight Chinese laborers behind.
“After a half-hour's chase he overhauled her, but he found only eight Chinamen aboard, the white men in charge having escaped to land in a small boat in the darkness.”
A grisly discovery in the woods near the railway tracks in Whidbey leads to a desperate search for answers.
“An examination of the remains showed that her hands and arms had been cut off and carried away.”
While traveling by water for a political campaign, a local Judge slips from the deck of a steamer and nearly loses his life in the sound.
“Judge Wood stepped up on the rail of the little craft to let a gentleman pass him, when his foot slipped and he fell overboard.”
Federal inspectors attempt to enforce the Chinese Exclusion Act on Whidbey Island, but most of the residents successfully evade capture by fleeing into the woods.
“The rest of the Mongolians, learning of the approach of the officers, took to the woods and so cleverly concealed the locations of their hiding places that they could not be found.”
Customs officials miss a boatload of undocumented Chinese immigrants by an hour, highlighting the cat-and-mouse game on the Puget Sound.
“One hour before the boat with the contrabands had been there. At Everett next day the supposed smuggler lay quietly at the wharf, but all evidence had disappeared.”
With $100,000 in capital and 10,000 acres, outside investors promised a prune empire, new roads, wharves and Eastern colonies — but insisted they were not selling a townsite.
“The company has no intention of putting a townsite on the market, the intention being solely to sell land for fruit-growing purposes.”
A collision between the Willamette and the Premier led to a $20,000 legal battle over rescue services rendered near Whidby Island.
“It is alleged that the steamship gave three whistles as a signal of distress.”
An unidentified logger is found decomposed on the beach, sparking a coroner's inquiry.
“A spring back knife, red bandanna and a piece of tobacco were found in his pockets.”
A local correspondent dispatches a vivid account of agricultural modernization on Whidbey Island, capturing the shift from back-breaking scythe work to the era of mechanized farming.
“In the past, he employed a number of men with hand scythes, making it a long and expensive job; wages were then $2 per day and board. Now, this gentleman is fully alive to the requirements of 1877.”
A group of twenty young ladies establish a summer encampment in the wilderness of Whidbey Island, embracing the freedom of life away from the city.
“They are enjoying the quiet of the wilderness and the freedom of the outdoors, far removed from the constraints of city society.”
No stories match these filters.
Try a wider date range, another category, or clear everything and start again.
All 12 stories shown
Browse them all as a list →