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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1862 | 7 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 38 |
| 1877 | 18 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 14 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 20 |
| 1889 | 18 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 42 |
| 1893 | 57 |
| 1894 | 35 |
| 1895 | 32 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1909 | 1 |
347 stories
- Fifteen Stowaways Discovered in Hyades Cargo Hold
After two weeks at sea, a search of the steamship Hyades revealed fifteen Japanese stowaways hiding among the freight.
- Steamship Tremont Collides in Heavy Fog
Dense fog leads to a collision near Marrowstone Point, stalling a major freighter's Pacific voyage.
- Fire Company Disbands, Leaving Town Unprotected
The Rescoe Engine Co. folds in Port Townsend, sparking local fears about fire safety and a desperate hope for a new steam engine.
- The Waterfront Pilotage Fight
Shipping interests and commissioners clash over proposed compulsory pilotage laws on Puget Sound.
- The Soldier and the Elopement
Despite her father's protestations, young Lillie Bolton elopes with a recently discharged soldier, sparking a threat of imprisonment from her veteran father.
- A domestic tragedy in Port Townsend
A young woman, suffering from deep despondency and fear of her relatives, takes her own life in her home while her children are away.
- The Diamond Watch in the Woods
A hunter discovers the remains of a missing San Francisco liquor merchant in the brush near Port Townsend, ending a long mystery.
- Destitute Miners Return from the Yukon
A naval vessel brings news of the Yukon gold rush: a few striking it rich while many others return empty-handed.
- A Question of Sanity and Secrets in Port Townsend
A high-stakes insanity trial hinges on medical testimony and a mysterious tin box rumored to contain exonerating evidence.
- Fire Threatens to Move the Marine Hospital
A devastating fire at the marine hospital in Port Townsend sparks fears that the facility for disabled seamen will be permanently moved to Seattle.
- The Customs Feud That Fired on a Chilean Bark
A Chilean vessel left Tacoma without clearance and was chased by a U.S. revenue cutter in Puget Sound—an international incident sparked by jealousy between Chile's local representatives.
- Port Townsend Refused to Help Seattle Dig Its Canal—Washington Still Paid for It
A Port Townsend meeting cheered resolutions against the 'Seattle ditch,' even as Congress was appropriating $100,000 to begin work on the canal.
- The Music-Hall Queen and Her Contract Husband
A Port Townsend performer known as "Shiner" says she will sue Frederick Macondray for divorce, brandishing love letters signed "My Dear Little Kid" and a marriage contract struck on Puget Sound.
- The Resolution They Had to Strike: A Port Townsend Convention and the Warrant-Forgery Fight
Jefferson County Republicans convened in Port Townsend, then recoiled when a platform resolution praised the prosecutor who had refused to pursue forgery charges against county warrant endorsers.
- Twelve Days in Jail for a Drunken Woman—and the Men Who Walked Free
A Port Townsend letter protests a double standard after a woman is locked up for disorderly drinking while the town's inebriated men go unpunished.
- The Ship That Could Be Scraped With Fingernails
A Port Townsend jury acquitted a sailor who refused duty on the bark Caroline Reed after the vessel was shown to be dangerously rotten.
- A Grand New Hotel Rises on Port Townsend's Waterfront
A three-story block with a saloon, reading room, and thirty sleeping rooms opens at Water and Washington streets—a brick-and-mortar bet on the town's future.
- The First Scythes: Makah Men Arrive in Port Townsend Looking for Work
Five men from Neah Bay came to town in 1876 to hire themselves out as mowers. A local editor praised their tools—and exposed the era's patronizing ideas about 'civilizing' Native people.
- Before the Next High Tide
An 1878 editorial warns that hauling gravel and pulling drift logs off the Point Hudson spit has already helped flood Port Townsend twice—and calls for an ordinance before the winter storms return.
- Why Is There No Sawmill on Port Townsend Bay?
With foreign lumber ships crowding the harbor and the mills all seventy miles up the Sound, the Argus does the arithmetic on what the town is throwing away.
- The Blue Glass Delusion
A local man's obsession with the 'blue glass' health craze leads to a domestic disaster involving laundry bluing and a very angry wife.
- The Sealing Monopoly Judge Swan Called a ‘Monumental Humbug’
A federal report from Port Townsend shows Puget Sound sealers thriving while a Smithsonian expert blasts the Alaska Commercial Company’s grip on the Pribilof Islands.
- A Spark on the Roof: Fire at Rothschild & Co. Spurs a Petition Against Fireworks
Quick action saved a downtown Port Townsend store from burning, and the close call prompted residents to demand a ban on fireworks within town limits.
- A Stanchion, a Log Raft, and Two Ships That Never Came Home
Wreckage found off Cape Flattery leads Port Townsend mariners to suspect a double collier disaster hidden in a tangle of drifting timber.
- The Federal Jobs That Came With Life Tenure
A new civil-service order gives Puget Sound customs officers—from deputies to private secretaries—protection that even a change of administration may not break.