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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1862 | 7 |
| 1863 | 3 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 43 |
| 1877 | 26 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 20 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 20 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 22 |
| 1889 | 18 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 47 |
| 1893 | 63 |
| 1894 | 37 |
| 1895 | 34 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
399 stories
- 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.
- A Taxpayer Fights the Assessor for Six Years — and Loses
William Craswell petitions the county board to strike fraudulent assessments from the rolls and demands back the money already taken; the commissioners refuse, then set the rates for everyone else.
- A Captain's Alaska Liquor Case Comes to Port Townsend
A federal warrant for importing liquor into Alaska and selling it to Native people sends Capt. Thomas Butler to Portland to answer the charge.
- Adlai Stevenson’s Name Was the Bait in a Port Townsend Loan Swindle
A man claiming to be the Vice President’s cousin sold shares in a building-and-loan association, promising loans on Port Townsend real estate that never came.
- The Estate That Outran Its Will
A New York inheritance officer comes to Port Townsend to sort out Ansel White's estate, where a will written before the money arrived may leave dozens of cousins fighting over a fortune.
- The Corpse in the Drifting Boat
A body found in an open boat in the Strait of Juan de Fuca leads authorities to a sealing schooner and a missing companion. Was it murder, or did both men drown?
- The Desert Town That Finally Found a Well
For years, the residents of Port Townsend relied entirely on collected rain for drinking water, fearing the earth held nothing but salt.
- The Day the Earth Shook: Seattle Ship Launches Amidst Pacific Tremors
While the bark Forest Queen was battered by an earthquake at sea, local shipwrights celebrated the launch of a new vessel in Port Ludlow, marking a moment of resilience and growth for Washington Territory.
- The Farming Pioneer of Protection Island
A bold settler bets on agriculture in the San Juan Islands, finding a thriving home where others saw only isolation.
- The Tailor’s Basket: A Drunkard’s Violent Encounter with a Chinese Laundryman
In the tense racial climate of late-19th century Port Townsend, an intoxicated tailor attempted to pick a fight with a Chinese immigrant, only to be knocked unconscious by his own laundry basket.
- The Unintended Voyage of a Victoria Day Excursionist
A man looking to celebrate the Queen's birthday ends up on an accidental odyssey across international waters after being denied passage on a ferry.
- The Unlucky Travelers of the Puget Sound
A small steamer encounters the harsh realities of the Sound, leaving passengers stranded in the fog.
- The Hunter Hunted: A Seattle Man Shot for a Bear
A Seattle man traveling to Port Townsend to file for government land is mistaken for a bear and shot by a school teacher in the dense brush.
- The Forgotten Sailors: A Call for Reform in the U.S. Navy
A seasoned veteran of the U.S. Navy writes from Port Townsend in 1886 to lament the decline of practical seamanship and the lack of decent pensions for sailors who have served their country for decades.
- Federal Request for Protection at Port Townsend
The Marine Hospital Bureau at Port Townsend expresses alarm over recent threats and requests a watchman to secure the facility.
- The Perilous Mistake of Captain Thomas Wilson
A small favor leads to a large legal headache when a Port Townsend steamer is accused of illegally transporting explosives.
- A Daughter’s Farewell in the Wilderness
When no minister could be found in the remote reaches of the Hood Canal, a grieving daughter stepped into the pulpit to deliver the final rites for her father.
- The Sea Serpent of Puget Sound
A skeptical mariner claims to have spotted a 60-foot serpent off the coast of Marrowstone Point, leaving local sailors shaken.