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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
- Union and Non-Union Seamen Clash at Port Townsend
A saloon becomes a battleground as a labor dispute over shipping jobs descends into a violent, armed confrontation.
- The Waterfront War of 1891
A two-hour standoff between striking sailors and city officials paralyzes Port Townsend, leading to arrests and a near-riot.
- Fifteen Minutes to Confess: The Morphine Trial of Port Townsend's Captain De Lion
A former mayor, Chilean consul and dry-dock promoter worth half a million dollars sits in superior court while his emaciated wife describes a year of morphine, delusion and a pocket watch set on the table between them.
- The Strange Odyssey of Princess Louisa
A royal daughter from the Gambier Islands, held in forced labor in Port Townsend, finds her way to freedom through the help of a sympathetic sergeant.
- The Beachcomber and the Princess
A Canadian man is jailed after a gruesome discovery near Victoria harbor, linked to an elopement with a Tahitian princess.
- Marriage at the Center of an Exclusion Crisis
A Seattle couple's travel plans are halted by the Chinese Restriction Act, sparking a legal struggle for their right to move freely.
- Puget Sound Out-Sailed Every U.S. Port but New York in 1894
Customs records showed a young Washington district building an Oriental trade from scratch, even as falling wheat and lumber values masked the boom in raw tonnage.
- The Charcoal Burner Who Confessed to a Killing the Birds Made Him Do
Arrested for stealing chickens, Ah Wah turns out to be Ah Chung — the Port Townsend murderer who told police where to find his partner's body, and was saved from the gallows by two volunteer lawyers and a story about blue jays.
- The Forced Deportation of Mrs. Lee Fook Bow
Customs officials seized the steamer Umatilla to enforce a federal court order, ultimately compelling the shipping company to return a Chinese woman to China under the restrictive immigration laws of 1892.
- A Cook's Desperate Pursuit—and a Wife Who Wanted Out
Louis Pesardi followed his estranged wife from Seattle to Port Townsend, then shot himself when she refused to return—a domestic tragedy reported as a love story.
- Fatal Wharfside Shooting Leaves Town in Uproar
A long-standing feud ends in murder on Union Wharf, with the suspect fleeing by boat as the community demands accountability from local law enforcement.
- The Fishhook Baited With Human Flesh
In a Port Townsend hotel, a sailor displays the improvised wire hook that kept survivors of the wrecked whaler James Allen alive after the disaster in Bering Sea.
- Smallpox Outbreak in Port Townsend
The port faces a health crisis after an Indian crew member is landed ashore with smallpox, sparking panic and strict quarantine measures.
- The Opium Smugglers of the Idaho
A federal investigation uncovers a massive scheme to hide contraband in the bilges and barrels of a Pacific steamship, revealing a deep culture of corruption in the Sound’s maritime trade.
- The Waterfront Vigilante: A Seattle Harbor Scandal
A customs official and a boatman ambushed a crew of sailors returning to shore at Point Hudson, leading to a senseless shooting that left a seaman's life hanging in the balance.
- The Opium Runners of Port Townsend
Customs inspectors engage in a high-stakes boat chase after catching smugglers unloading contraband in the dead of night.
- The Tragic Wreck of the Steamer Tacoma
Captain George D. Korts faces an official inquiry into the catastrophic loss of the vessel, revealing a series of navigational errors and failed rescue attempts.
- The Shadowy Traffic of the Northern Coast
Authorities mobilize as reports emerge of a vessel smuggling Chinese nationals and opium into the Pacific Northwest.
- The 'Whisky Trade' at Port Townsend
A British gunboat captures twelve Indigenous prisoners following violent disorder fueled by the illegal supply of American spirits across the border.
- Tragedy in the Woods: Storm Claims Lives at Crescent Bay
A young family seeking shelter from a gale-force windstorm in the woods meets a sudden, heartbreaking end when a falling tree strikes their home.
- The Custom House Scandal: A Betrayed Deposit
A missing payment of gold coin in a shipping manifest sparks a corruption investigation in Port Townsend, shaking public faith in the local customs office.
- The Great Port Townsend Customs Scandal
A federal grand jury uncovers a decade-long scheme of extortion and record-tampering at the Port Townsend custom house, where officials pocketed fees and forced local shipping firms to play along.
- The Runaway's Plea for Mercy
A teenage girl escapes her abusive uncle and aunt in Port Angeles, only to be detained by Port Townsend police while trying to return to the only home she ever knew.
- A Scandal in Port Townsend
A Superior Court judge abruptly shutters his court amid intense pressure from the local bar association and calls for his impeachment.
- The 'Kid Mayor' of Michigan Found in Port Townsend
A brilliant young con artist once known as the 'Kid Mayor' has fled the Washington Territory after his real identity—and a trail of fraudulent bonds—finally caught up with him.