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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
- The Pilot’s Plea for Protection
A Puget Sound pilot is found cutting wood for a living because the lack of regulation has made the profession impossible to sustain.
- A Wood Wagon Sank in the Mud Outside Good Templars' Hall
A Port Townsend editor told the new town trustees to fix existing roads before launching grand new ones—after neighbors had to unload Peter Smith's wagon to free it.
- The Trial of Ferdinand Falkenbarg
A shooting incident involving the 'Duke of York' and his family sparks outrage in Port Townsend, revealing the complex, fading status of local Indigenous leaders in the frontier era.
- The Waterfront Cold War: Seattle's 1888 Seamen's Strike
Tensions boil over on the Puget Sound as sailors fight a planned wage reduction, leading to a massive standoff in Port Townsend.
- The Tragedy of a Wealthy Wanderer
After years of traveling from China to Alaska, a woman known as Ida Williams attempts to end her life in Port Townsend.
- The Violent End of a Beachcomber Feud in Port Townsend
A long-standing quarrel between two ex-soldiers in Port Townsend culminates in a fatal shootout on the beach.
- Canada’s Naturalization Papers Denied at the Border
Federal authorities reject the residency status of Chinese British subjects, sparking a test case for immigration restrictions.
- The Struggle for a Family’s Right to Stay Together
A Chinese merchant battles in federal court after immigration authorities refused his wife entry to the United States.
- A Fatal Tiller Blow on the Sound
A pioneer fisherman faces manslaughter charges after a tragic, unintended killing of a close friend.
- The Sealing Wars: Customs vs. Navy
Tensions rise at Port Townsend as federal authorities clash over how to enforce restrictive sealing laws on local schooners.
- The Mine That Wasn’t? A Captain Denies a Half-Million-Dollar Gold Swindle
An English capitalist’s suit against Alaska millionaires turned a Port Townsend sailing into a Pacific Coast sensation, with charges of swapped ore, gold-soaked drill cores, and a forceful denial from Capt. James Carroll.
- Judge Greene Slaps Down Legal Nitpicking
A Territorial judge refuses to let a clerical error in the law strip working teamsters of their property exemptions.
- The Card Sharps Who Picked the Wrong Captain—and Sailed to Peru
Two Seattle gamblers went to Port Townsend to fleece the master of the British ship Dimsdale. He found out, shanghaied them both, and set sail for Callao.
- The Brutal Reality of Being 'Shanghaied' in Puget Sound
A survivor recounts the terrifying process of being drugged and forced onto a deep-sea vessel, exposing the dark side of local maritime labor practices.
- The Starving Crew of the Iroquois
A US Navy vessel arrives in Port Townsend after a harrowing, months-long drift across the Pacific, leaving its crew near starvation.
- The Relocation of the Customs House
Citizens of Port Townsend are reeling after reports that the Custom-House is being moved to satisfy political land speculators.
- Shipping Magnates Prepare for War Against Sailors' Union
The Ship Owners' Association of the Pacific Coast is moving to break the power of the sailors' union on Puget Sound by opening branch offices for non-union hiring.
- The $100,000 Tugboat Dispute
A steamship's distress call near Port Townsend has triggered a massive legal battle over salvage rights and the true peril of the Pacific.
- The Smallpox Ship at the Wharf
In September 1876, Port Townsend citizens met at the Old Court House to demand accountability after the steamer Dakota brought smallpox into their port.
- The Coin Toss That Named Portland — and the Man Who Founded Port Townsend
A.M. Pettygrove comes back to the town he laid out in 1851, and the Argus retells how a flipped coin gave Portland its name, how a claim was sold for $5,000 in cash and leather, and how a Puget Sound bluff became a city.
- Robert Ingersoll’s Warning to the Washington Clerk
The famous orator and freethinker warns young men against the soul-crushing nature of government bureaucracy in Washington D.C.
- A Convent Escape and a Steamer Waiting: The Elopement That Ended in Port Townsend
When her parents opposed the match on religious grounds, Mary Emma Kealy was cloistered in a convent. She escaped in a carriage, reached a waiting steamer, and married Ward Debeck in Port Townsend.
- The Boomtown That Expected to Replace Seattle
In 1888, the 'Key City' of Port Townsend was convinced its massive rail subsidy and harbor status would make it the primary metropolis of the Pacific Northwest.
- The 'Key City' Hype Machine: A 19th-Century Real Estate Fever Dream
Before Seattle cemented its dominance, Port Townsend was positioning itself as the 'future great city of the New Northwest,' fueled by a massive, speculative railroad subsidy.
- The Miracle of the Scalped Man
A brush with death on the frontier: a survivor recounts the chilling moment he was scalped by Indians and miraculously saved by his traveling party.