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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 $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.
- The Rowdiest Port in the Pacific Northwest
An 1872 report describes the brutal realities of the maritime labor market in Port Townsend, where sailors were coerced into service and returned to shore battered and bruised.
- The Unexplained Departure of Mrs. Frite
A husband’s public notice of his wife’s desertion sparks confusion in Port Townsend, as he vows to never take her back.
- A Telegraph Prank Turned a Boat Trip into an Armed Standoff
When someone wired Port Ludlow that a steamer carried smallpox, the town's 'commercial travelers' met a wall of shotguns — and a joke got out of hand.
- Sheriff Blocks 28 Miners From Landing — a Newspaper Calls Out the 'Chronic Pauper Hunter'
In 1877, a steamboat captain brought 28 out-of-work miners from Victoria to Port Townsend. The sheriff said they were paupers and refused to let them off the boat. This Seattle editor wasn't having it.
- The Great Quarantine: Port Ludlow’s Armed Stand Against 'Commercial Agents'
In a rare display of local vigilante health policy, armed residents of Port Ludlow blocked a boat from Victoria, British Columbia, forcing it away after learning the passengers had smallpox.
- The Great Room Shortage: Port Townsend’s Hotels Burst at the Seams
As Portland investors pour money into the Puget Sound city, locals warn that seven hotels aren't enough—residents are begging for permanent housing before the next boom hits.
- The Tragedy of Point Wilson
A failed towing negotiation in Port Angeles led to a desperate, fatal attempt to sail across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- The General Who Refused to Work Sundays
A Civil War veteran turned customs official risks his government pension to stand against a 41-hour shift demand at the Port Townsend docks.
- The Unseen Color Line: A Soldier’s Rejection at Fort Townsend
A Black enlistee, accepted into the service and stationed in Washington Territory, finds himself turned away by a commanding officer who refused to honor his commission based on race.
- The Shadowy Arrival at Port Townsend
Federal authorities intercept two young Chinese men smuggled into Washington Territory as 'contraband,' exposing the illicit human trafficking trade operating under the noses of border officials.
- The Great Smuggled Salmon Caper
When federal agents boarded the steamer Idaho, they didn't just find barrels of fish—they found a desperate, high-stakes attempt to smuggle opium into the Pacific Northwest.
- Fire Ravages Port Townsend's 'Chinatown'
A morning fire levels several properties in the Chinese quarter, leaving the community to count their losses.
- The Silent Cutters of Puget Sound
A standoff at the Custom House reveals that government revenue vessels sat idle while local sailors risked their lives in the waves.
- The Mutiny at the Mines
When the National Guard refused to muster out of service after a stint at the King County mines, a military adjutant faced down his own men in a tense standoff over labor and authority.
- The Political Hatchet Job That Failed
A Port Townsend city treasurer finds himself the victim of a coordinated, sensationalist smear campaign—only for the local press to walk it back.
- The Chamber of Commerce That Committed Suicide
A political operative's attempt to sabotage Seattle’s growth leads to the total dissolution of the Port Townsend Chamber of Commerce.
- Democratic Party Leaders Brawl on Port Townsend Street
A reprimand regarding unpaid city bonds sparked a public physical fight between the city treasurer and the chairman of the county central committee.