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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
- A Judge Ate Candy While a Man's Life Hung on the Verdict
The state supreme court overturns a Jefferson County murder conviction after Judge Sachs reads newspapers and passes sweets on the bench — and delivers a rebuke that is the longest opinion of the term.
- A Crew Called the Iona Unseaworthy. The Cutter Called It Mutiny.
Before the Italian bark Iona could leave Port Townsend, its sailors refused to sail. A survey said the ship was sound; a revenue cutter's officer put the men in irons and warned them of a mutiny trial.
- A Dead Calm and a Disabled Engine: The Columbia Goes Ashore
The steamship Columbia struck the mouth of Puget Sound on a quiet night, her machinery useless. Passengers and mail were saved; $200,000 in cargo was not.
- The Pioneer Who Built Port Townsend's First Wharf
Captain Enoch S. Fowler, a Maine-born mariner turned merchant and officeholder, dies at 63, leaving a town shaped by his ships, wharves, and stone buildings.
- Governor Ferry Calls for a Special Election
Following a tie vote in the November 1876 election, the Governor orders a new vote for the Territorial Assembly representative for Clallam and San Juan counties.
- The Gold Rush That Wasn't: Copper River’s ‘Sickness’ and the Lie of the Trail
A prospector returns from the Copper River country with a chilling warning: the gold is gone, the camps are sick, and the 'passage' to new fields is a myth.
- The Boom on the Sound
A look at the rapid industrial and commercial expansion of Port Townsend in 1888.
- Port Townsend Doubled Its Population Without a Boom Campaign
In 1888, Port Townsend boosters promised their city would become the next San Francisco by monopolizing the region's rail and shipping trade.
- The Ghost Town That Wasn't: A Port Townsend Lament
In 1872, the residents of Port Townsend were waiting on a railroad that never arrived, stuck in a cycle of speculation and stagnation.
- The 'Sot Guilty' Scandal: How a Legal Loophole Freed a Murderer in Washington Territory
A detailed account of the chaotic grand jury proceedings in Port Townsend that resulted in the dismissal of an indictment against a man accused of killing his wife, exposing deep flaws in territorial law.
- The Paper War: Port Townsend vs. Seattle
In 1876, a small rival town accused Seattle of economic sabotage over who printed their business cards.
- Schooner Captain Charged After Attacking His Mate
Captain Ingerson of the Clara Light was arrested in Port Townsend and held on $1,000 bond after his crew testified that he kicked his mate, William Cook, in the head and face.
- A Murder on the Nooksack, and the Question of Who Pays for Justice
After Tawes killed William, the territory and the United States sparred over jurisdiction—exposing the legal limbo of non-treaty Indians in Washington Territory.
- The Newspaper War of Port Townsend
When a local political faction decided they needed a newspaper organ, the resulting publication became a scandal-mongering scandal itself.
- The Port Townsend Sewer of Defamation
A small-town attorney attempts to build a media empire on vitriol and libel, only to be dismantled by the Governor he targeted.
- The Makah Nation’s First Harvest of Grass
In an era defined by displacement, a small group of Makah Indians surprised Port Townsend residents by arriving with scythes to offer their labor in the local hay fields.
- The Boiler That Killed Safety: How Neglect Nearly Sank the Oliver Walcott
A steamboat captain’s repeated warnings about a faulty boiler were ignored by department officials until the vessel burst into the dock at Port Townsend, leaving it stranded for repairs.
- Squall Capsizes Boat Near Discovery Bay; Thomas Quinn Drowns
A logging excursion near Discovery Bay ends in a fatal struggle for survival when a sudden squall capsizes a small boat.
- The Emerald's Cargo: Opium and Chinese Laborers Seized in Puget Sound
Federal authorities seize a sloop carrying banned opium and undocumented Chinese immigrants at Port Discovery Bay, highlighting the harsh enforcement of exclusion laws in Washington Territory.
- The Jailbreak That Almost Was: A Struggle for Freedom in Port Townsend
In a dramatic afternoon at the Clallam County jail, five prisoners attempted to overpower the keeper with an axe and a garrote-style choke. Jailer Furlong’s quick draw saved the day.
- A Trail of Fire Through Port Townsend
When four hundred torch-bearers paraded the bluff at night, they turned the seaside town into a spectacular display of political theater.
- The Unlikely Peace of the Port Townsend Wharf
A cat known for its hunting prowess inexplicably raises an enormous rat alongside her own litter of kittens.
- The Sinking of the Underwriter
A tragic maritime accident in Port Townsend harbor leaves a local captain’s schooner at the bottom of the channel.
- The Jury's Defiant Verdict
A Port Townsend courtroom is stunned when a jury ignores the judge's instructions and acquits a defendant, leading to an immediate judicial rebuke.
- The Double-Cross on the Sloop Skagit
A crafty smuggler’s attempt to offload his legal liability onto his hired hand backfires after a loose-lipped celebration at a local saloon.