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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 8 |
| 1877 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
12 stories
- The Bread and Butter Vote: How the Custom House Ring Rigged Port Townsend Politics
In a stunning display of patronage politics in September 1876, federal employees in Port Townsend marched in lockstep to defeat local opposition, proving that government jobs were still the ultimate political currency.
- 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 Paper War: Port Townsend vs. Seattle
In 1876, a small rival town accused Seattle of economic sabotage over who printed their business cards.
- 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 Race That Beat the Sea: How a Local Yacht Outpaced the Coast
Captain Burns’ Pacific coaster claims victory in a thrilling seven-round duel against the Dashing Wave, proving that beating to windward is what truly tells.
- 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.
- A Heartbreaking Reunion Aboard the Dakota
The final journey of a dying man and his devoted wife captures the cruel reality of terminal illness in the pioneer era.
- 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.
- A Close Call at the Port Townsend Jail
A routine arrest turns into a chaotic scene as a deputy sheriff’s pistol misfires, leaving the officer wounded during a struggle.
- The Salmon Bite
A minor fishing injury on the Columbia River turns into a race against gangrene for a young man.
- The Tragedy of Edward Panicle: A Life Cut Short by Drink and Despair
In the early days of Seattle, a native of Ireland died by suicide at Fort Ludlow, his death attributed to alcohol-induced mental instability—a stark reminder of the era's fragile social safety nets.