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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1861 | 4 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1863 | 3 |
| 1871 | 8 |
| 1872 | 110 |
| 1876 | 555 |
| 1877 | 391 |
| 1878 | 306 |
| 1879 | 15 |
| 1880 | 142 |
| 1882 | 101 |
| 1883 | 537 |
| 1884 | 336 |
| 1885 | 624 |
| 1886 | 395 |
| 1887 | 350 |
| 1888 | 330 |
| 1889 | 838 |
| 1890 | 12 |
| 1891 | 362 |
| 1892 | 1,457 |
| 1893 | 1,739 |
| 1894 | 1,323 |
| 1895 | 1,115 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 8 |
| 1898 | 24 |
| 1899 | 372 |
| 1900 | 6 |
| 1902 | 7 |
| 1903 | 164 |
| 1904 | 90 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 90 |
| 1910 | 28 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 5 |
| 1916 | 32 |
| 1917 | 11 |
| 1919 | 3 |
| 1923 | 11 |
| 1924 | 16 |
| 1925 | 5 |
| 1928 | 10 |
| 1929 | 15 |
362 stories
- The Iron War for Seattle
How the city’s early pioneers fought a cutthroat land-monopoly struggle to ensure Seattle would not be sidelined by the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- When Seattle Won the Transcontinental Sweepstakes
In 1890, the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and Union Pacific converged on Seattle, transforming the city from a remote settlement into a global Pacific terminus.
- The Railway Gold Rush: When Every Line Wanted a Piece of Seattle
In 1890, Seattle was the ultimate prize for three competing transcontinental railroads, leading to a tangled mess of franchise wars, tide flat terminal deals, and high-stakes corporate maneuvering.
- The Wharf King’s Victory: Yesler Wins Millions in Land Battle
Judge Lichtenberg rules that the state cannot seize waterfront property without paying just compensation, halting the Harbor Line Commission and protecting H.L. Yesler’s empire.
- The Relocation of the University of Washington
City Hall votes to deed away the original downtown campus to the state, paving the way for the University to move to its modern home.
- The State Paid the Troops That Faced the Coal Riots
Washington's Supreme Court ruled that militia sent to Gilman, Franklin and Newcastle during the 1891 coal-mine troubles acted in the state's service — and the state, not King County, had to pay.
- The Dentist’s Twisted Domesticity
A young bride files for divorce in Seattle, exposing a horrific cycle of abuse and control behind the closed doors of a prominent dentist’s home.
- A Courageous Rescue from Assault
A young domestic worker was saved from a violent assault in the University grounds after a bystander intervened.
- The Shadow Over Seattle: A Councilman’s Scathing Exposé of Vice
In 1891, a fiery letter from C. B. Bagley to the Post-Intelligencer accused the mayor and police chief of being puppets to the city’s most notorious gamblers and saloon-keepers.
- The Scotch Sailor Boy’s Harrowing Escape
A teenage apprentice tells the tale of his brutal treatment, false imprisonment, and survival following a shipwreck in Lower California.
- The Shadow of the Chinese Exclusion Act
Three men arrested under the 1882 Exclusion Act face deportation despite claims of residency; Judge Hanford declares the legal rights of Chinese laborers effectively suspended.
- The Waterfront War: How Seattle's Property Owners Stopped the State from Stealing Their Land
A landmark court ruling in January 1901 declares that the state cannot redraw harbor lines and seize waterfront property without paying fair compensation, marking a major victory for private ownership against government overreach.
- The Phoenix City: Seattle's Rapid Rebirth After the Great Fire
Just 18 months after the 1889 fire leveled the downtown, Seattle transformed from charred ruins into a modern metropolis of stone, steel, and electric streetcars.
- The Great Land Grab of 1890
Official records from the Seattle land office reveal a massive migration of settlers moving into Washington’s 'virgin soil,' fueling a population boom and shifting the region's economy toward private ownership.
- The King of the Hop Fields
In 1891, Washington's hop industry was a global juggernaut, fueling a million-dollar boom and transforming the Puget Sound landscape—until the lice arrived.
- The Tragedy of Mrs. Flood
A desperate attempt at self-destruction reveals the cycle of domestic abuse occurring in a downtown hotel.
- 1891 Commission Rejects Private Control of Seattle Harbor
A landmark 1891 report reveals the state's fierce battle against private interests to reclaim Seattle's tide lands and shoreline for public use.
- The City Council’s War on Williams: How Seattle Tried to Fire Its Own Engineer
A bitter power struggle between the Board of Aldermen and city engineer Benezette Williams led to a legislative loophole designed to strip him of his contract, sparking fears of costly lawsuits and stalled infrastructure projects.
- The Opium Ring and the Floating Body: A Seattle Murder Mystery
When Abner Abbott’s body was found in the tide flats, suspicion fell on a smuggling ring. Was he silenced for knowing too much about a $400 check from China?
- The Plot to Lock Up a Witness: How Greed Tried to Silence a Pioneer
William De Shaw, a respected Seattle merchant and witness to a will worth millions in British Columbia, was nearly committed to an insane asylum by land speculators who wanted his testimony silenced.
- The Thief in Blue: Police Chief Exposes Captain’s Theft of Prisoners’ Belongings
A dramatic hearing reveals Officer Fayban’s accusation that Captain Henry Sheahan stole handkerchiefs, neckties, and cash from arrested men, sparking a bitter war of words between Seattle’s top law enforcement officials.
- The Iron City That Never Was: Kirkland’s $3 Million Bet on Steel
In 1891, promoters promised to turn the shores of Lake Washington into the 'Pittsburgh of the Pacific,' selling lots for a fortune and laying tracks for a empire that would vanish within a decade.
- Death in the Ring at the People's Theater
A sparring match at a downtown variety hall turns fatal, sparking a city-wide crackdown on brutal 'glove contests'.
- Moving the University: A Fight Over Land and Legacy
Legislators and local boosters draft a plan to relocate the University of Washington and untangle decades of messy land titles.
- The Trial of Carrie Goldsmith
A police court judge hears a test case against a 'disorderly woman' that could determine the fate of dozens of others facing arrest.