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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 421 |
| 1877 | 288 |
| 1878 | 80 |
| 1880 | 80 |
869 stories
- The Engineer’s Ash-Box Ghost: A Tale of New Year’s Eve Peril
In a column dated October 1870, the Seattle Daily Intelligencer reprints a harrowing tale from an old engineer about surviving a wreck by hiding under his locomotive's ash pan during a blizzard.
- The Great Smokestack Hoax: Seattle’s Mountain Top Mystery
In 1873, local entrepreneur S. W. Peck convinced the city that a legendary 'living rod' lay buried atop American Flat. His desperate drilling operation reveals more about the era's speculative fever than geological truth.
- The Auditor and the Sheriff: A Public Spat Over Corruption
In the lead-up to the 1876 election, a public war of words between King County's Auditor and former Sheriff exposes the messy, opaque, and highly questionable state of territorial bookkeeping.
- The Town That Almost Reached a Thousand
In 1876, Seattle's growing pains were measured by the ballot box, as the bustling port struggled to tally its transient maritime population.
- Seattle's Grand New Courthouse Plans Unveiled
Architect Isaac Palmer presents a bold, brick-and-mortar vision for the corner of Third and Jefferson, signaling the city's aspirations for civic permanence.
- The Struggle to Save the Harbor
Engineers and locals debate the best way to keep Seattle's waterfront from choking on silt and debris in 1876.
- The Funeral Boat on the Black River
A funeral party's journey home from Renton to Seattle is upended when their steamer breaks down, forcing a mud-caked, cross-country trek by wagon.
- The Siege of the Waterfront Hoodlums
A wave of unprovoked violence by organized gangs of youths in Seattle reaches a breaking point when a young girl is struck by a thrown stone.
- The Potato Famine That Never Left the Sound
A century and a half ago, Seattle farmers lamented the mysterious collapse of the Puget Sound potato trade, marking the end of a boom that once promised regional prosperity.
- The Nine-Inning Scandal at the Old Exchange
A local baseball game ends in a high-stakes confrontation that reads like a pulp novel, leaving one man bitter and another victorious.
- The Brutal Genie of the River Valley
An 1876 editorial reflects on the cyclical devastation of Washington’s river floods and why farmers never seem quite ready for the waters to rise.
- The Hidden Fortune of the Seattle 'Miser'
A young man arrives in the Territory with a half-million-dollar inheritance, yet lives in total poverty—until a secret letter reveals his true, noble motive.
- The Struggle for Tax Equity in 1876
A Seattle editorial argues that delinquent property taxes and legal loopholes are placing an unfair burden on the public, demanding legislative reform for the growing territory.
- The Next Pittsburg: Seattle’s Coal Rush
A new mine opens across the Cedar River, fueling hopes that the young city of Seattle will soon become a major center for iron and coal production.
- The Tragic End of a Traveling Grifter
A notorious card shark is declared insane by the courts after a life spent deceiving folks from British Columbia to Virginia City.
- The Strange Case of the County's Vanished Property
A legal battle over the former Collins claim reveals a messy history of county mismanagement, secret land deals, and invalid property sales.
- The School Budget Crisis of 1877
Seattle’s public schools faced a complete shutdown due to a $1,500 deficit, forcing local leaders to choose between debt, taxes, or cutting the school year short.
- The Futility of Policing Morality
An 1877 editorial from the Puget Sound region challenges the effectiveness of prohibitionists attempting to legislate temperance via 'paper petitions.'
- The Forged Signature and the Legal Loophole of Marriage
A husband accuses his wife of forgery for signing his name, only to have a judge dismiss the case based on the legal doctrine of coverture.
- The Jailhouse Audit: Seattle's 1877 Infrastructure Battle
Before the city's modern boom, King County commissioners were locked in a tense legal standoff over the construction costs of the local jail.
- The Case for 'Made in Seattle' Ships
An 1877 editorial argues that Seattle’s abundant timber and cheap labor should make it a maritime powerhouse rather than a consumer of imported vessels.
- The Great Cordwood Opportunity
In 1877, a local editor saw a path to economic prosperity by shipping the dense forests of the Puget Sound to a treeless San Francisco.
- The Road to Riches: Seattle’s $33,000 Gamble on the Snoqualmie Pass
In March 1877, local editors urged citizens to fund a toll road through the mountains, arguing that the vast grain fields east of the Cascades were Seattle's only true economic future.
- The Schoolhouse That Wasn't: Seattle’s Bureaucratic Battle Over Public Education
In 1877, a local dispute over the construction of a new school in Helltown reveals the early struggles of civic infrastructure and the tension between taxpayer demands and administrative delay.
- The Steamboat Duel: Annie Stewart vs. The Messenger
In a race for passengers and profit on Puget Sound, two steamers engaged in a high-speed chase that ended with the Annie Stewart arriving five minutes ahead of her rival.