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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 330 |
| 1889 | 821 |
| 1891 | 345 |
| 1892 | 1,428 |
| 1893 | 1,737 |
| 1894 | 1,323 |
| 1895 | 1,115 |
7,099 stories
- The Jail Birth of Alice Spencer
After being turned away by the city's hospital and abandoned by her partner, a young woman finds refuge in a police cell to deliver her child.
- The Sister Superior Arrested for Concealing Smallpox
A Snohomish convent leader is captured in Seattle after fleeing authorities who sought her for hiding two sick patients during a smallpox outbreak.
- A Bullet Between Brothers
A shot fired from the darkness of a Yesler Avenue street at night narrowly missed two brothers standing in their upstairs home.
- The House That Slid Down the Street
A Seattle homeowner sues the city for ruinous damage after a street grading project leaves his property tumbling toward the thoroughfare.
- The City’s New Fire Engine Takes a Dive
A brand new, expensive fire engine rolls off a wharf and sinks into the bay during a botched test run.
- The Great Cross-Dressing Chase
A suspected shooter outwits Seattle police during a high-speed chase by shedding a wig and woman's dress, disappearing into the darkness of the waterfront.
- Seattle's Balloon Animal Cruelty Fight
The local Humane Society moves to stop a spectacle involving dogs and monkeys tied to parachutes and dropped from balloons at public parks.
- The Ghost of Sunnydale
A man arrives looking for work, strips off his clothes, and vanishes into the brush—leaving behind only a purse, a poll tax receipt, and a trail of mystery.
- James Hamilton Lewis Calms the Populist Unrest
A fiery political rally in Seattle turns into a calm plea for city loyalty during the Panic of 1893.
- The Revenue Cutter Steward’s Opium Cache
A longtime employee of the U.S. revenue cutter 'Oliver Wolcott' is arrested for smuggling opium from British Columbia, exposing a decade-long secret life.
- Arson Attempt Targets Ballard Hotel
A suspicious fire at the Ballard Hotel was thwarted by a night watchman, raising alarms about safety in the burgeoning mill town.
- A Chaotic Day on the Seattle Waterfront
Multiple steamship collisions, a warehouse fire, and a capsized picnic boat turned the Seattle harbor into a disaster zone on a single August day.
- The City Hall Standoff That Left a Man Bleeding
A laborer with a mangled foot was denied hospital care due to a convoluted bureaucratic web between the Health Officer, the police, and the Board of Public Works.
- Dying on the Doorstep of 'Reform'
A laborer assaulted with a coupling-pin is left bleeding in the street after city officials and the health officer refuse to admit him to the hospital, citing new bureaucratic squabbles.
- A Violent Assault in the Shadows of Third Street
A stranger is brutally beaten in front of a funeral home by an unknown man while a woman watches in eerie silence.
- Officer Shoots Bystander During Foot Chase
A logger is wounded in the arm by a stray bullet when a policeman fires at a fleeing shoplifter in the South Third Street district.
- The Midnight Feast and the Meerschaum Pipe
Two burglars ransacked a prominent Seattle home, paused for a multi-course meal, and were undone by an officer who spotted a stolen pipe in a pawn shop.
- The Great Telephone Switchboard Fire
A tangled mess of high-voltage arc light wires sends fireworks cascading through the central telephone exchange, nearly incinerating the entire plant.
- The Atheist of Sixth Street
A Seattle man is arrested for sending threatening, anti-religious letters to a local clergyman while attempting to frame his prosecution as a political attack.
- The Salvation Army’s Radical Winter Shelter
Facing rising unemployment and poverty, the Salvation Army transforms a Jackson Street basement into a 24-hour haven of food, warmth, and labor advocacy.
- The Mayor's Midnight Pyre
When smallpox struck an Indigenous chief in 1877, the mayor of a nascent Seattle turned to fire to stop the contagion.
- He Walked 600 Miles for Work—Then Seattle Called Him a Tramp
In a letter to the editor, Harry Wright defends the men sleeping at the City Mission, tracing his path from a Missoula hotel job to six weeks broke in Seattle.
- The Lonely Death of a Local Restaurateur
Louis Marri, owner of the Maison Riche, was found dead in his room after expressing despair over his failing business.
- Railroad War on the Waterfront
A bitter legal battle over a disputed right-of-way erupts into accusations of perjury in court as railroad crews prepare to tear down a local businessman’s building.
- The Ballard City Hall Meltdown
A local council meeting descends into chaos as officials trade corruption accusations and threats of physical violence.