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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 421 |
| 1877 | 288 |
| 1878 | 80 |
| 1880 | 80 |
869 stories
- The Mud-Trap at the Old Seattle Gas Works
A young delivery driver narrowly escapes a watery grave after his team sinks into the treacherous quicksand of the tide flats.
- The Unfinished Ditch That Could Have Remade Seattle
An 1877 proposal to carve a channel between Lake Washington and the Sound highlights the ambitious—and forgotten—infrastructure dreams that once defined the city’s early development.
- The City’s Refusal to Put Prisoners to Work
An 1877 editorial slams Seattle’s leadership for failing to use jail inmates to clear public road obstructions, citing the 'delicate hands' of the prisoners.
- The Runaway Wife and the Saloon-Keeper's Fury
When a miner from Newcastle charged into Seattle hunting his wife, he found a city that prioritized refuge over his domestic control.
- The Man Who Thought He Was a Millionaire: A Seattle Mental Health Tragedy
In April 1877, a man wandering the streets of Seattle claimed his parents were murdered and he was retrieving buried fortune. After assaulting a stranger with a dagger, he was committed to an asylum.
- The Night Watchman's Duel: Officer Thorndike Wrestles Pistol from Drunkard in Seattle Jail
A violent struggle inside the local jail cell block leaves an officer battered but victorious after a prisoner attempts to shoot his way out.
- The Great Hotel Heist That Wasn't: How Seattle’s Gamblers Were Fooled by a Fake Fortune
A broken-down cardsharp named 'Splitcheck Jimmy' was tricked into stealing an envelope full of newspaper, only to be ambushed by actors in a staged robbery at the St. Denis Hotel.
- The Gold Rush That Wasn't: How Seattle’s Prospectors Fooled the Town
In May 1877, a wave of excitement swept through Seattle over reports of rich gold deposits on the Nootsack River. But when the 'prospectors' finally arrived with their claims, it turned out to be an elaborate confidence trick designed to drain the town's cash reserves.
- The Confidence Man’s Tears: How a Thief Fooled His Victim and the Court
In May 1877, Seattle confidence operator Dowd was granted a change of venue after moving his robbery victim to tears with a sob story about his destitute family. The District Attorney’s lenient stance sparked outrage among citizens who feared the law was too soft on crime.
- The Night the City Tried to Eat Itself: A Confidence Man’s Flight Through the Woods
In May 1877, a swindler stole cash from a saloon, fought off a citizen, and fled into the Seattle wilderness—only to be caught by an officer hiding among ruins at dawn.
- The Ice Water Gambit: How a Seattle Drifter Was Framed for Theft
A local vagrant was doused in freezing water and coerced into a false confession by a cunning runner, only to be caught red-handed on Third Street.
- The Doctor’s Disappearing Act
A Sacramento physician abandons his wife, fakes his departure for Oregon, and is tracked to a Seattle hotel by the Chief of Police.
- The Sisters' Sanctuary on Fifth Street
In 1878, the Sisters of Charity opened Seattle’s first formal hospital, establishing a legacy of public health and care for the city’s 'afflicted and homeless.'
- The Man Who Bought His Own Death
In a Seattle saloon in 1877, a gambler named 'Hilly Hacker' was challenged by a stranger with a shotgun. Hacker’s response? He bet the man $50 that he could buy him 20,000 shares of stock at a higher price before the market opened—proving his nerve was stronger than any weapon.
- The Million-Dollar Ticket: How Seattle Bet Its Future on a Lottery
In 1876, the city’s most prominent businessman launched a massive lottery to fund a mountain road, offering a steam sawmill valued at $100,000 as the grand prize.
- The Great Congressional Shutdown of 1876
A historic clash between the House and Senate left federal workers across the country—and the crew of a local Revenue Cutter—stranded without pay.
- The Right to Testify
A Seattle magistrate clarifies that Indigenous people in Snoqualmie Precinct have the legal standing to sue in civil court and testify in trials.
- The Dignity of the Oyster Bar
A young woman, destitute after her father's death, finds that the labor market is far more welcoming than her former social circle.
- The Struggle for the Northern Pacific Rails
As Congress debates extending the deadline for the Northern Pacific Railroad, local settlers face the double-edged sword of promised prosperity versus the loss of homestead land.
- The Great Seattle Land Grab: How the Maynard Donation Claim Stalled City Growth
A legal dispute over the Catherine Maynard Donation Land Claim reveals the messy, high-stakes battle for ownership of Seattle’s central waterfront in the late 19th century.
- Blood on the Tracks: The Renton Saloon Brawl of 1877
A card game, a wrestling match, and a concealed knife turned a quiet evening into a deadly tragedy in Renton.
- The City’s First Legal Battle: Seattle vs. the Man Who Owned the Water
In April 1877, just months after Seattle was incorporated, the new Common Council authorized a lawsuit against Henry Yesler—the very man who built the city's first mill and gave it its name—over a dispute that would define municipal power.
- The Tax War That Almost Killed Seattle's Economy
In 1877, a federal order threatened to strip Seattle of its tax base by forcing steamships to register their 'home port' in Port Townsend. The local press warned that without this revenue, the county would collapse.
- The Boom That Busted
Reflecting on the 'mushroom' growth and subsequent economic fallout of 1870s Seattle, a local editor recounts a tale of over-speculation, debt, and the volatile reliance on steamship-driven growth.
- The Letter Lost in the Cracks
For twelve years, a village woman waited for a lover who never called, unaware that her promise to join him in China had been trapped behind a post office counter all along.