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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 8 |
| 1872 | 110 |
| 1876 | 122 |
| 1877 | 95 |
| 1878 | 216 |
| 1879 | 10 |
| 1880 | 62 |
623 stories
- The Man Who Fought the Law: Riley’s Brawl with Seattle Police
In July 1876, a drunken man named Riley didn't just resist arrest—he dismantled the entire police force. It took bystanders to finally pin him down.
- The Blue Glass Cure: A Barber’s Quackery and a Seattle Elder’s Rage
In March 1877, an elderly Black man named Uncle Dan nearly came to blows with a white barber over a ridiculous 'medical' treatment involving blue window panes and sunlight.
- The Midnight Shot at the Eldorado
A quiet night in a Seattle saloon turns into a tense legal spectacle after a musician goes on a shooting spree during a restless sleep.
- The Saloonkeeper’s Gunshot on Front Street
A quiet night near the Seattle Coal Company’s bunkers was shattered when a local woman took matters into her own hands regarding a stray dog.
- A Heartrending Tragedy in Hereford Swamp
A father's desperate attempt to rescue his children from a falling tree results in a devastating loss of three lives.
- A Seattle Fish Firm Fires Its Chinese Workers — and the Paper Cheers
In 1877, Tull & Co. dismissed all of its Chinese employees and hired white men in their place, a move the Dispatch celebrated as patriotism.
- Three Children Dead in a Week: Diphtheria Stalks a Legislator's Family
Called home from the legislature by a telegram, Hon. Joseph Foster buries three children in a single week as his wife lies gravely ill with the same disease.
- The Fight Against Washington’s Land Barons
An 1877 editorial warns that unchecked land speculation in the Washington Territory is turning away settlers and creating a class of 'land fiends' who gobble up public resources.
- The Fight for the Future of Washington's Soil
An 1877 editorial warns against the 'monster evil' of land monopoly, arguing that preventing a feudal system of landlord-tenant reliance is the only way to ensure the new state's future liberties.
- The Fight for Seattle’s Soil
A 19th-century editorial warns that land monopolies and timber speculation threaten to turn Washington into a land of feudal tenants, sparking a civic debate on who truly owns the future of the Northwest.
- The Shipmate’s Miracle: A Story of Grit at Sea
A young sailor survives a hundred-foot fall and a double compound fracture, saved by the improvised surgery and steady care of his shipmates far from any port.
- The Captain Refuses to Stand Down
A political storm erupts as a county official defies a court ruling to vacate his office, claiming his popularity trumps the law.
- The Fight for the Pacific Trade
Seattle observes with anxiety as railroad titans and San Francisco money markets clash over the future of Puget Sound trade.
- Snowed In: The California Mail Famine of 1872
For thirteen days, the telegraph was the only connection to the outside world, leaving businesses and citizens reeling from the silence of the snow-blocked passes.
- The First Strike of Chinese Railroad Workers in Seattle
A brief dispatch from 1872 reports that Chinese laborers brought in by the California railroad contractors walked off the job to demand higher wages.
- The Embroidered Vow: A Victorian Romance in Seattle
When an accident leaves a young woman scarred, she retreats from society, only to discover a secret message stitched into a handmade cushion.
- The Death of the American Shipyard
In an 1873 speech, Congressman Alexander Mitchell argued that excessive taxation and protectionist tariffs were systematically destroying the American shipping industry, forcing once-prosperous shipbuilders into obsolescence.
- The Rotten Beef Scandal of 1872
When a local market was accused of selling diseased meat, the ensuing war of words revealed the thin line between journalism and extortion in early Seattle.
- A Life-Threatening Day at the Yesler Wharf
While working at the coal chutes in 1872 Seattle, a young man is crushed by a rail car, highlighting the brutal risks of the city’s early industrial backbone.
- The Deadly Cost of a 'Sporting' Joke in Sullivan County
A tragic accident near a church gathering leaves a seventeen-year-old girl dead after a careless prank with a loaded shotgun.
- The Rebirth of Seattle's Idle Mill
A dormant Seattle sawmill gets a new lease on life under San Francisco capital, signaling an era of rapid industrial expansion for the town.
- The Disappearance at Skagit Pass
While railway surveyors pushed aggressively into the wilderness to map the Pacific Northwest, a young engineer vanished without a trace, leaving behind a cold case and a community's unease.
- The Widow’s Claim: A Legal Battle Over Dower Rights
A historic Seattle property dispute reveals the complex and evolving landscape of women's property rights in 1872 Washington Territory.
- The Sailor’s Wedding: How a Mother’s Romance Survived a Son’s Revolt
In a dramatic scene on Franklin Street, a sailor and his widow bride outmaneuvered an angry young man with a revolver, proving that love—and the help of friends—can overcome even familial opposition.
- The First Teachers’ Institute: A Battle for Seattle’s Soul
In September 1872, the Territory’s top educators gathered in Seattle to debate everything from corporal punishment to the role of women in teaching, laying the groundwork for public education in Washington.