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| Year | Stories |
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69 stories
- Vigilante Mob Executes Prisoners in Oysterville Jail
After the supreme court granted a new trial to two men accused of murder, a Pacific County mob took matters into their own hands, storming the jail and killing the suspects.
- The Salmon Strike That Moved an Industry: How Columbia River Fishermen’s Union Priced Themselves Out of Business
In February 1898, a Chicago buyer predicted that the fishermen's demand for higher wages would force salmon canneries to abandon the Columbia River for Alaska—a prediction that came true within a decade.
- The Wild West of Willapa Bay
Tensions boil over as armed citizens and rival officials fight a desperate 'seat war' to determine the county capital.
- South Bend’s Mill Burns While the Hose Company Stays Home
The Willapa Cedar Lumber Company’s mill and dry house burn to the ground; a kerosene-soaked fireball and a short hose supply leave the town reeling.
- Mill Owners Battle State Over Waterfront Rights
A major lumber company files an injunction to stop the State Harbor Line Commission from seizing mill property and wharves under new, secret harbor mapping.
- Washington Wins Its Tide Lands—and Willapa Oystermen May Finally Get Title
A federal ruling clears the way for state ownership of tide lands, threatening South Bend's mill wharf while offering squatters on Willapa Harbor a path to legal claim.
- They Robbed the Dead as the Surf Came In
A Pacific County newspaper condemned beach scavengers who stripped bodies and trunks after a shipwreck—and recalled the shame of the Grace Roberts disaster.
- The Mob Gathers in South Bend
An early 1891 town hall meeting in South Bend marks the rising tide of exclusionary organizing in Chehalis County.
- The Sleeping Judges of South Bend
A contest arises in Pacific County after election officials allegedly fell asleep during the vote count.
- The Mystery of the Sands
A decomposed body found bound and weighted on the beach near Bay Center leaves investigators with a gruesome crime and no suspect.
- A Deadly Christmas Eve Dispute in Willapa
A drunken argument over railroad work ended in a shooting at a gravel pit, leaving a respected foreman dead and his killer in jail.
- Ballot Stuffing Allegations in South Bend
A heated challenge to the results of a Pacific County election alleges voter fraud and negligence after poll workers allegedly slept through the count.
- A Desperate Three-Hour Struggle in Willapa Bay
A mother fighting the tides and the wind after her sailboat capsized managed to save both her young children before rescue arrived.
- The Oysterville Affair Remains Unpunished
A prosecutor declines to pursue charges in a notorious Pacific County incident, admitting that a jury conviction would be impossible.
- The Wedding of Sally Feet
A rare glimpse into the life of an Indigenous bride and her Chinese groom in the 1880s, amidst the backdrop of strict exclusion laws.
- The Bold Bid for a New Pacific Emporium
Speculators and city-builders are betting millions on a new town at the mouth of the Columbia River, hoping to eclipse Portland and Victoria as the premier trading hub of the North.
- The Nahcotta Bear Fighter
A meat market man from the coast fends off an angry mother bear using only his boot.
- Expulsion of Chinese Laborers
Two Chinese men arrested at a cannery are sent to McNeil Island before deportation.
- The Cranberry Harvest and a Divided Labor Force
A report on the burgeoning Pacific County cranberry industry reveals the reliance on Chinese labor and the exclusionary sentiment of the era.
- Ilwaco Cannerymen Fight the Introduction of Catfish
Local industry experts warn that catfish will destroy the salmon population in Washington waters.
- The Midnight Saloon Heist in Ilwaco
When a business dispute turned into a border-crossing caper, one saloonkeeper decided to settle the ownership question by boat in the dead of night.
- Shingleweavers Push for Living Wages and Health Protections
Organized labor in the Pacific Northwest votes to standardize mill pay and fight predatory company-mandated insurance schemes.
- The Tragic Final Voyage of the Schooner Frank W. Howe
A lumber-laden schooner breaks apart near Ilwaco after a week of suffering at sea, claiming two lives.
- The Ghostly Search for a Lost Sailor
When a sailor drowned at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1876, his grieving colleagues turned to a grim folk remedy to recover his body.
- The Fight Over the River
Washington's Fish Commissioner clashes with Oregon courts over the right to arrest fishermen on the Columbia River.