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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 37 |
| 1884 | 21 |
| 1885 | 30 |
| 1886 | 16 |
| 1887 | 59 |
| 1888 | 27 |
| 1889 | 60 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 44 |
| 1892 | 220 |
| 1893 | 223 |
| 1894 | 200 |
| 1895 | 154 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 4 |
| 1899 | 26 |
| 1903 | 54 |
| 1904 | 784 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 716 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
2,734 stories
- A Smallpox Quarantine in a Snowbound Hotel
A burst pipe left six quarantined smallpox patients without water as Tacoma's snowstorm shut down plumbers, coal deliveries and the Northern Pacific.
- Railroads Eye the Puyallup Reservation as Opening Rumors Swirl
Members of the Puyallup tribe meet to consider granting railroad right-of-way through their reservation, amid speculation that the land will be thrown open to settlers within sixty days.
- The Banker, the Preacher and the Indictments in the Pews
When a Tacoma grand jury indicted officers of the failed Merchants National Bank, the Rev. Alfred Martin used a Friday sermon to remind his congregation that ancient curses were mild compared with modern indictments.
- Tacoma's railroad 'patron saint' gets a cannon salute
New Tacoma serenaded Northern Pacific director C.B. Wright—and the Post-Intelligencer noted that Seattle had not always been his favorite town.
- Tacoma's 1894: Falling Lumber, Rising Flour, and a New Rolling Mill
The Ledger's year-end review found reasons for optimism in shipping, smelting, meat packing, and new rail connections—even as low prices cut into the lumber trade.
- Unemployment and Drink: A Death at Tacoma’s Palace Lodging House
P. N. Taylor, out of work and struggling with liquor, cut his throat beside his wife at Eleventh Street and Tacoma Avenue; he died three hours later.
- Tacoma's Fire Chief and Driver Crash on Their Way to a Blaze
A small house fire on Hood Street led to a collision at Pacific Avenue that cost driver H. M. Packenham his arm and left Chief Lillis with a possible brain injury.
- A Gold Cure Too Late for Robert J. Walker
A nephew of James G. Blaine dies in a Tacoma hospital, and the Olympia Tribune wonders whether a dubious 'bichloride of gold' treatment could have saved him.
- A Judge Draws the Line: Unions May Bargain, Not Bully
In a Tacoma courtroom, Judge Pritchard rules that workingmen may set their own terms — but cannot force an employer's hand through threats.
- Defiance Park Club Pledges Every Vote for a City-Owned Power Plant
At a meeting of the Defiance Park Improvement Club, Assistant City Attorney Baker makes the case for municipal power — and every man in the room stands up to promise his vote and his legwork.
- The Barber Who Inhaled Gas and Ran Screaming Down Pacific Avenue
A faulty gas arc left a new barber violently irrational and touched off a street struggle in Tacoma.
- The Grand Hotel Suicide and the Two Men Who Weren't There
Carl Eggert's letters, translated after his death, describe imaginary pursuers, a son lost to suicide and a small estate divided with jarring practicality.
- The Magnet in the Pocket: How a Civil War Veteran Lost a Beltful of Gold to a Grass Widow
Aged soldier, starving widow in a tent, a helpful 'mutual friend' named Hansen, a silk dress, a diamond ring — and a tale about thieves carrying magnets that drew gold straight out of a man's clothes.
- A Mother Walked Tacoma Handcuffed to Her Daughter
After two alleged kidnap attempts, Edna Reed fastened herself to her 9-year-old with silver-chained handcuffs—and dared the city to separate them.
- Divers Hunting a Sunken Safe Find a Watchman in the Harbor
While searching Tacoma harbor for a Northern Pacific safe and $14,000, Seattle divers uncovered the body of William Hansen, drowned months earlier when the pump house went down in a Thanksgiving landslide.
- Shipped Out by Force: The Sailor Who Wouldn't Sign
A Tacoma saloonkeeper lured three men to a vessel and kept them aboard against their will — now the seamen's union demands justice.
- A Mill Worker Vanishes, Leaving a Stamped Letter and a Shanghaiing Theory
J. R. Flack left his Tacoma room without his clothes or wages. His boss at Wheeler, Osgood & Co. suspects the former sailor was “shanghaied” aboard a vessel.
- Eight Months Forgotten in the County Jail
Charles K. Steele sat in the Tacoma jail awaiting trial until the evidence, the witness, and finally the prosecutor's memory all vanished — so he pleaded to a lesser charge and walked out in 90 days.
- The Runaway Gravel Car That Nearly Killed a Switchman
A gravel car cut loose on Tacoma's steep Pacific Avenue grade, tearing down the street at sixty miles an hour until a switchman leapt onto the engine's pilot to stop it — and was gravely hurt.
- The Pillowcase Vault: A Tacoma Man’s $180 Vanishes Into the Laundry
E.M. Carter hid his savings under a pillow at the Donnelly Hotel, only to leave it behind when he checked out. Thanks to a sharp-eyed police chief and a laundry room search, the money was saved from boiling soapsuds.
- The Confession That Stunned the Bench: A Stevedore’s Shameful Theft
In a Tacoma courtroom, Fred Wells didn't just admit to stealing from his sleeping bunkmate—he detailed how he lived like a king on stolen cash before being caught red-handed.
- A Midnight Mystery at the Tacoma Opera House
A man is discovered near death with a broken neck in front of the theater, leaving police with nothing but a frantic, garbled message.
- The Boomtown Frontier: A Traveler's Account of New Tacoma and the Puyallup Valley
As the Northern Pacific Railroad carves its path into the frontier, a correspondent journeys from Snohomish to witness the rapid, chaotic, and industrious birth of New Tacoma and the hop-heavy Puyallup Valley.
- A Woman's Fist Fights Off a Tacoma Street Robber
After being accosted at 11th and A, a woman turned the tables on her attacker, delivering a stinging blow that sent him fleeing into the night.
- Independence Day Fireworks Tragedy
While Tacoma celebrated with a quiet holiday, a local boy faced a life-altering injury when a cannon exploded.