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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 33 |
| 1893 | 39 |
| 1894 | 23 |
| 1895 | 24 |
133 stories
- The Sack Famine Hits the La Conner Flats
Farmers face a crippling shortage of grain sacks, threatening the season's oat harvest as dealers refuse to speculate on the necessary supplies.
- A Ninety-Foot Fall Down an Icy Mountain—and He Walked Away
William Wade tumbled down a steep incline in the Cascades while hunting mountain goats, bounding off icy benches before disappearing under a snowbank. He survived with bruises and a sprained ankle.
- The Hidden Wealth of the North Cascades
New mineral discoveries near the head of the Cascade Pass, including the massive QuinnSabie ledge, promise to turn the wilderness into a mining powerhouse as the railroad approaches.
- The Sudden Boom of McMurray
A newly minted railroad station on Lake McMurray transforms a quiet forest into a bustling industrial hub almost overnight.
- The Skagit County Courthouse Squabble
Mount Vernon citizens clash over the location of a new county building, fearing fire hazards and rising rents.
- The Vanishing Contractor of Mount Vernon
A local builder leaves behind unpaid debts and a trail of questions after vanishing from Mount Vernon on a midnight train.
- The Tiny Republic of Anacortes: Boys, Shells, and Self-Government
In 1893, a group of Anacortes boys turned beachcombing into a natural-history club with a constitution, dues, and an exhibition that drew the whole town.
- Seattle Money Cuts a Trail to the Mines
Businessmen in the city fund a route up the Skagit Valley so pack trains can reach Slate Creek — and a volunteer road builder promises work will start at once.
- Mount Vernon and Anacortes Vie for County Seat
Skagit County faces a power struggle as petitioners move to shift the county seat from Mount Vernon to Anacortes.
- The Birth of the Skagit County Shingle Manufacturers' Association
Twelve local mills consolidate their power at Woolley, promising to fix prices and secure state-level influence.
- The Battle for the Cascade Pass
Skagit County residents argue that the state’s proposed route for a cross-Cascade wagon road is a geographic absurdity designed only for political patronage.
- The Manure War of Skagit County
A dispute over a pile of fertilizer between neighbors escalated into a shotgun confrontation on the county line.
- Inside Job Suspected at Mount Vernon Depot
The Great Northern depot in Mount Vernon was robbed of $40 in cash, suggesting the thief had intimate knowledge of the office.
- Fire in the Skagit Woods
A fire in the Skagit Valley destroys Duncan's logging camp, dump and cedar logs, sending a smoke cloud over the valley.
- Populists Nearly Come to Blows Over Their Own Platform
Fifty-five delegates, a hall full of converted Republicans and Democrats, and two competing sets of resolutions in Mount Vernon — the new People's Party of Skagit County almost wrecked itself before it named a single candidate.
- A County Assessor, a Restaurant Keeper’s Wife, and a $10,000 Scandal
Mount Vernon’s county assessor is accused of stealing the affections of a restaurant keeper’s wife—who has reportedly fled to Seattle.
- The Man Who Tried to Drown Himself—and Then Vanished
A former Mount Vernon liveryman and stagecoach mail driver, remembered for jumping into the Skagit and swimming out because the water was too cold, is pulled from the river months later.
- Shingle Weavers Say Railroads and Brokers Are Gutting Their Pay
A Mount Vernon letter warns that a fight over state shingle weights is really a fight over whether workers get a fair price.
- The Trail Into the Slate Creek Gold Camp
Miners were shoveling snow off high Cascade claims while a volunteer crew, bankrolled in part by Seattle merchants, pushed a pack trail up the Skagit.
- The Skagit Valley's Endless Harvest
While the rest of the country faced the winter chill of 1891, gardeners in Skagit County were picking fresh blackberries and watching peas bloom in the open air.
- The Boom Town That Wasn't: A 1891 Real Estate Pitch
Before the land was logged or the mines were fully opened, developers promised a metropolis on the shores of Lake McMurray—selling 'the coming city' on a dream of coal, timber, and sandstone.
- The Tragedy of Mamie's Pet Deer
A pet deer, raised with the freedom of a house cat, is senselessly killed by a hunter in the Skagit Valley.
- The Saloon Brawl That Mistakenly Made Headlines
A tavern fight in Hamilton, Washington, turned into a minor civic ordeal when a local justice of the peace panicked and assumed a man had been murdered.
- The Passionate Letters of a Skagit Rancher
A middle-aged man is arrested after his illicit love letters to a married woman in Illinois are discovered following her death.
- Setting the Record Straight on a Mount Vernon 'Brawl'
A local business leader defends his reputation against false reports of a deadly saloon fight.