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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 8 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 11 |
| 1879 | 3 |
26 stories
- Turning Marsh into Gold
Farmers on the Swinomish flats have completed a massive infrastructure project to reclaim thousands of acres of marshland for agriculture.
- The Dream of Ship Harbor
A speculative report on a new settlement near Fidalgo Island that promised to control the wealth of the Snohomish and Skagit valleys.
- The Exclusionary Pledge of La Conner
A frontier town in the Swinomish Flats organizes a formal, collective boycott against Chinese residents, highlighting the intense racial tensions of the 1870s Pacific Northwest.
- The Great Diking Effort of Swinomish
Farmers on the Skagit and Swinomish are transforming thousands of acres of marshland into fertile fields through a massive, coordinated engineering effort.
- The Skagit's Buried Treasure
A survey of the booming coal prospects near the Skagit River, and the physical toll extracted from the pioneers who first uncovered them.
- Gold Fever and Tribal Tensions: A Dispatch from the Sauk Mines
Returning from the mountains, a prospector describes the arduous reality of mining the Sauk, while reflecting on Chief Moses’s urgent plea to live in peace with settlers outside of the reservation system.
- The Log Jam That Held Back the Skagit
Settlers bet their savings on cutting a channel through a massive timber jam—and begged Sound steamboat captains to link the Skagit to Seattle.
- The Town That Rose from the Jam: Mount Vernon’s Wild Start
A new settlement is sprouting along the Skagit River, fueled by loggers, surveyors, and a patriotic name change.
- Defying the 'Sassy' Indians on the Skagit
A party of explorers ventures deep into Snohomish's wild interior, clashing with local tribes and staking claims on land 'no white women live above.'
- The Tragedy on the Skagit River
A routine river crossing turned fatal for a laborer and his companion, highlighting the constant peril of frontier travel.
- The Agricultural Transformation of the Skagit Flats
Decades of diking and draining have turned tide lands into some of the most productive agricultural soil in the world.
- Taming the Skagit Tide Lands
Early farmers in the Skagit Valley share sworn affidavits proving the extreme fertility of reclaimed tide lands, boasting of massive grain harvests.
- The passing of a pioneer sheriff
Edwin T. Dodge, a veteran of the California gold rush and early lawman who helped dismantle legendary highwayman gangs, has died at the Occidental Hotel.
- Trapped in a Gale on the Salish Sea
A rough winter crossing from Port Townsend to Friday Harbor turns into a life-or-death struggle against the unforgiving winds of the Straits.
- The Unluckiest Farmer on the Swinomish Flats
Samuel Calhoun had already lost a fortune in grain. Then the steamer Dispatch capsized with another $1,000 of his crop aboard.
- The River Opens: First Steamboat Conquers the Skagit's North Fork
After settlers cleared the jam at La Conner, Captain Hill’s vessel became the first to navigate the treacherous waters of the North Fork, unlocking a new era for the region.
- The 'No Chinese Employed' Sign at the River Side Hotel
A hotel proprietor in the Skagit Valley advertises his business with a exclusionary labor policy reflecting the era's intense nativist sentiment.
- The Boom Town on the Skagit
As La Conner transformed into a bustling grain-shipping hub, new docks and storefronts sprouted along the Swinomish Slough to accommodate the region's agricultural explosion.
- The Temperance Experiment: A Dry Billiard Parlor in La Conner
An 1878 advertisement for a local business offers a look at the unconventional rise of 'temperance billiard halls' that combined community recreation with strict abstinence.
- Pioneering the Skagit River Frontier
As the formidable log jam on the Skagit River begins to break, early settlers recount the hardships of establishing permanent homes in the wild, mud-soaked territory of 1878.
- The Tide Marsh Farmer's Million-Dollar Pitch
A La Conner entrepreneur calls for local investment to stop the exodus of grain wealth, offering land to any miller willing to set up shop.
- The Skagit River Breakup
A pioneer logging venture dissolves as a partner exits the river operations to seek his fortune elsewhere.
- The Skagit Jam Co. Dissolution Notice
A public declaration marks the formal withdrawal of a member from a territorial logging cooperative.
- The Social Pulse of La Conner
A historic advertisement for a local billiard saloon highlights the center of community life in 19th-century La Conner, where the rules of order were as important as the game itself.
- The Maryland House Offers a Temperance Haven
An early advertisement for a boarding house in La Conner promises 'No Liquor Sold,' marking a firm stance against the rowdier trade of the era.