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1. Everett's Smelter Goes Cold, Leaving Tacoma Alone

   A lack of ore shuts the Everett works for the third time since a fire two years earlier, exposing the fragility of the Puget Sound smelting boom.

   Jan 17, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerEverett, Snohomish CountyWork & Pay · Boom & Bust

2. The Sloop-Raiding ‘Pirates’ of Puget Sound

   For years a crew of thieves raided ranches and wharves around the Sound, escaping by water—and alibiing one another in court. Now their reputed leader faces a second trial.

   Mar 27, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish, Snohomish CountyTrue Crime

3. Everett Hands Its Water Away for Fifty Years

   In a single night the council grants a private water company a half-century franchise — a free drinking fountain and city-hall water in exchange — while also founding a public library and selling off the fire team.

   May 29, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerEverett, Snohomish CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

4. Steamboat Showdown: Mabel vs. Clan McDonald on the Snohomish

   A Friday afternoon steamer race from the mouth of the Snohomish River to Priest Point drew a crowd to the Everett wharf, with both captains claiming victory.

   Jun 2, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish River, Everett, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

5. The Bear That Wouldn't Die: A Hunting Trip Nearly Ends in a Man's Jaws

   Two men empty a Winchester into a bear on the Snohomish, then discover the hard way that a wounded animal with nowhere to run will turn on the hunter.

   Jul 2, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

6. The Mail Carrier's Perilous Muck

   A routine trek between Mukilteo and Priest's Point nearly turns deadly for a mail carrier trapped in the marsh.

   Feb 29, 1872Puget Sound DispatchMukilteo, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

7. Miner Gershall Wardpil Dies by Suicide in 1872

   An itinerant worker seeking a new start in the Washington territory ends his own life, leaving behind only a watch and a pocket of cash.

   May 30, 1872Puget Sound DispatchSnohomish, Snohomish County

8. The Snow That Stole the Gold: Snohomish County’s Mining Boom Hits a Wall

   Arthur Hank, a prominent local investor, returns from Snohomish County with news of rich ore deposits—but warns that an unprecedented winter is halting development just as the region stands on the brink of becoming a major mining center.

   May 16, 1899The Seattle StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

9. The Mill That Never Was: A Snohomish Land Deal and a Promise from Washington

   While local men scramble for housing and business lots in the booming town of Snohomish, a mysterious letter from D.C. hints at federal support for a post route to Pullman, just as a major timber contract is awarded locally.

   May 13, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

10. The Tragic Death of James Riley: A Local Defense Against 'Ill-Treatment' Claims

    After a man recently sent from Snohomish to the Territorial Asylum died suddenly in Steilacoom, local papers rushed to defend their community's actions against accusations of negligence.

    Jun 17, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

11. The Secular Send-off

    When a Snohomish family rejected the fire-and-brimstone dogmas of the 1880s, they hired a friend instead of a priest to speak at a funeral, sparking a radical discourse on death, reason, and kindness.

    Jul 22, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

12. The Mental Health Crisis of 1876

    A local man is taken away to Steilacoom after his monomania turns threatening.

    Oct 7, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

13. Native man’s accidental drowning in the Snohomish River

    A local man is found drowned after his canoe was discovered drifting empty on the river.

    Oct 21, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish River, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyDisasters

14. The Town's New Mill Promises Prosperity

    A new lumber mill is nearing completion, promising to keep capital within the Snohomish community and provide steady work for local men.

    Dec 2, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

15. A Night Out, A Forgotten Medical Crisis

    A husband’s late-night obsession with the contentious 1876 presidential election nearly costs his wife her life.

    Dec 23, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

16. The Final Deadline

    A foreman for the Times, devoted to his craft until his final breath, dies after a sudden illness.

    Dec 23, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

17. The Million-Shingle Miracle: How Snohomish River Steamers Defied the Odds

    In a stunning display of industrial might, the steamer Yakima loaded 106,000 shingles in a single day, helping to push the river's winter yield toward one million—a feat that put Snohomish at the center of the global timber trade.

    Feb 24, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish River, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

18. The Great Log Jam: A River of Lost Timber

    In March 1877, a sudden rise in the Skykomish River swept away thousands of feet of logs belonging to local sawmills, turning a potential fortune into driftwood.

    Mar 17, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyDisasters

19. The Miner Who Came Home: A Snohomish Native Rejects the Yukon for the Slough

    After years of chasing gold in British Columbia and finding only poverty, Neil McMillan returns to his old partner's side on Ehey Slough to start a ranch, proving that local timber is more valuable than distant dreams.

    Mar 31, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyFollow the Money

20. The Struggle for Self-Culture in Snohomish

    An 1877 literary society meeting sparks a fierce editorial debate on the necessity of intellectual labor and the dangers of the 'critic' class.

    Sep 8, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

21. Darwin, Agassiz, and the Snohomish Pulpit Wars

    A fiery editorial from 1877 Snohomish takes on the local clergy for their public ridicule of scientific discovery and the theory of evolution.

    Dec 8, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

22. The Porch Light Intervention

    A romantic evening on Snohomish's Piety Hill is brought to a splashy, unceremonious end.

    Dec 15, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyScandal

23. The Sad Procession of the Snohomish Bachelors

    A local scene captures the quiet, threadbare dignity of three men moving house, offering a rare, human glimpse into the isolation of frontier bachelorhood.

    Feb 27, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

24. The Presidential Impersonator of Snohomish

    A local man causes a stir on Main Street, staging a political reception from the porch of the Snohomish Exchange before his performance is cut short by a mud puddle.

    Mar 13, 1878The Northern StarFirst Street, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyLocal Legends

25. The Ghost in the Machine: Snohomish Meets the Phonograph

    A local advertisement for the cutting-edge technology of 1878 introduces the marvel of Edison's 'talking machine,' promising a future where the voices of the dead can be preserved forever.

    Apr 10, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

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