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293 stories

  1. Vigilante Mob Lynches Two Prisoners at Whitman County Jail

    A masked party of fifty men broke into the courthouse to extract and hang a convicted assailant and a murder defendant, while a jury slept just feet away.

    Jun 4, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWhitman County Courthouse, ColfaxTrue Crime

  2. A Mob Hanged Two Men at the Courthouse. Then the State Argued Over the Bill.

    After Hill and Parker were lynched in Colfax, Attorney General W. C. Jones ruled that the county need not pay for a coroner's inquest—and said the real hunt for the mob belonged to a grand jury.

    Jan 20, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWhitman County Courthouse, ColfaxCity Hall

  3. The Ghost of a Mob in Colfax

    Decades after a violent public lynching left a permanent stain on the community, the citizens of Colfax still wake to find ominous reminders scrawled on the sidewalk.

    Jun 8, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerColfax, Whitman CountyExclusion & Resistance

  4. Vigilante Fury Follows Oakesdale Arson

    After a suspicious fire destroys a row of businesses, Oakesdale residents threaten to lynch a Chinese resident previously evicted from the property.

    Jul 13, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSteptoe Avenue, Oakesdale, Whitman CountyExclusion & Resistance · Disasters

  5. The Town of Oakesdale Is Reduced to Smoldering Ruins

    A three-story hotel blaze consumes the city's business district in just two hours, leaving merchants devastated and the community reeling.

    Jul 26, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSteptoe Avenue, Oakesdale, Whitman CountyDisasters

  6. The Night Colfax Burned

    A Chinese cook's kerosene mishap destroys the heart of a small Washington town, exposing the dangers of inadequate civic infrastructure.

    Apr 23, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMain Street, Colfax, Whitman CountyDisasters · Gone Forever

  7. The Day the Chinamen Came Back

    After a violent expulsion and rumors of hanging in Tekoa, Chinese laborers return under federal guard to resume work, turning a local tragedy into a grim advertisement for the town.

    Mar 10, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTekoa, Whitman CountyExclusion & Resistance

  8. The Tragic End of the Steamboat Annie Faxon

    A boiler explosion on the Snake River kills eight passengers and crew, leaving only wreckage in its wake.

    Aug 15, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerAlmota, Whitman CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

  9. The Judge on Trial

    A defendant accuses a Whitman County judge of coercion, bribery, and witness tampering in a desperate bid to clear his name.

    Apr 6, 1900The Colfax GazetteWhitman County Courthouse, ColfaxCity Hall · True Crime

  10. Brutal Murder of Local Gambler Sparks Manhunt

    A Chinese gambler is murdered in a Colfax alley, leading to a swift, multi-town pursuit and the capture of a suspect near the Snake River.

    Jun 1, 1900The Colfax GazetteColfax, Whitman CountyTrue Crime

  11. The Brutal and Busy Year of 1899 in Colfax

    A chronological review of Whitman County's most dramatic events, from fatal run-ins and vigilante justice to the transformation of the landscape by new rail and sewer lines.

    Jan 5, 1900The Colfax GazetteColfax, Whitman CountyBoom & Bust · Disasters

  12. The Nez Perce Treaty Funds Scandal

    A political war in the newspapers exposes missing funds and potential embezzlement in the Indian Superintendency.

    Nov 15, 1862Washington StandardLewiston, Whitman CountyCity Hall · Scandal

  13. A Father’s Deadly Jealousy

    After years of keeping his daughter a virtual prisoner, a rancher hunts down a carriage carrying her to a dance and kills the wrong man.

    Feb 2, 1900The Colfax GazettePampa, Whitman CountyTrue Crime

  14. The Great Warehouse Embezzlement

    A Shawnee Warehouse agent disappears with the wheat of local farmers, triggering a frantic manhunt from Colfax to Seattle.

    Feb 23, 1900The Colfax GazetteColfax, Whitman CountyTrue Crime

  15. Student Uprising at Washington State Agricultural College

    A campus protest following the removal of a college president erupts into violence against school leadership.

    Dec 22, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWashington State University, Pullman, Whitman CountyCity Hall

  16. A Judge’s Crusade Against County Corruption

    Whitman County Judge William McDonald issues a blistering order to the prosecutor, detailing long-standing allegations of jailhouse abuse, probate perjury, and illegal spending by commissioners.

    Jan 5, 1900The Colfax GazetteWhitman County Courthouse, ColfaxCity Hall

  17. Palouse Settlers Win Decisive Victory Over Railroad Interests

    A landmark federal decision voids railroad claims to 'lieu lands,' prompting town-wide celebrations and jubilation among homesteaders.

    Jul 9, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPalouse, Whitman CountyFollow the Money

  18. The Sheriff’s Bold Stand Against Mob Rule

    A newly minted newspaper editor-sheriff argues that local complicity, not just law enforcement failures, fuels vigilante violence in Washington.

    Feb 2, 1898Adams County NewsWhitman County Courthouse, ColfaxCity Hall

  19. A Fatal Nap on the Tracks

    A tired freight brakeman, exhausted by days of overwork, pays the ultimate price after falling asleep on the job.

    Apr 6, 1900The Colfax GazetteColfax, Whitman CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

  20. The Colfax Contempt: A Honeymoon on the Chain Gang

    In a bizarre twist of justice and timing, D. Franklin Squibb married his new bride just weeks after his divorce was finalized—only to find himself serving hard labor for contempt of court.

    Jul 10, 1905The Wenatchee Daily WorldColfax, Whitman CountyScandal

  21. Tekoa Business District Destroyed by Incendiary Fire

    A fire suspected to be arson wiped out the central business district of Tekoa, resulting in thousands of dollars of damage.

    Sep 14, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTekoa, Whitman CountyDisasters

  22. The Mob is Not a Court of Law

    An editorial reflection on the recent lynching of Bill at Colfax, arguing that a community’s failure to maintain a just legal system does not justify vigilante violence.

    Jun 5, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerColfax, Whitman CountyCity Hall

  23. The Palouse Massacre: A Family Destroyed by Religious Mania

    A farmer takes his own life after killing his wife and children in a brutal religious mania, leaving a chilling note behind.

    Jul 12, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerFarmington, Whitman CountyTrue Crime

  24. The Local Press and the Mob

    A critique of Washington newspapers that refused to take a hard moral stand against lynch law.

    Jun 10, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerColfax, Whitman CountyExclusion & Resistance

  25. The Governor Condemns the Colfax Lynching Mob

    Governor McGraw orders an investigation into the extrajudicial murder of two men in Whitman County, declaring that mob violence is no substitute for the courts.

    Jun 7, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerColfax, Whitman CountyCity Hall · True Crime

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