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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 62 |
| 1858 | 29 |
| 1859 | 52 |
| 1860 | 27 |
| 1861 | 101 |
| 1862 | 87 |
| 1863 | 69 |
| 1864 | 32 |
| 1865 | 11 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 812 |
| 1877 | 678 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 180 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 911 |
| 1884 | 499 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,324 |
| 1890 | 287 |
| 1891 | 1,115 |
| 1892 | 2,855 |
| 1893 | 2,829 |
| 1894 | 2,116 |
| 1895 | 1,830 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 62 |
| 1898 | 196 |
| 1899 | 446 |
| 1900 | 114 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,332 |
| 1904 | 1,126 |
| 1905 | 124 |
| 1907 | 53 |
| 1908 | 351 |
| 1909 | 1,545 |
| 1910 | 413 |
| 1911 | 160 |
| 1912 | 73 |
| 1914 | 261 |
| 1915 | 300 |
| 1916 | 545 |
| 1917 | 332 |
| 1918 | 45 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 18 |
| 1923 | 185 |
| 1924 | 151 |
| 1925 | 64 |
| 1928 | 14 |
| 1929 | 19 |
52 stories
- The San Juan Island Standoff Cools Down
Tensions over the sovereignty of San Juan Island subside as the American settlement grows rapidly.
- A Gold Rush Romance in the Shadow of the Mines
In the rugged camps of the 1859 gold rush, a pair of lovers find their devotion tested by the harsh realities of frontier life and the relentless pursuit of fortune.
- The Similkameen Gold Rush
A government expressman brings word of a new, lucrative gold strike in the Similkameen region, sparking excitement and fear of a dangerous, ill-prepared rush.
- The Recluse of the Woods
A haunting account of a man driven into isolation by the cruelty of his own kin.
- The Politicization of the Bench
A critique of the growing trend to select judges based on their partisan alignment rather than their legal expertise.
- San Juan Islanders Draw a Line in the Salish Sea
At a packed meeting in the little town of San Juan, American settlers pass defiant resolutions against the Governor of Vancouver Island and thank the U.S. troops sent to hold the island — an early scene in the boundary standoff remembered as the Pig War.
- A Territory Mourns: Olympia Buries Charles H. Mason
When Washington Territory's secretary and frequent acting governor died in 1859, Chief Justice McFadden and Olympia's leading men gathered at the capitol to call him a public servant 'of both soul and nerve.'
- The Jury's Boozy Banquet
A Pierce County jury demands a lavish spread of food and a gallon of Scotch while deliberating a verdict.
- The Wharf, the Steamer, and the Grudge
A Puget Sound steamer damages Steilacoom's private wharf; the repairs are made, but the landings become a running feud between a steamboat captain and the town.
- The Military Road That Opened the Northwest
A $100,000 federal appropriation sends Lieut. John Mullan back to the Pacific to push a wagon road from Fort Walla Walla to Fort Benton—and with it, a tide of settlers into Oregon and Washington.
- The Volunteers Were Paid Twice—Sometimes Thrice—For the Same War
A federal commission auditing the 1855–56 Indian War muster rolls finds men drawing captain's, wagon-master's and private's pay all at once—including a Nisqually ferry keeper who billed the government for the same ten ferrymen he never properly mustered in.
- A Child's Fatal Fire at Point Roberts
The second son of Alexander Hahn died after his clothes caught fire while playing with his brother.
- The Night Seattle Danced Until Two: A Steamer Excursion from Steilacoom
In July 1859, the steamer Julia carried Olympia and Steilacoom society across the Sound to Seattle, where three supper tables and a hall full of dancers made territorial news.
- A Councillor Settles a Political Argument With Clubs, Then Leaves Town
A quarrel over loyalty to the mayor ends in a back-lot club fight, a wounded stranger, and a town official who vanishes from the city.
- The Constable Who Charged for Mileage on Every Duck
A local anecdote about a frontier constable’s creative approach to fee collection.
- The Widow’s Pig-Feeding Innovation
A resourceful widow in Steilacoom finds a way to feed her livestock using garden weeds and a boiler, turning a chore into a sustainable practice.
- Gold Dust at the Foot of Mount Baker
A steamer passenger's letter reports that Whatcom merchants have bought gold from Indigenous prospectors—and that plenty more may lie near Bellingham Bay.
- Steilacoom’s Editor Asks Who Will Start the Fire Brigade
With wooden buildings packed into the business district and no reservoir, engine or ladder company, the Puget Sound Herald warns that a single blaze could erase the town’s prospects.
- A Boomtown Year: Steilacoom Runs Out of Empty Houses
In its first-anniversary survey of Puget Sound, the Herald finds every vacant building in Steilacoom filled — and thirty new ones thrown up in eight months.
- The Steamer That Never Came: Steilacoom's Broken Promise of a Pleasure Trip
A hundred neighbors set aside their work for a promised steamboat excursion to Olympia — but the boat failed to show, the crowd simmered, and the day ended in a dance hall instead of on deck.
- The Coat That Became a Campaign Scandal
A Steilacoom merchant says Col. Wm. H. Wallace paid for the coat Warren Gore called stolen—and that the real target is the county's voters.
- A Frontier Fourth: Cannon, Troops, and a Ball in Steilacoom
On July 4, 1859, Steilacoom turned out for a warship salute, a military review at Fort Steilacoom, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, and an evening ball.
- The Mystery of the 'Sea-Monster' in Pierce County
A strange creature from the 'animal kingdom' is brought to Steilacoom, sparking local debate over its true nature.
- The Farmer and the Unruly Ox
A cautionary tale of how cruelty toward livestock backfires on the master.
- The Mystery of the Degenerate Wheat
A local doctor presents a strange botanical specimen that challenges the agricultural wisdom of 1859.