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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 12 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 2 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 12 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 14 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 9 |
| 1889 | 14 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 24 |
| 1893 | 11 |
| 1894 | 19 |
| 1895 | 13 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1903 | 6 |
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 9 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
25 stories matching wander
- The Man Who Thought He Was a Millionaire: A Seattle Mental Health Tragedy
In April 1877, a man wandering the streets of Seattle claimed his parents were murdered and he was retrieving buried fortune. After assaulting a stranger with a dagger, he was committed to an asylum.
- The Myth of the Transient Worker
A Snohomish editor argues that young men wandering the river camps for work are missing their chance to claim homesteads before the land is claimed by others.
- The Shadow Over Seattle: A Call to Stop the Exploitation of Indigenous Women
A 150-year-old dispatch documents the systemic abuse of Native families and the trafficking of young women, challenging the city’s early moral indifference.
- The Tragedy at the Waterfront: An Elderly Man’s Fatal Journey
A 74-year-old man with insomnia wandered onto railroad tracks near the Hotel de France and was killed by a special engine early this morning.
- The Search for a Missing Horse
A classic 1876 plea for the return of a stolen or wandered animal highlights the reliance on equine transit in pioneer-era Seattle.
- The Man Who Vanished: A Tacoma Mystery
A stock raiser leaves his home in fine clothes and is never seen again. Is it a disappearance or foul play?
- The Laws That Built the Frontier
A look back at the 1879 Territorial Assembly's agenda, from banning wandering hogs to regulating the earliest salmon canneries.
- The Ghost in the Photograph
A grieving man’s obsession with the afterlife leads him into the dark, hidden corners of 1876 Seattle—and to a tragic end.
- The Widow’s Last Ledger
On her deathbed, a thrifty farm wife attempts one final audit of the neighborhood’s debts, only to find her husband’s memory suddenly failing when it comes to money she owes others.
- A Dangerous Journey Home from Church
A quiet Sunday excursion in Snohomish takes a terrifying turn when a startled team of horses crashes, leaving a daughter critically injured.
- The Bear Who Sat Through Sermon
A black bear wandered into a North Creek church during Sunday service, causing panic among the congregation before calmly exiting—leaving behind a confused minister and an eager bear hunt.
- The Midnight Memory Lapse of a Seattle Husband
A husband’s errand to the druggist turns into a long, forgetful night at the local saloon, until a sudden telegraph dispatch snaps him back to reality.
- 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.
- The Narrow Escape on Whidbey Island
A quiet Sunday trip to church turns to tragedy for the Kellogg family after a pair of startled horses wreck their wagon in a field of stumps.
- The Madman with the Million-Dollar Conspiracy
A wandering stranger’s frantic claims of a plot to rob him in Seattle lead to his arrest and a stark reminder: the city is growing too fast for its own good.
- The Tramp Economy of Early Seattle
A reporter encounters a 'bummer' among the weeds of Mission Bay, revealing the harsh, transient reality of laborers who roamed the Pacific Coast in the 1870s.
- The Man Who Couldn't Sleep: A Murderer's Five-Year Nightmare Ends in Seattle
William Devitt, a fugitive from a Pennsylvania railroad murder, surrenders to Seattle police after five years of wandering the South, claiming his conscience has finally caught up with him.
- The Ghost of a Train Passenger
A traveler on an express train encounters a sweet, golden-haired girl in a shawl, only to discover she was a desperate murderess fleeing toward the Canadian border.
- The Empty Crib at the Corner of Third and Union
A quiet, haunting reflection from 1876 Seattle on the enduring grief of losing a child and the keepsakes that remain.
- The Skeleton Bridge: A Warning to Newcomers
A local correspondent details the perilous state of the Pill Chuck bridge in Snohomish County, describing it as a 'monument of goshend ativeness' that forces travelers to crawl on all fours across a single stringer.
- The Idle Crowd: Seattle's 1877 Moral Panic over 'Street Loafers'
A local editor observes the growing ranks of the unemployed and 'non-descript' men gathering on Seattle corners, questioning how they survive in a bustling, labor-dependent territory.
- The Great Cow Standoff: When Seattle’s Streets Were Held Hostage by Livestock
In September 1878, a herd of cattle and horses blocked the wharf district, forcing pedestrians to halt in their tracks. The city council was forced to intervene as commerce ground to a standstill.
- The Blues of the Black River: A Walk Through Snohomish’s New Frontier
A local resident takes a stroll through the muddy pastures and new homesteads near the Black River, finding beauty in the 'mounds' of ancient history and the promise of a fresh start for settlers.
- Hanged on a Doubt: Washington Territory's First White Execution
When John Thompson was hanged in Seattle in 1877, many believed he was guilty of manslaughter, not murder. The Dispatch made the case that the law had taken a life it should have spared.
- The Day Seattle Woke Up: A Traveler’s Rave Review of the 'Metropolitan' Future
In July 1870, a San Francisco correspondent returns from a voyage down the coast and is stunned by the rapid transformation of his hometown into a booming commercial hub.