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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 37 |
| 1884 | 22 |
| 1885 | 30 |
| 1886 | 16 |
| 1887 | 59 |
| 1888 | 27 |
| 1889 | 60 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 46 |
| 1892 | 223 |
| 1893 | 227 |
| 1894 | 203 |
| 1895 | 161 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 4 |
| 1899 | 26 |
| 1903 | 56 |
| 1904 | 789 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 726 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
23 stories
- The Bankrupt Giant and the Tacoma Land Ring
A skeptical editor exposes the Northern Pacific Railroad's questionable finances and a suspicious telegraph campaign used to inflate land values in Tacoma.
- The Great Land Grab: Tacoma Citizens Unite Against Northern Pacific’s ‘Squatter’ Tactics
In a packed hall at Reinig’s Hall, leading citizens condemn the railroad’s seizure of public lands and its attempt to claim hundreds of thousands of acres for a coal line that will never be built.
- The Ghost of Tacoma's Original Downtown
Before the railroad turned Tacoma into a boomtown, the city's future was fought over by competing pioneers and land speculators.
- The Absurd Scheme to Build a Railway to the Top of Mount Rainier
When a coal mine failed, desperate land speculators proposed a preposterous tourist railroad to the summit of the mountain to boost property values.
- The Scapegoat of Pierce County
A prominent local businessman finds himself the target of a smear campaign after a financial scandal guts the county treasury, revealing the toxic power of public rumor in 1870s Tacoma.
- The Great Land Ring of the Northern Pacific
Settlers of Washington Territory take on a powerful railroad corporation accused of hoarding public land for private profit.
- The Tragedy of a Forgotten Soul
After a man drowned at a Tacoma wharf, his body was left exposed among 'ravenous fishes' for a full day before a private citizen finally intervened to provide a burial.
- The Boom Town on the Sound: Labor and Industry in 1877 Tacoma
A traveler’s dispatch from New Tacoma reports on the frenetic pace of local timber mills, the arrival of new industrial machinery, and the rapid expansion of the labor force as the city builds its future.
- Brutal Assault on Indigenous Woman Reported
An Indian woman, identified as Mrs. J'ouls, suffered a fractured skull during a violent attack near the Puyallup reservation.
- The Boomtown Frontier: A Traveler's Account of New Tacoma and the Puyallup Valley
As the Northern Pacific Railroad carves its path into the frontier, a correspondent journeys from Snohomish to witness the rapid, chaotic, and industrious birth of New Tacoma and the hop-heavy Puyallup Valley.
- The Great Land Sell-Off
The Northern Pacific Railroad begins dumping vast swaths of Washington Territory land onto actual settlers for $2.60 an acre.
- The 'Folly' of Tacoma: A Steamboat Traveler’s Skeptical Report
An 1876 visitor finds the new city of Tacoma lacking and highlights the tragic loss of local boys at sea.
- The Day the River Ran Red: A Tacoma Tragedy
In a brutal dispute over territory and pride, 'Negro Bob' was shot dead by Kennek Joe in Tacoma, highlighting the violent intersections of race, labor, and frontier justice in 1877.
- The Promised City on the Sound
Promoters in 1879 painted a utopian vision of New Tacoma, promising a perfectly planned metropolis designed for wealth and grandeur at the terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Boomtown Hype of 1870s Tacoma
A booster-style editorial from the Snohomish Eye argues for a direct shipping route to New Tacoma to bypass Seattle's influence.
- The Midnight Thief on the Steamer Isabel
A passenger loses her entire fortune while dining, sparking a tense confrontation and a failed pursuit of justice on the Sound.
- The Unstable Ground Beneath Tacoma
A historic landslide on the Tacoma waterfront serves as a stark reminder of the city's precarious geography.
- The Iron Wreck: A Train’s Deadly Plunge Near Tacoma
Conductor Stroud and passengers suffer grave injuries when a tender axle fails at 25 mph, sending cars tumbling down an embankment in one of the region's most serious rail accidents to date.
- The First Railroad Built on 'Siwash' Labor
In a stark reflection of territorial labor practices, the first contracts for the Puyallup Valley Railroad have been awarded to Meeker & Mann, with plans to employ local Indigenous workers for four miles of track.
- The Great Hops Hoax: Tacoma’s ‘Massive’ Landslide Turns Out to Be a Trifle
Panic swept the Sound when reports claimed a catastrophic slide at Tacoma had buried buildings and halted rail traffic. The Dispatch reveals the truth: only twenty acres of land moved, knocking over a few Chinese cabins, while the real drama was just steamers running late.
- The Price of a Whitewash Job
A working man in Tacoma learns the hard way that 'at par' is a relative term when his employer tries to pass off devalued currency for honest labor.
- The Gambler’s Pistol and the Marshal’s Mercy
A violent confrontation on a Tacoma wharf in 1876 reveals the raw, lawless edge of early Pacific Northwest frontier justice.
- The Railroad Buys the Coalfields: Northern Pacific Moves on the Puyallup
Poised to grade its Pacific Division with a large crew of Chinese laborers, the Northern Pacific quietly consolidates the coal lands north of Tacoma—and the finest coalfield on the coast.