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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 3 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1864 | 4 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 29 |
| 1877 | 26 |
| 1878 | 24 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 8 |
| 1882 | 10 |
| 1883 | 62 |
| 1884 | 33 |
| 1885 | 61 |
| 1886 | 39 |
| 1887 | 44 |
| 1888 | 38 |
| 1889 | 92 |
| 1890 | 20 |
| 1891 | 82 |
| 1892 | 282 |
| 1893 | 321 |
| 1894 | 257 |
| 1895 | 166 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 6 |
| 1899 | 43 |
| 1900 | 9 |
| 1902 | 4 |
| 1903 | 142 |
| 1904 | 117 |
| 1905 | 9 |
| 1907 | 3 |
| 1908 | 19 |
| 1909 | 166 |
| 1910 | 30 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 24 |
| 1917 | 12 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 10 |
| 1924 | 5 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
29 stories matching arrest
- The Shadow Ledger: Seattle’s Monthly Arrest List
A raw, unfiltered tally of twenty-nine arrests made in June 1878 exposes the policing of Seattle’s streets—where poverty, Indigeneity, and ethnic status shaped the reach of the law.
- The Man Who Fought the Law: Riley’s Brawl with Seattle Police
In July 1876, a drunken man named Riley didn't just resist arrest—he dismantled the entire police force. It took bystanders to finally pin him down.
- Schooner Captain Charged After Attacking His Mate
Captain Ingerson of the Clara Light was arrested in Port Townsend and held on $1,000 bond after his crew testified that he kicked his mate, William Cook, in the head and face.
- The Waterfront Brawl at the Seattle Wharves
A local disagreement over the handling of grain sacks spiraled into a physical altercation on the beach, leaving the authorities to clean up the mess.
- The Great Sewer Brawl of Washington Street
A minor street scuffle turned into an unintended construction project when a crowd of onlookers broke through the sidewalk into the city sewer.
- A Captain's Alaska Liquor Case Comes to Port Townsend
A federal warrant for importing liquor into Alaska and selling it to Native people sends Capt. Thomas Butler to Portland to answer the charge.
- The Great Seattle Silence: A Christmas Without Drunks or Arrests
In a rare departure from holiday tradition, the city remained remarkably sober and quiet on Christmas Day 1876, with zero arrests recorded despite the usual festive revelry.
- The Preacher Who Punched a Sinner: A Camp Meeting Brawl in Oakdale
In September 1876, a reverend at an Oakdale camp meeting lost his temper and physically assaulted a boisterous young man, leading to an arrest that highlights the volatile intersection of religion and frontier justice.
- The Strange Quiet of 1876 Seattle
After the Fourth of July celebrations, the city fell into an eerie, total stillness that unsettled its local boosters.
- The Jailhouse Scuffle
A drunken brawl in a jail cell turns into a messy confrontation between a prisoner and the jailer.
- 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 Snohomish 'War Path'
A rowdy night at the Snohomish riverfront ends in a knife fight between a local drunk and the city marshal.
- The Man Who Shot at a Chinese Girl and Then Tried to Fight the Police
A drunken brawl on Washington Street ends with a drunkard in irons, revealing the volatile mix of frontier lawlessness and early civic order in Seattle.
- The City's Cruel Moral Crusade
While Seattle’s leadership touted its own 'progress,' a wave of arrests and displacement targeted the city's Chinese population and the vulnerable on the margins of society.
- The Taxation Trap: How Seattle’s Liquor Licenses Were Feeding the County, Not the City
In 1876, a territorial newspaper railed against a fiscal injustice: Seattle taxpayers were footing the bill for policing and street maintenance, while the county kept the revenue from liquor licenses sold within city limits.
- The Hotelkeeper Who Jumped to Escape Justice
A Port Gamble innkeeper’s dramatic leap from a second-story window reveals the gritty reality of justice in 1876 Seattle.
- Burglar Nabbed After Jewelry Store Heist
A bold thief who robbed a jewelry store of $400 in goods was apprehended in Seattle after a sharp-eyed witness spotted him breaking the glass.
- A Violent Saloon Brawl on the Waterfront
A simmering business dispute over fifty dollars turns into a brutal ambush with a club in a Seattle saloon.
- The Postmaster’s Plight: A Decades-Long Betrayal in Skagit County
In the midst of a national economic depression, a respected elder and long-serving postmaster in Mount Vernon faces federal fraud charges, sparking a community debate over loyalty versus law.
- The Tragedy of a Desperate Courtship
A jilted suitor’s attempt to force a marriage ends in violence and a desperate shooting near Seattle.
- Arson Attack at Snohomish Mercantile
An incendiary device was discovered burning in the floorboards of a Chinese-owned store, nearly igniting the heart of the business district.
- The passing of a pioneer sheriff
Edwin T. Dodge, a veteran of the California gold rush and early lawman who helped dismantle legendary highwayman gangs, has died at the Occidental Hotel.
- Twelve Days in Jail for a Drunken Woman—and the Men Who Walked Free
A Port Townsend letter protests a double standard after a woman is locked up for disorderly drinking while the town's inebriated men go unpunished.
- The Whitewashing of Snohomish: A Town’s Cosmetic Makeover
In a display of civic vanity and political maneuvering, local officials have undertaken an elaborate 'whitewashing' of the town, leaving residents to wonder if the fresh coat of paint hides more than just grime.
- The City That Wasn't: Seattle’s First Real Estate Scam
In April 1876, a man named Charles Smith claimed to own the entire town of Seattle and tried to sell it to investors. The local press exposed him as a fraud, but his audacity reveals how fragile the young city's land titles were.