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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 8 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 10 |
| 1876 | 66 |
| 1877 | 60 |
| 1878 | 37 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 10 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 70 |
| 1884 | 35 |
| 1885 | 84 |
| 1886 | 48 |
| 1887 | 46 |
| 1888 | 45 |
| 1889 | 89 |
| 1890 | 14 |
| 1891 | 85 |
| 1892 | 184 |
| 1893 | 170 |
| 1894 | 211 |
| 1895 | 217 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 6 |
| 1898 | 12 |
| 1899 | 37 |
| 1900 | 4 |
| 1902 | 6 |
| 1903 | 101 |
| 1904 | 84 |
| 1905 | 5 |
| 1907 | 9 |
| 1908 | 29 |
| 1909 | 126 |
| 1910 | 60 |
| 1911 | 30 |
| 1912 | 20 |
| 1914 | 15 |
| 1915 | 16 |
| 1916 | 30 |
| 1917 | 10 |
| 1918 | 5 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 9 |
| 1924 | 7 |
| 1929 | 2 |
60 stories matching employ
- The Struggle for Steady Employment in Snohomish
An 1880s call for local labor to secure work before the winter freeze, highlighting the seasonal instability of early frontier life.
- The Man Who Cut His Hand to Save It: A Snohomish Logging Camp Tragedy
In the sweltering heat of July 1877, a laborer at Hollert’s logging camp suffered a gruesome accident that required immediate surgical intervention in town.
- The Great Cordwood Opportunity
In 1877, a local editor saw a path to economic prosperity by shipping the dense forests of the Puget Sound to a treeless San Francisco.
- The Gold Rush That Wasn't: How Seattle’s Prospectors Fooled the Town
In May 1877, a wave of excitement swept through Seattle over reports of rich gold deposits on the Nootsack River. But when the 'prospectors' finally arrived with their claims, it turned out to be an elaborate confidence trick designed to drain the town's cash reserves.
- The Burglar Who Stole From Himself
A clever thief in Seattle pulls off a double deception: stealing from a store and then framing a Chinese employee for the crime.
- The Ghost of the Sound: A Swindler’s Vanishing Act
A glib salesman charms his way into the good graces of a prominent Seattle firm, only to disappear with their funds and a trail of aliases.
- The First Engine: How One Machinist Built Seattle’s Heart
In April 1877, a local machinist named Mr. Bullene constructed the first engine ever built in Seattle for Stetson & Post’s new lumber mill, marking a pivotal moment in the city's industrial infancy.
- The Fortress of Timber: How Mill Barons Bought the Land to Buy the Town
In 1877, a local editorial warned that Port Blakely’s massive timber companies were cornering the market on real estate, creating an economic monopoly that would stifle independent growth and keep workers dependent on their employers.
- The Temperance House: A Traveler's Refuge on Second Street
For the weary visitor to 1870s Seattle, a newly constructed boarding house promises 'neatness and dispatch' with a touch of European hospitality.
- The Struggle for a Safer Seattle Waterfront
As the city rapidly expands its harbor, a push for a new railing along the waterfront aims to protect nighttime travelers from accidental falls.
- The Miracle Cure at the Yesler Sawmill
In 1877 Seattle, a local laborer offers a glowing, desperate endorsement for a traveling 'nerve doctor' promising to cure the ills of the industrial grind.
- The Miracle Tonic of Seattle's Mill Workers
In an era of snake-oil medicine, a sawmill worker swears by a mysterious 'physician' to cure his industrial fatigue.
- The Struggle for Dignity in the Logging Camps
A historic appeal from 1880s Snohomish invites laborers to seek fair wages and better conditions amidst the grueling demands of the frontier timber industry.
- A Seattle Fish Firm Fires Its Chinese Workers — and the Paper Cheers
In 1877, Tull & Co. dismissed all of its Chinese employees and hired white men in their place, a move the Dispatch celebrated as patriotism.
- The Waterfront Gunfire Crisis of 1877
An urgent plea from Seattle’s waterfront workers to stop the reckless recreational shooting that was putting lives at risk.
- The Siege at Keets Mine
A desperate labor standoff unfolds as miners seize a Washington claim over unpaid wages, fortifying their position against the contractor.
- The Miracle Man of the Tremont House
A Seattle sawmill worker recounts his miraculous recovery from a mysterious 'general nervous debility' thanks to a touring medical lecturer.
- The Cannery Boom: Salmon, Chinamen, and the Gold Rush of the Columbia
A detailed look at the massive industrial scale of the Pacific Northwest's salmon industry in 1877, revealing the harsh labor conditions and the central role of Chinese workers.
- The Mill That Could Have Been: A Snohomish Tragedy of Ambition and Illness
In June 1877, the Northern Star reported on the collapse of a massive new mill project at Port Ludlow, blaming the death of its owner, Arthur Phinney, for halting construction that promised to rival any in the territory.
- 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 Mud-Trap at the Old Seattle Gas Works
A young delivery driver narrowly escapes a watery grave after his team sinks into the treacherous quicksand of the tide flats.
- The Dangerous Plank Walk of Old Seattle
While the city dragged its feet on street improvements in 1878, residents were forced to navigate treacherous, makeshift wooden planks, causing frustration and daily peril.
- The School Budget Crisis of 1877
Seattle’s public schools faced a complete shutdown due to a $1,500 deficit, forcing local leaders to choose between debt, taxes, or cutting the school year short.
- The Forgotten Strike of 1877 in Snohomish
A radical labor meeting calls for an eight-hour day and government intervention, warning that starving workers 'don't reason' when pushed to the brink.
- From the 'Brink of the Pit' to the Pulpit
An immigrant's harrowing reflection on poverty, addiction, and spiritual rebirth in Port Manson, 1877.