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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 |
526 stories
- The Snohomish Afterlife: A Spiritualist Joke
In an 1878 newspaper, a medium's séance takes a darkly humorous turn when a grieving widow asks her late husband if he is in heaven.
- The 1878 Patent for Long-Distance Kissing
A satirical inventor in Snohomish introduces a bizarre 'kisograph' machine to keep lovers connected across thousands of miles.
- Terrified Passengers Flee as Steamship Hits Snag on Snohomish River
A routine trip turns into a frantic scene of life-preserver panic when the steamboat Fanny Lake hits an underwater obstacle just a mile from city docks.
- The Fast Runner and the Stiffed Innkeeper
A local foot-racing celebrity thought he could dodge his hotel tab, only to be caught in bed by a constable.
- Domestic Violence in 1878 Seattle
A man is fined for a violent assault on his partner, highlighting the grim reality behind the era's dismissive legal language.
- The Judge and the Minstrel Show
When a visiting Chief Justice toured a Seattle courtroom in 1878, he was shocked by the advertisements for a traveling minstrel show plastered on the courthouse walls.
- The Opium Smuggler in the Beer Hall
A steamship engineer is arrested in a Seattle saloon, highlighting the city's early, tense relationship with the maritime opium trade.
- The Northern Pacific Compromise: A Bitter Road Through the Cascades
After intense lobbying in Washington, D.C., a new railroad deal forces a high-stakes ultimatum for the Columbia River corridor.
- The Last Mission of the Pioneer Mother
A reflection on the life of Myra Eells, one of the first white women to cross the Rocky Mountains to bring the Gospel to the Pacific Northwest.
- The 1878 Great Seattle Tax Auction
Before the skyline, there was the spreadsheet: A massive public auction of delinquent Seattle properties reveals the names, debts, and land-holdings of the city's pioneer founders.
- The Great Cigar Heist of Front Street
When a local merchant's inventory went missing in the night, the hunt for the culprits led straight to a city saloon's coal bin.
- The Seattle-Tacoma Rivalry Began with Petty Insults
While Tacoma boosters once mocked Seattle’s 'niggardly' natural gifts, the Dispatch fired back with a masterclass in civic trash-talk.
- A Near-Fatal Timber Run on the Snohomish River
A monster raft of lumber hits a snag, threatening the lives of a crew of settler-families near Snohomish City.
- The Silent Killer in the Boarding House
An 1878 editorial warns Seattle residents that the city's obsession with airtight rooms and coal stoves is fueling a tuberculosis epidemic.
- The Independent Candidate Who Fought the Party Machine
After suffering a broken arm, a local editor decries the 'spoils system' and the grip of party caucuses over Washington Territory's first constitutional process.
- The Night the 'Mad House' Burned Down
A suspicious blaze destroys a landmark building in Seattle, forcing local citizens to scramble to save the nearby gas works from the encroaching flames.
- The Tragic End of a Railroad Worker
A young man, injured on the job, succumbs to his injuries at a local Seattle hotel.
- The Scandal of the City Fire Engine
A missing $300 in gold coin leads to a bitter political falling-out in 1878 Seattle, revealing the city's early struggles with public trust and municipal accounting.
- The Snohomish Cattle Scam
A local farmer gets more than he bargained for when he unknowingly buys his own stolen livestock back from a neighbor.
- The Price of Industrial Progress: A Port Madison Tragedy
A dockside worker is crushed while maneuvering heavy machinery, highlighting the precarious nature of labor in the Puget Sound timber industry.
- The Bold Daylight Heist in Squak Valley
A trio of highwaymen, fresh from a lunch break, are captured after a brief pursuit in the rugged wilderness of the Squak Valley.
- The Deadly Gap in Seattle’s Sidewalks
A dangerous industrial site finally gets attention after a fatal accident claims the life of a man and his team of horses.
- The Great Seattle Construction Boom of 1878
Falling material costs spark a building frenzy in the frontier town, signaling a rapid expansion for early property owners.
- Betrayal in the Press Room
When the editor of the Northern Star went on holiday, his trusted staff staged a secret coup to force the newspaper into bankruptcy.
- The Forgotten Quest for Washington Statehood
A rare 1878 proclamation reveals the high-stakes, multi-district election held to draft a constitution that would finally bring Washington into the Union.