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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 153 |
| 1877 | 124 |
| 1878 | 248 |
| 1879 | 15 |
| 1880 | 83 |
15 stories
- The Great Sound Mill Slowdown of 1879
A secret price-fixing agreement in San Francisco forces local mills to cut production, threatening the livelihoods of workers across the region.
- The Unsung Pioneers of the Skagit River
When federal funds for regional infrastructure failed to materialize, a group of Seattle loggers took matters into their own hands to open the Skagit River to navigation.
- The Mother, The Child, and The Purser’s Zeal
A desperate mother is arrested in Seattle after a daring escape from the hospital, exposing the cruelty of rigid legal intervention in the 1870s.
- A Father Returns from the Skagit to Claim His Own
A man arrives from the mining camps to marry the woman he fathered a child with, hoping to secure their future after she was jailed for an alleged act of desperation.
- 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 Puritans Might Have Been Horrified, but Seattle’s New Opera House is Open
A new cultural landmark opens on Commercial Street, sparking a debate on whether theater remains a 'penal offense' or a sign of progress.
- 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.
- Minister Ties Columbia River Rapids to Costly Freight
A century and a half ago, Seattle boosters were already plotting to cut Portland out of the regional economy by building a railroad to the interior.
- The Jail That Took Too Long
A Snohomish correspondent laments the bureaucratic foot-dragging that delayed the construction of the county's first lock-up.
- The Fallen Commander: Major Thornburgh’s Frontier Legacy
Remembering the life and service of the military officer who served in Washington Territory and met a tragic end on the frontier.
- The Gold Rush Trail to the Skagit
As prospectors flock to the Skagit River, old-timers debate the best route through the wilderness to reach the promised riches.
- The Logging Camp Cougar Standoff
A Christmas-season encounter on a trail near Snohomish leaves a local hotelier shaken when his revolver fails him.
- Walla Walla Wheat Takes Sixteen Handlings
A 1879 editorial exposes the 16-step nightmare of shipping grain down the Columbia River, arguing that Seattle’s rail potential would end the monopoly and the waste.
- The 'Veneer and Sham' of 19th Century Schooling
A historic critique of a curriculum overstuffed with 'smatterings' and fancy subjects, arguing that public schools were failing to provide the basic, useful education required for life.
- The Debt of 1877: A Seattle Legal Notice
A court summons in 1879 offers a rare, granular glimpse into the personal credit and legal entanglements of pioneer-era Seattle merchants.