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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 |
5,298 stories
- The Quarantine Lie: How Providence Hospital’s Smallpox Cover-Up Sparked a Public Health Crisis
A desperate letter from hospital staff reveals that patients were turned away or allowed to leave while infected with smallpox, leading to a chaotic quarantine and widespread community fear in early 1903 Seattle.
- The Railway Bribe on the Reservation
A railroad company agent admits to a systematic scheme of paying Puyallup men to secure a right-of-way through their land.
- Seattle Squatters Push Land Fight to District Court
Squatters on the Seattle tidelands win a legal delay in a high-stakes title fight against A.A. Denny, as the city watches a $100,000 property dispute head to district court.
- The Waterfront Tug-of-War: Squatters vs. The Empire of A.A. Denny
As Seattle's waterfront boomed, property titan A.A. Denny moved to clear 'squatters' from valuable harbor land, sparking a public anxiety over property titles that echoes through the city's growth.
- The Great Tide-Land Grab
As Seattle approaches statehood, a newspaper sounds the alarm against land speculators plotting to seize the valuable tide-lands from the public.
- The Tragic End of Seattle’s Second-Born White Son
Austin A. Bell, a wealthy real estate developer and son of one of the city's founders, ends his life in a downtown office, haunted by the specter of his father’s mental decline.
- The Real Estate Frenzy that Built Spokane
An early reporter’s account of Spokane’s explosive growth, driven by railroad speculation and the 'lucky' millionaires of the mining boom.
- The 'Free Love' Riot of Port Angeles
When a local newspaper dared to suggest that marriage should be a voluntary contract, the citizens of Port Angeles formed a mob to drive the editors out of town.
- The Waterfront War of 1889
A bitter corporate grudge between local railroads leads to claims of monopolies, coal famines, and the violent destruction of property on the Seattle shoreline.
- The Battle Over Corporate Power at Washington’s Constitutional Convention
As Washington delegates gathered to draft a new state constitution, a heated clash erupted over whether to explicitly restrain the influence of monopolies and the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Midnight Carriage in Seattle
A witness recounts a harrowing night ride through Seattle’s alleyways, carrying a trunk that smelled of 'decaying flesh' and the suspected secret of a doctor’s botched surgery.
- The Day the Wind Took Down Tacoma’s New Buildings
A fierce storm topples a nearly finished commercial building, claiming the life of a prominent contractor and leaving a city in shock.
- The Tragic Cost of Seattle's Early Cable Cars
A mother sacrifices her life to save her children after a runaway cable car loses its grip at Second and Pine, exposing the perils of the city’s rapid, unregulated infrastructure boom.
- The Tragic End of a Great Railroad Visionary
General Adas Anderson, the chief engineer who conquered the Cascades, takes his own life in a Seattle hotel room.
- The Asylum Ward’s Unseen Hunger
A patient describes the grueling conditions inside a Seattle insane asylum, where the sick are fed wormy prunes and bread meant for the refuse pile, while robust workers with influence dine on fresh milk.
- The Tragic Delusions of a Seattle Engineer
After his child died, a railroad worker spiraled into a breakdown that ended in a tragic death at the asylum, leaving his family in dire straits.
- The 'Endless' Deportation Loop in 1889 Seattle
A federal judge struggles with a legal absurdity where Chinese laborers, ordered out of the country, find themselves trapped in a cycle of failed deportations and re-arrests.
- After the Fire, Seattle Rebuilds Its Burnt District
In the weeks following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city scrambled to clear debris and restore order, as business owners set up temporary shops in tents and city officials struggled to enforce new sanitation rules in the 'burnt district.'
- Seattle’s Rebirth After the Great Fire
While the embers of the 1889 Great Fire were still cooling, the city's architects and business leaders immediately began a frenzied, organized effort to rebuild the commercial district in brick and stone.
- The Seattle Fire and the Street-Widening Battle
Following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city grapples with the high cost of progress, property rights, and the urgent need for a more resilient, accessible city plan.
- The Price of a City’s Future: Yesler’s Corner
A single landowner held Seattle’s urban development hostage, forcing the city council to choose between private property rights and the public good.
- The City Council vs. The Tycoon: Remaking Seattle's Streets
A standoff between the municipal government and powerful land interests, including the influential Henry Yesler, ends in a landmark victory for city planning.
- The Forgotten Prisoners of McNeil Island
Thirteen men held in limbo for years, caught between a nation that didn't want them and a border that refused their return.
- The Shadowy Campaign for Seattle's Waterfront
Before the city was fully formed, a powerful railroad lobby attempted to secure the lucrative tide-lands of Elliott Bay through backroom deals.
- The Seattle Armory Convention Fiasco of 1889
Chaos, ballot stuffing, and screaming matches marked a pivotal municipal nominating convention in the wake of the Great Seattle Fire.