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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 Great Labor War: Seattle Council Erupts Over Chinese Workers
In a fiery session in April 1882, Seattle’s City Council nearly came to blows over whether public grading contracts should be reserved exclusively for white laborers.
- The Great Blaine Betrayal: How a Few 'Carpet-Baggers' Humiliated Washington's Republicans
At the North Yakima convention, local leaders rejected a resolution honoring James G. Blaine, sparking outrage and accusations of political conspiracy.
- The $84,000 Lesson: How Two Men Haggled Over Seattle’s Future
A Walla Walla wheat king and a local real estate agent engage in a high-stakes negotiation for Front Street property, revealing the speculative fever gripping early 20th-century Seattle.
- The Opium Ring That Terrified the Sound
A dark-complexioned gentleman with a sloop and a mission is dismantling smuggling rings in Puget Sound, proving that federal authority was reaching even the remote corners of Washington Territory.
- The Senate Chamber Shatters: A Riot of Words and Glass in Washington Territory
As Senators Ingalls and Voorhees traded insults that turned personal, a crowd of thousands pressed against the doors until the glass gave way, turning a legislative debate into a spectacle of democracy's raw edge.
- The Day the Cardinal Rode Through the Mud: A Historic Union of Northern and Southern Presbyterians
In a rare moment of post-Civil War reconciliation, thousands gathered in Seattle to witness the historic meeting of two Presbyterian Assemblies that had been divided by the Mason-Dixon line for decades.
- The Madman of Pacific Avenue
A mysterious stranger who claimed he could blow up trains with his mind was committed to an asylum after being found pacing outside a Halstead house. Days later, his body washed up in the bay, sparking whispers of foul play.
- The Chloroform Attack: A Seattle Woman’s Narrow Escape from a Robber’s Grip
Julia Torrillia fights back against an assailant who tried to drug her on Washington Street, leading to the arrest of a local baker.
- A Kenton Picnic Speech and the Justification of Native Displacement
At a Kenton picnic, Judge Orange Jacobs cast pioneer survival as historical necessity and used dehumanizing rhetoric to defend the displacement of Native Americans.
- The Man Who Wasn't Mad: A Civil War Veteran’s Battle for Sanity
James A. Balch, a tall, soldierly old man in a faded uniform, was held at the King County Insane Asylum for five years despite being lucid. His family fought him through habeas corpus, and today, the superintendent admitted he had recovered his reason.
- The Groom Who Vanished: A Tacoma Bride’s Wedding Day Turned to Ashes
A Chicago furniture manufacturer arrived in Tacoma with a 'pretty bride' and a request for cash. By the next morning, he was gone, leaving behind a suspicious telegram from his employers and a trail of fraud that spanned the West Coast.
- The Judge, The Dog, and the Mystery of the Missing Pet
A Tacoma judge’s peaceful afternoon nap is interrupted by a miraculous reunion with his beloved terrier, who vanished months ago.
- The Boston Mob That Bought Seattle
A mysterious syndicate from the East Coast has quietly acquired over $75,000 worth of land around Lake Washington and downtown, sparking rumors of a coordinated takeover by wealthy outsiders.
- The Landlords' New Playbook: How Seattle's Elite Are Cornering the Housing Market
In a move that mirrors today’s corporate housing boom, lumber barons Yesler, Foster, and Lowman are launching a massive development on Broadway to control supply and dictate prices for new arrivals.
- The Day Two Houses Fell on Their Owners: A Seattle Collapse That Should Have Killed Everyone
W.H. Burrett’s attempt to raise two frame buildings for renovation turned into a nightmare when the structures collapsed onto workmen and families below, leaving only miraculous luck to keep the death toll at zero.
- The Battle for the Ballot: Anti-Suffragists Plot to Block Women's Registration
Leading citizens of Seattle move to declare women’s suffrage unconstitutional just days before the city election, sparking a quiet but fierce political standoff.
- The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Stealing
A young Seattle serial runaway and horse thief, described as having the face of an 'innocent Sunday School' student, leaves a trail of abandoned farms and confused sheriffs across the White and Duwamish rivers.
- The Fatal Climb for the Church Bells
A local carpenter attempted to scale a church steeple to settle a debate about height, meeting a tragic end in full view of the town.
- The End of Wooden Seattle
A historic property deal marks a turning point as Seattle trades its 'dilapidated, squatty, and dangerous' wooden storefronts for modern, multi-story brick architecture.
- The Tragedy of a Cow and a Fence on Lopez Island
A minor property dispute over wandering livestock escalated into a fatal shooting on Lopez Island this week.
- The City Hall That Wasn't: Seattle's 1882 Fire Engine Obsession
When faced with a choice between a new municipal center and a state-of-the-art steam fire engine, Seattle citizens chose the engine—prioritizing immediate safety over civic expansion.
- The Railroad King's Secret: Kahn Reveals the 'Scoop' Behind Seattle's Next Big Line
In a rare interview on his birthday, Democratic committee member Joe Kahn spills the beans on the Northern Pacific’s expansion plans and hints at a massive political scandal involving President Harrison.
- The Day the Sloop Fired on a Federal Cutter
In 1860, twenty-four Port Townsend citizens chartered a sloop to save $5 on fares to Olympia. When intercepted by a revenue cutter, their captain opened fire with a brass howitzer—only to discover he’d just threatened the U.S. government.
- The Kidnapping of the Kerr Children: A Seattle Scandal of Custody and Class
In July 1888, Chief Justice Jones presided over a dramatic habeas corpus hearing regarding two young girls seized from an orphanage by their father and his new lover, sparking a public debate over morality, custody rights, and the fate of vulnerable children.
- The Man Who Wanted Only the Rich to Vote
At the University of Washington’s first commencement, a visiting judge delivered a fiery address arguing that municipal government is like a railroad company: those without property should have no say in its management.