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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 |
484 stories
- The Unintended Migrant: An International Diplomatic Headache
When a destitute man seeking work was deported from Washington back to British Columbia, he sparked a minor diplomatic crisis that tested the porous borders of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Strange Disappearance of Ollie Young’s Reputation
A man from the Puyallup Valley confronts the Chief of Police to clear a young woman's name after scandal-filled letters appear in a Tacoma newspaper.
- Seattle and Port Townsend Vie for Methodist University
Before the University of Puget Sound was established, Seattle’s founding elites fought a bitter, public battle over which developer’s land would house the city’s next great institution.
- The Great 'Chautauqua' Debate
After weeks of indecision, a committee chooses Point Defiance for a massive cultural assembly site, highlighting the rapid civic growth and ambition of the Puget Sound region.
- Seattle’s Early Infrastructure Struggles: A City Thirsty for Reliability
A pipe burst in the heart of Seattle left residents without water, forcing them to queue at public wells as the growing city learned the hard way about the vulnerabilities of its infrastructure.
- A Hero at the Waterfront
An elderly boatswain risks his life in the dark to pull a man from the frigid waters of Elliott Bay.
- The City Hall Scandal: A Contractual Nightmare in 1887 Seattle
City council members and contractors clash over botched public works, leaving taxpayers and laborers holding the bag in a classic tale of civic mismanagement.
- The Collapse of a Workingman's Dream
A bold attempt at worker-owned enterprise in Tacoma ends in financial failure and legal recriminations.
- The Betrayal of a 'Friend' in Tacoma
A classic story of a land deal gone wrong, where a trusted drinking buddy pulled the rug out from under an investor’s feet.
- The Juror Who Held Out for a Payday
A Seattle jury stalled a verdict for hours, leading to the dramatic arrest of a man accused of dragging out deliberations just to secure extra witness fees.
- The Price of a Day's Pay: Seattle’s 1887 Labor Brokers
A deep dive into the predatory practices of late 19th-century employment agencies that thrived on the desperation of transient laborers.
- The Tragedy of a Deserted Mother on the Seattle Waterfront
A young woman, abandoned by an abusive husband, finds herself destitute and desperate for passage back home to Portland.
- Peter Kirk's Iron Works Signal Seattle's Manufacturing Ambitions
A bold call in 1887 to turn Seattle into a premier manufacturing powerhouse by offering free land and tax incentives to incoming factories.
- The Great Escape at the Seattle Dock
A man adjudged to be insane mounts a desperate, final bid for freedom as he is being escorted to the state asylum.
- The Jailbreak at Fort Simcoe
A notorious murderer escapes custody in Yakima, leaving the community on edge.
- The Great Population Bluff of 1887
A scathing editorial exposes how local politicians inflated King County’s census data, revealing the long history of 'boosterism' in Seattle's growth.
- The Great Seattle Church Lottery Scandal
Local merchants clash with church committees over a raffle scheme that allegedly inflated prices and exploited their goodwill.
- The Deadly Sidewalks of Old Seattle
A local minister’s tumble into a 'horrible pit' sparks public outrage over the city’s treacherous, poorly lit, and uneven walkways.
- The Waterfront 'Hotbed of Disorder'
In 1887, Seattle officials and citizens mobilized to purge the city's waterfront of the 'notorious' floating houses that provided a refuge for the city's poorest residents.
- The Ghostly Note of Joe Davis
After his wife’s death in Oregon, a man jailed in Seattle took his own life in his prison cell, leaving behind a haunting, misspelled confession that claimed they had died for each other.
- The Balloon-Powered Park Plan
A satirical interview with a Seattle developer reveals the absurd lengths civic boosters would go to inflate the value of local land.
- The Anarchist’s Pamphleteer
While the nation held its breath over the Haymarket executions in Chicago, a woman faced down Seattle police to distribute radical literature on Government Square.
- The Lobby Shootout: A Political Brawl in Tacoma
When an ex-mayor and a police chief faced off in a hotel lobby, tensions over local politics and public reputation turned into a chaotic, pistol-waving standoff.
- The Ill-Fated Voyage of the Duchess of Argyle
A majestic ship meets a violent end against the rocky cliffs of the Washington coast, leaving a crew stranded and a vessel shattered.
- The Disappearing Contractor of Madison Street
A Seattle infrastructure project hits a snag when the lead contractor vanishes with thousands of dollars in city funds, leaving his bondsmen to face the bill.