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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
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| 1878 | 18 |
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| 1883 | 87 |
| 1884 | 46 |
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| 1886 | 40 |
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56 stories matching tacoma
- The Great Sound City Feud of 1888
A Spokane visitor to Tacoma and Seattle observes the intense, pre-statehood rivalry between the two cities as they jockey for economic dominance in Washington Territory.
- The Dentist and the Pistol: A Tacoma Domestic Violence Crisis
When a local dentist was arrested for an armed assault on his wife, the incident sent shockwaves through the emerging city of Tacoma.
- The Seattle Customs Sting
A doctor from the local Chinese community finds himself at the center of a tense arrest after undercover officers sniffed out smuggled opium on his person during a rail transit to Tacoma.
- The Man Who Paid to Live: A Tacoma Resident’s Plea for Relief
In an era of unchecked capitalism and political corruption, one man in Tacoma offers a stark, personal testament to the crushing weight of poverty—proving that even in the 'Land of Opportunity,' survival is not guaranteed.
- The Great Freight War: Tacoma vs. Seattle
Seattle merchants accuse the Pacific Coast Steamship Company of deliberately starving the city of goods to favor rival Tacoma, sparking a public dispute over civic equity and economic survival.
- The Steamboat That Carried Too Many
A legal dispute over overcrowding on the Seattle-Tacoma run exposes the strict—and often ignored—limits placed on Puget Sound steam travel in 1888.
- The Tacoma Coal Strike: When Miners Turned on the Overseer
A labor dispute at the Pacific Coast's only coke works escalates into a siege of an office and mass arrests, highlighting the volatile tension between mine owners and workers in 1890s Washington.
- Longshoremen's Union Halts Cargo on the Manila
When the steamship 'Manila' docked in Seattle, a labor dispute between the captain and the longshoremen's union left a shipment of cargo stranded and tempers flaring.
- The Great Road War: How Kitsap County Bribed Its Way to Steal Seattle’s Trade
While Seattle merchants sneer at their neighbors, a secret fund has been raised in Olympia to build a direct road from Olalla to the Sound, bypassing Tacoma and threatening Seattle's commercial dominance.
- The Bottleneck at the Port of Tacoma
While Seattle’s docks are praised for their 'prompt' efficiency, the port of Tacoma is suffering from a two-month delay in cargo loading, frustrating ship masters and hurting the regional economy.
- The Confidence Game on the Kalama-Tacoma Line
A traveler from Missouri lost his life savings to a smooth-talking stranger on a train, proving that 'confidence men' were a perennial threat to those passing through the region.
- The 99-Year Wait: An 88-Year-Old Tacoma Woman's Multimillion-Dollar Gamble
A three-time widow arrives at a Tacoma clerk’s office with a 99-year-old lease and a meticulously remembered family tree, seeking a slice of Philadelphia.
- The 'Tramp' and the Steamer Ticket
A traveler, left penniless on the docks of Tacoma, finds an unexpected reprieve through a local act of charity.
- The Last Stand of the David Haley: Wreckers Burn a Tacoma Landmark for Scrap
Seattle wreckers traveled to Puget Sound to strip the iron and copper from the historic shipwreck of the David Haley, destroying a local landmark in the process.
- The Tacoma Land Boom
A glimpse into the feverish property speculation of the 1888 Washington Territory and the intense competition to develop the city's future.
- The Great Fourth of July Exodus: Tacoma’s Streets Empty as Seattle Claims the Holiday
While Tacoma lay quiet and deserted on Independence Day, its residents flocked to Seattle for steamers, picnics, and political meetings, leaving behind only a few 'pocket pickets' and a marching army of women.
- The Arsonist's Confession: 'He Wanted Me to Burn It'
A Tacoma man details his coerced participation in the Aurora Hotel fire, revealing a plot by property owner Ed Williams to collect insurance money.
- 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 Jealousy Hunt: A Tacoma Man’s ‘Crime of Passion’ and the Women Who Caught Him
In a scandal that gripped Tacoma in May 1909, George Essel Khrnin was arrested for assault after his wife tracked him down from Seattle. But the real drama unfolded as two other women—accusers and witnesses alike—joined the hunt, turning a domestic dispute into a public spectacle.
- The Tide Line War: Who Owns the Water?
A judge in Tacoma settles a bitter dispute over waterfront property, ruling that private owners can only claim land up to the high-tide mark—leaving the rest for the state and public use.
- The Electric Quack of the Arlington Hotel
An elderly traveler narrowly escapes a predatory ‘doctor’ who attempted to encase her in ‘electric’ metal shields under the guise of a miracle cure.
- The Smuggler's Shield: How a Seattle Customs Chief Defended Himself in Tacoma
In the height of the 1888 opium smuggling scandal, Chief Inspector Gardner takes the stand in Tacoma, claiming he was set up by political rivals to cover his own failures.
- The Beer Garden vs. The Hospital: A Tacoma Land Grab Turns Violent
When a liquor seller tried to build a beer garden on land encroaching on the Fannie Paddock Hospital, the hospital staff fought back with guards and lawyers, sparking a legal battle over property lines in old Tacoma.
- The New Law That Broke the Bankers: How Tacoma’s Debtors Turned the Tables on Northern Pacific
A recent amendment to territorial attachment laws has forced high-ranking executives of the Northern Pacific Railway to appear in court personally, sparking panic among creditors who can no longer hide behind corporate shields.
- The Chautauqua Assembly's First Season at the Sound
After a summer of lectures and illumination, Seattle and Tacoma residents bid farewell to the gathering that organizers hope will define a permanent Puget Sound cultural tradition.