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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 37 |
| 1884 | 22 |
| 1885 | 30 |
| 1886 | 16 |
| 1887 | 59 |
| 1888 | 27 |
| 1889 | 60 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 46 |
| 1892 | 223 |
| 1893 | 227 |
| 1894 | 203 |
| 1895 | 161 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 4 |
| 1899 | 26 |
| 1903 | 56 |
| 1904 | 789 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 726 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
27 stories
- The Judge Who Ejected His Own Lawyer: A Tacoma Courtroom Meltdown
In a bizarre turn of events at the Thurston County Courthouse, Presiding Judge Laurence silenced defense counsel Bronston and refused to hear the prisoner's testimony, leaving John Halson to face burglary charges in silence.
- The Bridge That Broke: Tacoma's Infrastructure Crisis and the Union Mutiny
As a vital bridge spanning the Puyallup River collapses under its own weight, Tacoma residents face logistical chaos while a separate maritime labor dispute erupts into violence on the docks.
- 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 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 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 Teredo Worm’s Silent Siege
A massive wheat warehouse on the Tacoma waterfront collapses after wood-boring pests hollowed out the foundation, echoing the vulnerability of the region's rapidly expanding infrastructure.
- 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 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.
- 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 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 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 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 Theater That Wanted the Street
Tacoma’s grand new opera house design sparks a city council debate over encroaching on public sidewalks and creating private carriage driveways.
- The Confession That Stunned the Bench: A Stevedore’s Shameful Theft
In a Tacoma courtroom, Fred Wells didn't just admit to stealing from his sleeping bunkmate—he detailed how he lived like a king on stolen cash before being caught red-handed.
- 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 Salted Sea: A Tacoma Captain’s War on the 'Blah' Price Gang
In a fiery letter to the editor, a local shipping captain denounces the collusion of dockworkers and merchants who inflate freight rates, vowing to bypass them entirely for cheaper ports.
- The Great Rainier Climbing Debate
A classic Pacific Northwest squabble over who actually reached the summit of Mount Rainier first.
- 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 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 '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 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 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 Salvation Army's 'Hallelujah Wedding'
Salvation Army officers from across the region gathered in Tacoma for a rare, festive union, highlighting the communal bonds and strict internal rules of the faith in 1888.
- 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.