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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 |
1,324 stories
- The Great Sunday Exodus: Seattle’s Mass Migration to East Lake
In a display of weather defiance and civic pride, thousands of residents abandoned the city center for the shores of Lake Washington, turning Stern & Miller’s new development into an impromptu amusement park.
- The Great Escape: Two Prisoners Vanish from Seattle’s Basement Jail
In a display of audacity and desperation, two men held on smuggling and liquor charges crawled through a torn-off board in a water closet to flee the U.S. Marshal’s improvised prison beneath the Clancy Building.
- The Dungeon Behind the Standard Theater: Inside Seattle’s Terrifying Jail
A reporter’s inspection of Marshal Hamilton’s holding cells reveals prisoners sleeping on straw in a damp basement, fed by a restaurant manager who claims their diet is 'wholesome' and identical to his paying customers'.
- The Mill That Almost Killed Everyone: A Miracle at the Cowlitz Sawmill
A massive pulley shattered and flew over a crowded mill floor in Grays Harbor. Miraculously, no one was killed—only one man injured—sparking relief in a region where industrial accidents were routine.
- The Funeral Pyre of Justice: Seattle Burns Its Gambling Den
As the Territorial Grand Jury demands a sewer system and a new jail, Sheriff Cochrane immolates tons of gambling paraphernalia on a public bonfire, while Judge Burke condemns saloon keepers to revoke their licenses.
- The Rat That Didn't Die: A Seattle Street Performer’s Electric Shock Gambit
In a desperate bid to steal customers from a rival vendor on Commercial Street, an electricity salesman rigged a dead rat to a copper plate—only for the rodent to remain stubbornly lifeless.
- The Man Who Bought a Pile-Driven Mind
A Seattle laborer’s sudden descent into delusion—claiming he lost $5,000 to a ghost and that neighbors were plotting his murder—leaves the court baffled and his family terrified.
- The Orting Tragedy: A Husband’s Despair and a Fortune-Teller’s Deceit
Edgar Kimball, a Mormon settler who moved his family from Utah to Tacoma in search of purity, was found dead from morphine overdose in Orting after years of marital strife and accusations of infidelity.
- The Coal-Picking Child: A Mother’s Plea for Freedom from Cruelty
Martha Hansen sues to annul her marriage, alleging Gabriel Hansen forced their young daughter to scavenge coal along railroad tracks while keeping the child in squalor.
- The Wild Carriage Ride Down Commercial Street
A frightened team of horses turned a routine ride into a violent, smashing spectacle, leaving passengers bloody and onlookers breathless.
- Brutal Waterfront Robbery Leaves Swedish Laborer Penniless
A night of drinking at a Washington Street saloon ended in a violent alleyway ambush that stunned the local community.
- The Skagit Land Rush: A Morning of Chaos and Cleverness
When the federal land office in Seattle opened to accept claims for the Upper Skagit river, a line of hundreds descended into a power struggle defined by military-style organization, gender politics, and shifting rules.
- Chief Butterfield's Night Raids on Two Gaming Houses
After weeks of public defiance, Seattle’s police chief launched a series of high-stakes raids on the city's most prominent gaming houses, leading to dramatic foot-booted entries and stacks of confiscated faro layouts.
- The Ferryboat War of Elliott Bay
A high-stakes territorial dispute over a commercial shipping slip leads to a dangerous maritime game of chicken between two competing steamships.
- A Courtroom Gunfire Mishap in Walla Walla
A sheriff's demonstration of a murder weapon goes awry, nearly striking a spectator in the courtroom.
- The Deadly Hum of the Electric Current
A routine building fire in downtown Seattle turns into a terrifying, lethal brush with the new technology of electricity.
- Showdown at the Waterfront: Pistol Fire at Pacific Avenue
A simmering legal dispute over valuable waterfront property exploded into violence as a landholder took up arms to halt construction crews.
- The Renton Addition: Seattle’s 1889 Speculative Gold Rush
As property developers paved the way for Seattle's expansion, one man's high-stakes sale of the 'cream' of Beacon Hill real estate signaled a city-wide frenzy for land and infrastructure.
- The Real Estate Battle for the Heights
Before the neighborhood was fully formed, the Renton Addition was marketed as the 'Fifth Avenue of Seattle,' sparking a feverish battle for transit and development on the city's highest crest.
- The City of Checks and Balances
A Seattle man is indicted for a $2,160 forgery spree, while a local police officer’s sudden wealth—and his suggestion that he made it smuggling opium—becomes a matter of intense public curiosity.
- The Padlock Swindle on the Sidewalks of Seattle
A new arrival in Seattle was relieved of his life savings by a pair of confidence men using a trick lock and a fake partnership.
- The 'Prison Evangelist' of the Seattle Jail
After two weeks of revival, a former variety actress turned missionary offers a glimpse into the transient lives and moral reckonings of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Forgotten Constitution: Seattle's 1889 Apathy
While Washington territory scrambled to establish statehood following the Great Seattle Fire, the public was so consumed by the disaster's aftermath that the upcoming constitutional convention went almost unnoticed.
- The City's Water Problem: A Nuisance in the Making
After the Great Seattle Fire, one man's attempt to build a makeshift shelter leads to a messy public legal battle over fire hazards and sanitation.
- The Battle for the Tide-Flats
A group of enterprising squatters use the cover of darkness to plant cabins on disputed Seattle waterfront land, challenging a prominent businessman's claim.