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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 Unstoppable Surge: Washington Territory on the Eve of Statehood
A wide-eyed 1889 editorial captures a frontier territory on the brink of a population explosion, detailing the frantic expansion of railroads, coal mines, and lumber mills that turned a 'wilderness' into a commercial powerhouse.
- Bellingham’s Industrial Boom of 1888
A look back at the rapid transformation of the three Bellingham Bay towns as railroads and mills reshaped the landscape.
- From Mosquito Swamp to Golden Grain: The Taming of the Swinomish Flats
How a desolate, flood-prone wilderness was transformed by sheer human persistence into one of the most productive agricultural regions in the Washington Territory.
- The Battle Over Tacoma's Most Notorious 'Hellhole'
Citizens and reform groups rally at City Hall to shutter a local variety theater and saloon decried as a den of depravity.
- The Great Room Shortage: Port Townsend’s Hotels Burst at the Seams
As Portland investors pour money into the Puget Sound city, locals warn that seven hotels aren't enough—residents are begging for permanent housing before the next boom hits.
- The Oil Trap: How Seattle’s Greed Endangered Its Own Waterfront
A recent fire at a lodging house reveals a city-wide crisis: warehouses and homes alike are storing thousands of gallons of volatile oil, defying insurance limits and risking total destruction.
- The City That Forgot to Flush: Seattle’s Shameful Sewer Crisis
As the population surges toward 40,000, an editorial warns that neglecting public health infrastructure is a 'crime' waiting for a deadly summer.
- The Fraud of the 'Write-Up': Seattle's Own Paper vs. The Boom Merchants
An editorial in the *Seattle Post-Intelligencer* exposes the predatory practices of out-of-town agents selling glowing, inaccurate special editions to lure investors, arguing that the city’s own press is its truest advertisement.
- The Smallpox Siege: Seattle’s Health Officer Declares War on a Deadly Visitor
As a British immigrant arrives with the plague and a neighbor falls ill, Dr. Eames orders quarantine guards to seal off infected homes in an attempt to stamp out the outbreak.
- The Land Grab That Built Seattle’s West Side
In 1890, a powerful syndicate led by George M. Van Doren bought up the entire Verier Addition in Kent and began aggressively marketing West Seattle lots to speculators, setting the stage for the city's explosive real estate boom.
- The Vanishing Sidewalks: How Seattle’s Council Cleared the Streets of 'Obstructions'
In a bold move to modernize downtown, the City Council ordered the immediate removal of all fruit stands, bootblack benches, and candy vendors from the city's busiest thoroughfares. The result? A clash between civic order and the livelihoods of informal street merchants.
- The Barn That Was a Courthouse: King County’s Shameful Jail and Office Conditions
An editorial exposé reveals that King County’s records are stored in a 'mere barn' and prisoners live in conditions 'a disgrace to a humane community,' urging the sale of bonds for new buildings.
- The Great Olympia Real Estate Boom: 'Only a Question of Time'
As the capital city experiences a frenzy of property sales and predicts its future as a metropolis powered by Turnwater Falls, locals debate whether the boom is sustainable or just hype.
- The Great Seattle Grade Grind: How City Hall Raised the Floor (and the Cost) of Living
In February 1889, just months after the Great Fire, Seattle’s City Council and Surveyor Scarry announced a massive infrastructure overhaul. By raising street grades by up to four feet in the commercial district, they forced property owners into a costly conformity that would define the city's vertical landscape for decades.
- The Roomless City: Why Seattle Is Losing Half a Million Dollars to Its Own Landlords
A manufacturing jeweler from outside capital has scoured every business street in town and found no space for his enterprise. He is not alone; the paper warns that this 'business house room' shortage is driving away population and money to rival cities.
- The Brick Crisis: Why Seattle’s Boom Is Stalling Because of Empty Lots
An editorial warns that the city's rapid growth is being choked by a lack of commercial infrastructure, urging property owners to build or lease for development before capital flees to rival towns.
- The $10,000 Bet That Built Seattle’s Front Street
Superintendent Thompson risks a fortune to beat the calendar, while a separate land dispute erupts over tide flats near Grant Street.
- The City Hall Gambling Den
When police raided the local underworld, the city’s courtroom was transformed into an impromptu warehouse for illicit gaming gear.
- The Great Tacoma Housing Panic: Hotels Full, Strangers Sleeping on Floors
As the Puget Sound region braces for statehood and a railroad boom, Tacoma is facing a severe shortage of lodging. With every hotel in town crowded and strangers arriving daily, new arrivals are forced to seek shelter in private homes.
- The Great Land Rush: Seattle’s West Side and Coney Island of the Northwest
As real estate brokers hawk cleared lots for $200 and advertise excursion trips to 'Coney Island' pleasure groves, Seattle is rapidly transforming from a logging town into a booming speculative market.
- The Great Seattle Boom: $2 Million in Brick and Mortar
Architects and owners promise a wave of substantial construction that will transform Second Street into the city's new business heart, leaving Front Street behind.
- The Wage Theft That Shook the Front Street Cable Line
Thirteen teamsters and laborers sue the city's transit company and a contractor for unpaid wages, exposing the precarious financial lives of Seattle’s working class in the early 1900s.
- A Desperate End on 11th Street
After struggling to find work for two months, a Nebraska settler dies by suicide in his boarding house room.
- The Seattle Literary Club’s Debate on the Future of Womanhood
In an era of rapid transition, local voices gathered to debate whether women should practice law, medicine, or politics—or if they should be spared from the 'mire' of public life.
- The Great Seattle Carting Crisis
When the city moved to clear the streets of horse-drawn carriages, teamsters organized, setting a precedent for Seattle’s long-standing tug-of-war over public space.