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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 Navy’s Checklist: Why Seattle Was Betting Its Future on Iron and Timber
In January 1902, the city compiled a massive dossier of industrial advantages—from Denny Mine ore to fresh-water wharves—to convince Washington D.C. that Seattle was the only logical site for a new Pacific naval station.
- The Lake That Wasn't: A Territorial Identity Crisis
In January 1890, a prominent New York journalist claimed Washington Territory wanted to be called 'Tacoma.' The Seattle Post-Intelligencer fired back with a scathing editorial, proving that the name 'Washington' was not just a political compromise, but a point of fierce local pride.
- The Castle on Capitol Hill: Seattle’s $1 Million Gamble for a Grand Hotel
Arthur Denny and his board of trustees have spent months sifting through dozens of architectural plans to find the perfect design for a new landmark. The winner? A Gothic stone fortress that will tower over Second Avenue.
- The Great Seattle Gamblers' Bailout: How the City's Elite Let Off the Hook
In a crowded courtroom, dozens of men accused of running illegal gambling rings were released on massive bonds, while the sheriff’s office scrambled to account for thousands in cash.
- The Ghost Legislature: How Congress Strangled Washington's Voice
In January 1893, the territorial assembly convened only to immediately adjourn because Washington had no federal funding for its own government. A local editorial decries this as a farce that leaves citizens paying taxes without representation.
- Sheriff Cochrane’s War on the Gambler: A Raid That Left Wheels of Fortune in Police Hands
In a sweeping crackdown on vice, Sheriff Cochrane and his deputies arrested thirteen gamblers and seized an arsenal of gambling devices, while a decomposed body was pulled from the harbor.
- The King Who Wasn't: How Seattle Watched a Pacific Empire Betray Its Own
While the city prepares for its own boom, a local editorial warns that American honor is being sacrificed to German ambition in Samoa—and asks if Washingtonians care enough to stop it.
- The Terminal Standoff: How Seattle’s Business Elite Forced a Railroad Compromise
In January 1899, the city’s Board of Trade and leading merchants intervened in a bitter dispute between the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad and the Puget Sound Shore Railroad, demanding the construction of vital terminal warehouses to save freight from the elements.
- The Tinderbox of the Waterfront: Fire Chief Warns of Seattle’s Oil-Fueled Doom
Chief Collins warns that Standard Oil’s wooden warehouses along the waterfront are a 'match away' from destroying the city, while overcrowded lodging houses threaten the poor with similar fates.
- The Pony Legislature’s Last Stand
In Olympia, a defiant territorial delegate denies rumors that the 'rump' legislature met to move the state capital away from Seattle.
- Bismarck’s Bluff: Germany Claims Samoa While Washington Watches
As the German Chancellor declares no treaty prevents his nation from seizing control of the Pacific islands, U.S. officials in Washington struggle to respond to a diplomatic crisis that threatens American interests across the ocean.
- The Emerald's Cargo: Opium and Chinese Laborers Seized in Puget Sound
Federal authorities seize a sloop carrying banned opium and undocumented Chinese immigrants at Port Discovery Bay, highlighting the harsh enforcement of exclusion laws in Washington Territory.
- The Man Who Vanished Into the Fog: A Barber’s Final Journey
Coroner Cross and Dr. Root piece together the identity of a decomposed body found near Salmon Bay, linking it to a boarder at the Commercial Hotel who may have taken his own life with morphine.
- The Great Hotel Hunger: Chehalis Builds to Catch the Rail
As the Northern Pacific Railroad surveys threaten to bypass the town for a rival route, citizens scramble to build a modern hotel and waterworks just to stay relevant in the race for territorial dominance.
- The Flyer Who Flew: How a Railway Agent’s Wine-Fueled Embezzlement Left Him Hiding in Victoria
J.R. Policy, former agent for the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, vanished from Seattle after embezzling $1,300 to fund a life of luxury and a romance with a woman of ill repute.
- The Creosote Fortress: How a New Plant Aimed to Save Seattle’s Piers from the 'Teredo'
A massive industrial complex rises six miles north of downtown, promising to protect the city's wooden infrastructure from the destructive shipworm.
- The General Who Conquered Rainier First
A century after his perilous climb, Gen. A.V. Kautz recounts the first recorded ascent of Mount Rainier to a Seattle reporter, correcting the historical record on glaciers and glory.
- The Anonymous Libel: A Letter from Chicago Targets Seattle's Legal Elite
An anonymous circular alleging that prominent lawyer J.C. Haines absconded with estate funds in Chicago is circulating through Washington Territory, sparking a fierce defense of his character by local allies.
- The Chain Gang Strike: When Seattle’s Jailers Fed Rebels Bread and Water
Twelve roughs on the city's Commercial Street cleanup crew walked off the job, leaving six loyal workers to finish the job. The police response? Lock them in the darkest cells until their sentences expire.
- The $1 Million Syndicate: How Three Men Bet Big on Tumwater’s Water Power
A wealthy trio from Kansas City arrives in Olympia with a million-dollar plan to build mills and a cable railway, signaling a massive shift in the territory's economic future.
- The Chain Gang Strikes: Bread and Water for Seattle’s Labor Rebels
When twelve men on the city's chain gang refused to work, Mayor Moran’s police chief responded with a cold diet of bread and water—and a public shaming that turned the streets into a theater of penal discipline.
- The Warehouse That Wasn't: Seattle’s Missing Link to Global Trade
Two importers walk away from the city because it lacks a bonded warehouse, exposing a critical infrastructure gap that threatens Seattle's economic future.
- The Fresh Water Fortress: Why Seattle Was Built to Save Ships from the Sea
Captain U.H. Hall returns from Washington D.C. with a bold proposal for a Navy Yard in Lake Washington, arguing that fresh water is the only defense against the 'Teredo' worm and foreign invasion.
- The Shame of the Wharf: Child Labor on Seattle’s Waterfront
A local paper condemns the sight of young girls selling apples among 'hard cases' and criminals at the O.R. & N. dock, demanding police intervention.
- The Navy Comes Calling: Seattle’s Bid for a Naval Station
A federal commission arrives in the Pacific Northwest to evaluate potential sites for a new naval base, with Lake Washington emerging as the frontrunner against competitors like Port Townsend.