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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 2 |
| 1861 | 4 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 3 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1871 | 2 |
| 1872 | 7 |
| 1876 | 35 |
| 1877 | 30 |
| 1878 | 19 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 7 |
| 1882 | 9 |
| 1883 | 51 |
| 1884 | 26 |
| 1885 | 35 |
| 1886 | 22 |
| 1887 | 23 |
| 1888 | 23 |
| 1889 | 78 |
| 1890 | 9 |
| 1891 | 50 |
| 1892 | 125 |
| 1893 | 125 |
| 1894 | 124 |
| 1895 | 165 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 11 |
| 1899 | 25 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 58 |
| 1904 | 57 |
| 1905 | 3 |
| 1907 | 3 |
| 1908 | 21 |
| 1909 | 76 |
| 1910 | 13 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 13 |
| 1915 | 10 |
| 1916 | 24 |
| 1917 | 21 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 4 |
| 1924 | 7 |
| 1925 | 2 |
| 1928 | 1 |
| 1929 | 3 |
25 stories matching chang
- The Man Who Hated the Number 13
A Seattle resident petitions city commissioners to change his house number because he believes the digit brings bad luck to his family.
- The Sudden Death of William J. Kulp
A Seattlite collapses on First Avenue while out for a morning cigar, leaving behind a family and a community in shock.
- The End of the Chain Gang in Seattle
City officials move to retire the practice of using prisoners for manual street labor, shifting to rock-breaking in a bid to deter professional tramps.
- The Blackmail Artist of Seattle
A man attempts to extort cash from his former employer by sending letters from behind bars, only to find himself trapped by the very schemes he designed.
- The Milk Riots: How Seattle’s Dairymen Threatened to Spike Prices Over a Dog Ban
When the city council proposed banning pigs and limiting livestock to three cows per family, local dairy farmers didn't just complain—they warned that milk prices would skyrocket to 15 cents a quart.
- The City That Forgot How to Ride: Seattle’s Battle for Short-Term Streetcar Franchises
In May 1899, the Seattle Star warned that granting long-term monopolies to street railway companies would leave the city trapped with obsolete technology and inflated prices. The paper argued fiercely for short-term grants to keep corporations accountable—a debate that echoes in today’s transit infrastructure battles.
- "That Ticket Has Blood on It": The Night Seattle Was Haunted by a Cursed Bill
A mysterious $5 bill with a death threat scribbled on the back sparked a city-wide panic and a frantic search for two young women who vanished into the night.
- The Tax Case That Could Save Seattle’s Wallet
Attorney M. H. Sachs challenges the county treasurer in a high-stakes legal battle over property assessments that could force a massive refund to taxpayers.
- The Sidewalk Tax: Who Pays for Seattle’s New Pavement?
City Engineer Thompson reveals the staggering costs of replacing wooden walkways with brick and cement, sparking debate over who will foot the bill for urban improvement.
- The Fight to Protect Seattle’s Tap Water
A century ago, city engineers were already sounding the alarm about protecting the Cedar River watershed from industrial development and pollution to ensure a clean supply for a growing city.
- The Rural Route Comes to Stay
Postal inspectors ride the 30-mile Yakima circuit and find 200 mailboxes where there were none — and a carrier pay raise to $400 a year.
- The Great Seattle Streetcar Standoff
A proposed deal for a unified street railway system in Seattle hits a wall as Boston-based investors reject municipal demands for fair wages and affordable fares.
- The Editor Who Killed a Man: James Connell’s Return to Everett
After being acquitted of murder in Seattle for killing his rival Nelson Lee in a street fight, former Star editor James Connell has returned to his hometown of Everett—despite death threats and a formal warning from the community to stay away.
- The Million-Dollar Divorce: How a Seattle Man’s Secret Fortune Changed a Woman’s Fate
In 1899, the divorce of Cordell McKee and his first wife didn't just end a marriage—it triggered a legal battle over $100,000 that exposed the hidden wealth of one of Seattle's most prominent businessmen.
- The Fight to Modernize Queen Anne's Streets
A group of prominent property owners on Nob Hill are lobbying the city for a sprawling, multi-tiered parkway, signaling the first organized effort to reshape the district's public infrastructure.
- The Council’s Hammer: Snoqualmie Falls Power Company Faces Ouster
Seattle city councilors move to annul the electrical franchise of the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company, citing failure to appear before an investigation committee regarding the Tracy Rapids injunction suit.
- The Milk That Killed Children: A Call for State Inspection
E. A. McDonald tells the dairymen that impure city milk is a leading killer of children and that Seattle alone employs a milk inspector — and Prof. Pearson adds a wry tale of a cow that supposedly supplied one customer for seventeen years.
- The Quarantine of Tacoma: When a Hotel Became a Prison for Railroad Workers
In April 1898, a single case of smallpox in a Tacoma hotel triggered a massive quarantine that stranded dozens of railroad employees and paralyzed the city's transit network.
- Enumclaw Farmers Cut Out the Insurance Companies
Tired of paying premiums to distant corporations, farmers around Enumclaw formed their own mutual fire and lightning insurance company — one neighbor pledging to help another.
- The Saloon Wars: How Seattle’s Council Killed the Fight to Ban Bars from Residential Streets
In a heated March 1904 council meeting, reformers fought to keep saloons off streets where wives and children walked. The measure failed, revealing deep corruption and the powerful grip of liquor interests on city government.
- The Divine Healer Who Buried Himself Alive: A Seattle Cult Leader’s Resurrection Claim
Rev. O. M. Schlatte, known as 'Schlatte the Divine Healer,' claims to have risen from a 40-day burial in the desert after fasting and praying for God's guidance. Now back in town, he asserts his authority over the famous 'Healer' of Kansas and prepares to resume his ministry.
- The Last Stand of Denny’s Old Home: A Seattle Landmark Consumed by Fire
One of the city's oldest structures, a cedar-built house on Second Avenue, was reduced to ashes early this morning. The blaze, sparked by a fallen lamp in the room of a shoe company employee, claimed the home of Mrs. Kali Palmer and her children, who barely escaped through the roof.
- The Streetcar Stranglehold: Eastern Capitalists vs. Seattle’s Future
As a coalition of wealthy investors from the East seeks to monopolize Seattle’s street railway system with a 18-year franchise, local legal advisors warn that without it, the deal collapses—igniting a fierce debate over municipal ownership and corporate power.
- The Evangelist’s Plea: Saving Seattle’s 'Fallen Women' with a House of Refuge
Rev. Crittenton packs the Armory to raise funds for a Florence Crittenton Mission, exposing the grim economics of prostitution and the desperate need for a local shelter.
- The City Buried Its Own Mistake: Coroner’s Verdict Blames Seattle for Deadly Boiler Explosion
A coroner’s jury has issued a scathing indictment against the city of Seattle, its building inspectors, and a plumber for the negligence that led to a Tuesday night explosion. The verdict fixes blame on the municipality for allowing a dangerous steam heater beneath a public sidewalk without proper oversight.