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• 1900–1909 ×

1. Fire Horses Run Amok in Downtown Seattle

   A tragic accident involving runaway fire horses and a streetcar leaves one young girl dead and several others injured.

   Apr 15, 1904The Tacoma TimesMadison Street, Front Street, Yesler Avenue, Seattle, King CountyDisasters

2. The Unidentified Logger of Thirty-Ninth

   A man found gravely injured on an embankment dies before he can reveal his name.

   Apr 25, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

3. Fire Trap Expansions at the Globe Hotel

   Tacoma building inspectors are ignoring unauthorized, illegal additions to a notorious downtown lodging house.

   May 9, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall

4. A Lost Child’s Desperate Run Across the West

   After his family splintered, a 14-year-old boy arrived in Tacoma alone, setting off a chain of bicycle thefts as he tried to find a way home.

   May 21, 1904The Tacoma TimesPuyallup, Pierce County

5. The Church Brawl Over a Knife

   A congregation splits into factions after a church member refuses to lie about his inner peace.

   May 27, 1904The Tacoma TimesArlington, Tacoma, Pierce CountyScandal

6. A High-Wire Heist at Ninth and Commerce

   Budding criminals scaled a twelve-foot transom to loot a hardware store, only to ignore a massive, unlocked safe in favor of a handful of change.

   May 28, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

7. Power Company Wires Block Ships on Thea Foss Waterway

   When high-voltage wires blocked a sailing ship from the city dock, a newspaper reporter dropped the story the moment they learned who owned the infrastructure.

   Jun 18, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money

8. The Largest Military Encampment in Western History

   Thousands of federal and state troops prepare for maneuvers around American Lake, turning the region into a temporary 'White City.'

   Jun 23, 1904The Tacoma TimesAmerican Lake, Tacoma, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

9. Fatal Collision at the Eleventh Street Bridge

   A local machinist dies after his launch is pinned against bridge girders by a powerful tide.

   Jul 4, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyDisasters

10. A Desperate Leap from the Eleventh Street Bridge

    A local logger attempted to end his life by jumping into the channel, while a would-be rescuer accidentally ended up in the bay himself during the chaos.

    Jul 8, 1904The Tacoma TimesPacific Avenue, Tacoma, Pierce County

11. The Saloonist and the Building Inspector

    A prominent local businessman attempted to bypass city fire ordinances to construct an illegal addition for his saloon, exposing alleged official corruption at City Hall.

    Jul 20, 1904The Tacoma Times1116 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall · Scandal

12. The Hidden Killer in Tacoma's West End

    A local health inspector finds a dairy operating in conditions 'too filthy for belief,' threatening a typhoid epidemic for families across the district.

    Aug 9, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall

13. The War on Tacoma's Knothole Gang

    When the local baseball management deployed a park keeper with a sharp stick to drive away children watching from a fence, the crowd turned on the club.

    Aug 10, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyNightlife

14. Two Men Crushed Under Tons of Falling Lumber

    A routine measurement at the St. Paul mill yards turned into a harrowing disaster when overhead lumber supports gave way.

    Aug 11, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

15. The Electrocution of a Lineman

    A routine day for a Seattle Electric company worker ended in a harrowing, public death that left his body suspended over the city's Sixth Avenue for fifteen minutes.

    Jun 4, 1903The Evening Statesman6th Avenue & Stewart Street, Seattle, King CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

16. The Saloonkeeper’s Open Letter to Walla Walla Voters

    An unapologetic endorsement of Mayor Hunt from a local saloon owner who argues that city officials should ignore 'blue laws' in favor of prosperity.

    Jun 8, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

17. Vigilante Justice on the Sound

    When a steamer full of card sharps tried to fleece a group of shingle weavers, the workers fought back—and won.

    Jun 17, 1903The Evening StatesmanSeattle, King CountyNightlife

18. The Scandal at Walla Walla Schools

    A school board member resigns in protest after the superintendent is re-elected despite allegations of financial misconduct.

    Jun 18, 1903The Evening StatesmanLincoln School, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall · Scandal

19. Quarantine Enforcement on Sprague Street

    When parents failed to keep children with smallpox indoors, health officials forcibly removed the family to the pest house.

    Jun 29, 1903The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall

20. A Nighttime Scuffle in Palouse

    An unexpected shooting between two strangers in a small Washington town turns into a case of mistaken identity.

    Jul 3, 1903The Evening StatesmanMain Street, Palouse, Whitman CountyTrue Crime

21. Spokane City Council Cracks Down on 'Box' Saloons

    In a move against the private partitioned rooms often associated with vice, the city council refuses to renew liquor licenses for establishments keeping doors on their booths.

    Jul 3, 1903The Evening StatesmanSpokane, Spokane CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

22. The Midnight Saloon Brawl That Shook Main Street

    A political argument over a local election turned violent when a Deputy Sheriff pistol-whipped a veteran in front of a crowded saloon.

    Jul 13, 1903The Evening StatesmanMain Street, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall · Scandal

23. The City’s Great Bicycle Experiment

    Walla Walla’s Bicycle Commissioner tests asphalt versus wood planks as he pushes to expand city infrastructure for wheelmen.

    Jul 16, 1903The Evening StatesmanEast Alder Street, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

24. The Long Road Back to San Francisco

    After months of legal battles and a literal tug-of-war, a man wanted in California is finally extradited.

    Jul 16, 1903The Evening StatesmanTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

25. The Administrator, the Heir, and the Living Dead Man

    General R. G. O'Brien faces a court showdown after a legal battle over an inheritance that traveled all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Jul 27, 1903The Evening StatesmanOlympia, Thurston CountyTrue Crime

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