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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 314 |
| 1889 | 785 |
| 1891 | 328 |
| 1892 | 1,308 |
| 1893 | 1,604 |
| 1894 | 1,246 |
| 1895 | 1,087 |
6,672 stories
- The First Labor Day Parade in Seattle
Thousands of Seattle workers marched through the downtown streets on September 2, 1889, in the city’s inaugural celebration of the labor movement.
- The Brutal Toll of 1889’s Public Safety Panic
After a violent prison break and a string of failed robberies, three young men receive decades-long prison sentences—sparking a debate over justice, recidivism, and the city's grim penal reality.
- Valentine Scrip Sparks Protest Over Washington Waterfronts
Speculators and land-hungry companies are betting big on a loophole involving obscure 'Valentine scrip' to seize Seattle’s tideflats, setting the stage for a massive legal showdown.
- The Phoenix City: Seattle's Rapid Rebirth After the Great Fire
Just 18 months after the 1889 fire leveled the downtown, Seattle transformed from charred ruins into a modern metropolis of stone, steel, and electric streetcars.
- The Great Land Grab of 1890
Official records from the Seattle land office reveal a massive migration of settlers moving into Washington’s 'virgin soil,' fueling a population boom and shifting the region's economy toward private ownership.
- The Tragedy of Mrs. Flood
A desperate attempt at self-destruction reveals the cycle of domestic abuse occurring in a downtown hotel.
- 1891 Commission Rejects Private Control of Seattle Harbor
A landmark 1891 report reveals the state's fierce battle against private interests to reclaim Seattle's tide lands and shoreline for public use.
- The City Council’s War on Williams: How Seattle Tried to Fire Its Own Engineer
A bitter power struggle between the Board of Aldermen and city engineer Benezette Williams led to a legislative loophole designed to strip him of his contract, sparking fears of costly lawsuits and stalled infrastructure projects.
- The Opium Ring and the Floating Body: A Seattle Murder Mystery
When Abner Abbott’s body was found in the tide flats, suspicion fell on a smuggling ring. Was he silenced for knowing too much about a $400 check from China?
- The Plot to Lock Up a Witness: How Greed Tried to Silence a Pioneer
William De Shaw, a respected Seattle merchant and witness to a will worth millions in British Columbia, was nearly committed to an insane asylum by land speculators who wanted his testimony silenced.
- The Thief in Blue: Police Chief Exposes Captain’s Theft of Prisoners’ Belongings
A dramatic hearing reveals Officer Fayban’s accusation that Captain Henry Sheahan stole handkerchiefs, neckties, and cash from arrested men, sparking a bitter war of words between Seattle’s top law enforcement officials.
- Death in the Ring at the People's Theater
A sparring match at a downtown variety hall turns fatal, sparking a city-wide crackdown on brutal 'glove contests'.
- Moving the University: A Fight Over Land and Legacy
Legislators and local boosters draft a plan to relocate the University of Washington and untangle decades of messy land titles.
- The Trial of Carrie Goldsmith
A police court judge hears a test case against a 'disorderly woman' that could determine the fate of dozens of others facing arrest.
- Seattle's Justice System Ruled Illegal
A state Supreme Court decision against Tacoma’s police court has triggered a legal crisis in Seattle, leaving local officials scrambling to save the city’s ability to prosecute crime.
- The Midnight Landing at Smith's Cove
When dozens of Chinese laborers were smuggled into Seattle via a frigid landing at Smith’s Cove in 1892, a frantic, city-wide pursuit ensued.
- Rancher Joseph Amerd Fatally Shot at Marble Mound, 1892
A long-standing feud between a rancher and a laborer culminates in a violent end on New Year's Day near the confluence of the Skagit and Cascade rivers.
- The Midnight Kidnapping of the 'Wasco' Deckhands
A bitter labor dispute on the Seattle waterfront spills into open water as union men board a steamer to abduct non-union workers.
- The Great Debate: Where Should Seattle's Ship Canal Go?
In 1892, federal engineers weighed the massive engineering feat of connecting Lake Washington to Puget Sound, deliberating whether to carve the path through Salmon Bay or Smith Cove.
- The Railway King vs. The 'Bow in the Ram's Horn'
James J. Hill, the legendary railroad titan, packs the Seattle City Council chambers to demand a straight track through the city's waterfront, warning that 'bottlenecking' the rails would cost the city its future.
- The City’s Debt Crisis of 1892
Facing a massive budget deficit, Seattle officials put a sweeping plan for fiscal reform and infrastructure bonds to a direct vote of the people.
- The Price of Early Seattle’s Growing Pains
Facing a mountain of debt, unpaid warrants, and legal judgments, Seattle held a high-stakes special election in 1892 to borrow $850,000 to keep the city running.
- The Battle for the Waterfront: Seattle's 1892 Railroad Struggle
As the Northern Pacific sought to claim prime space on Railroad Avenue, the city council faced a pivotal decision: prioritize corporate rail expansion or protect the public from the dangerous, crooked 'ram's horn' tracks that choked the waterfront.
- The City’s Debt Ceiling Crisis of 1892
Facing a massive backlog of unpaid warrants and legal judgments, Seattle's city council puts a multi-million dollar bond package to a city-wide vote to stave off municipal insolvency.
- The Great Seattle Bond Rush of 1892
Facing a mountain of debt, Seattle voters were asked to decide the city's future through a flurry of bonds for sewers, water pipes, and court-mandated payouts.