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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 468 |
| 1877 | 317 |
| 1878 | 91 |
| 1880 | 97 |
973 stories
- The Burglar Who Stole From Himself
A clever thief in Seattle pulls off a double deception: stealing from a store and then framing a Chinese employee for the crime.
- The Boiler That Killed Safety: How Neglect Nearly Sank the Oliver Walcott
A steamboat captain’s repeated warnings about a faulty boiler were ignored by department officials until the vessel burst into the dock at Port Townsend, leaving it stranded for repairs.
- The Angel of Pestilence: Seattle’s War on Rot and Ruin
In May 1877, a local merchant’s complaint about piles of carrion near the sawmills sparked an editorial outcry against civic negligence, declaring that 'malarial vapors' were generating poison and death in the growing town.
- The Battle for Lake Union: A War of Words Over Seattle’s First Public Road
In May 1877, a bitter public feud erupted between the newly appointed Supervisor of Road District No. 1 and a group of influential local voters over the legal authority to build a road along the west shore of Lake Union.
- The Great Cat Heist: How 'Old Tom' Became Seattle's Most Wanted Feline
A market cat’s affection for stolen kittens turns a quiet afternoon into a scandal of the highest order.
- The Forgery That Saved a Corrupt Judge
In May 1877, Washington Territory’s Chief Justice J.B. Lewis was nearly ousted by a fake resignation letter—only for the President to reverse course after Lewis himself exposed the fraud.
- The Romantic Ruin of a Seattle Dreamer
A young woman in 1878 Seattle finds her intellectual ambitions derailed by a fleeting, unequal affair with a local 'villain.'
- The Tragic End of a Seattle Brakeman
Frank Kimball, a young rail worker, succumbs to injuries after a horrific crushing accident at the Newcastle mines.
- The Midnight Thief on the Steamer Isabel
A passenger loses her entire fortune while dining, sparking a tense confrontation and a failed pursuit of justice on the Sound.
- The Mail Monopoly Hurting Washington’s Pioneers
Settlers in Snoqualmie and Fall City faced weeks of delays because a contractor prioritized convenience over the needs of isolated rural communities.
- The Tribune Editor and the Colonel: A Duel of Paper and Fists
A simmering political grudge in 1878 Seattle boiled over into a public brawl on the street after an editor criticized a local Colonel in print.
- The Gossips of Old Seattle: A Dispute Over a Deathbed
A local man defends his reputation after neighbors spread rumors regarding his care for a sick houseguest.
- The Price of Loyalty in 1880 Seattle
As Seattle went to the polls in 1880, local editors warned that political fealty to the Republican party was the only way to secure the University and future federal favors.
- The Lonely End of a Skagit Prospector
After wandering the rugged wilderness for nearly a month, an elderly miner perished in the mountains near the U.S.-British border.
- Quarantine in the Pioneer City: A Smallpox Scare in 1880
When two cases of smallpox arrived by steamer from San Francisco, Seattle authorities acted with swift, hard-edged precision to contain the contagion.
- The Tragedy of the Seattle Coal Docks
A tragic industrial accident at the local coal incline leaves a community in mourning as safety standards remain a distant concern.
- The High Cost of Paving the Frontier
A rare glimpse into the 1880 King County commission meetings reveals bitter political squabbles over road funding that mirror today's infrastructure debates.
- The Persistent Challenge to King County’s Treasurer
After multiple successful re-elections, Captain George D. Hill faced a legal challenge from an opponent who argued his military commission made him ineligible for the office.
- A Father’s Desperate Dash Through the Flames
In Snohomish County, a father saved his three young children from a burning home just as the roof collapsed, leaving the family physically scarred but alive.
- The Peril of the Palouse Trail
A Spokane County postmaster is left partially paralyzed after a grisly highway accident caused by a horse carcass left rotting on the mountain road.
- The Unwelcome Swarm
As Seattle prepares for a railroad boom in 1880, the Chief of Police struggles to contain a surge in vagrancy and arson.
- The Meteorology of the Woods
An 1880 meteorologist argues that deforestation is responsible for the drying of rivers and the loss of rainfall, a warning from the early days of Washington Territory.
- The Bitter Feud Over a Burnt Seattle Sawmill
A public legal dispute between two businessmen reveals the high-stakes cost of the 1880 fire that razed a local mill.
- The City That Waited Too Long
A scathing editorial from 1880 chides Seattle’s civic leaders for their 'supine' failure to build the roads necessary to secure the region's economic future.
- The Peril of Floating Streets
As Seattle's waterfront development grew in 1876, the street commissioner sounded an alarm over the city's vulnerable, buoyant wooden pavements.