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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 98 |
| 1883 | 511 |
| 1884 | 326 |
| 1885 | 566 |
| 1886 | 361 |
| 1887 | 327 |
2,189 stories
- The City That Outgrew Its Rivals
An 1885 dispatch from the front lines of the Seattle boom describes a town shedding its humble roots and leaving former neighbors like Steilacoom in the dust.
- The Tragedy of a Dedicated Seattle Fireman
A young, well-regarded member of the fire department dies suddenly, highlighting the personal toll of civic service in 1886 Seattle.
- The Runaway Street Car on Battery Street
When the brakes failed on a steep Seattle incline, passengers faced a terrifying ride as their horse-drawn car hurtled down the tracks toward the waterfront.
- The Boy Who Tried to Buy His Mother’s Freedom
When his mother was jailed for a minor offense, a seven-year-old Seattle boy arrived at the police station with two dollars and a heart-wrenching plea to take her place in the cell.
- The Piano Player and the Martial Law Mob
When the U.S. Army imposed martial law in 1886 Seattle to restore order amid anti-Chinese riots, one piano player decided to publicly heckle the 'murderers' in uniform.
- The Price of Vigilantism Under Martial Law
While Seattle remained under military control during the 1886 anti-Chinese riots, a local soldier faced court-martial for an unauthorized raid on a business, highlighting the rigid enforcement of order in a city on the edge.
- The Tragic End of a Hotelier
A well-known Seattle ship captain and hotel proprietor dies after a fatal overdose of morphine intended to ease his suffering.
- Hardship and Deception at the Cascade Tunnel
Laborers arriving at the Northern Pacific site find empty promises, cold conditions, and a 'regular gouging' by company management.
- The Secret Plot to Liquidate Seattle’s Elite
A deathbed confession unearths a forgotten 1886 conspiracy by radical socialists to assassinate prominent Seattle figures, including the city's founder, Arthur A. Denny.
- The Tragedy of a Boy on Mercer Island
A young runaway’s desperate flight leads to a dramatic intervention by the county sheriff.
- The Deadly Loaf of Bread
A betrayal between business partners takes a dark turn in Semiahmoo when a loaf of bread becomes a vessel for strychnine.
- The Child on the Train
A conductor discovers a feverish little girl wandering a train alone with only her doll for comfort.
- The Blundering Firefighters of Pioneer Square
A satirical look at a day when a local livery stable fire turned into a slapstick comedy of errors for Seattle's volunteer hook and ladder company.
- The Failed Arson Plot at the Denny Block
A tenant discovers a trail of kerosene-soaked fabric and a trap door beneath his shop, thwarting an attempt to burn down a Seattle business district.
- The Republican Convention of King County
A raucous 1886 political gathering reveals a party divided by railroad influence, local prohibition, and the intense anti-Chinese sentiment of the era.
- The Mysterious Bomb at the Postoffice
A suspicious package resembling a bomb creates a localized stir at the Seattle post office.
- The Opium Smuggler of Second Street
A diligent customs officer tracks a young man and his illicit cargo to a local rooming house.
- The Price of a Mill Hand's Life
An anonymous laborer exposes the exploitative wage practices of the Puget Mill Company, detailing how the firm undercuts competitors by replacing white workers with Chinese laborers at subsistence wages.
- The Secret Railway Building Under Seattle’s Streets
While the city slept, a mysterious construction crew pushed a new railway line through the downtown core, dodging private lots and baffling local observers.
- The Blurred Map of Seattle's Early Real Estate Boom
A local property surveyor exposes a deceptive mapping practice meant to obscure the true boundaries of land parcels during a heated period of development.
- The Street-Level Economy of 'Rolling' Drunks in 1887 Seattle
A courtroom testimony offers a rare, unflinching look at the predatory 'rolling' culture haunting the Pioneer Square waterfront during the city's early development.
- The Great 'Deep Water' Lie: Seattle vs. Tacoma
A leaked conversation between a Northern Pacific Railroad agent and a local editor reveals the cutthroat, manufactured rivalry over which city would become the true terminus for the wheat trade.
- The Hermit of Salmon Bay
After thirty years living in a cave and eating skunk cabbage, an elderly recluse is finally convinced to leave his Pacific Northwest woods for a quieter life in Kentucky.
- The Tragic End of Peter Legray
A quiet life on the Seattle waterfront ended in a lonely, tide-swept death, highlighting the stark invisibility of the city's vulnerable in 1887.
- The Unjust Public Shaming of J.E. Spafford
After the death of his wife, a Seattle laborer fights back against local gossip and accusations of neglect in a poignant appeal to the press.