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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 27 |
| 1889 | 51 |
| 1891 | 28 |
| 1892 | 206 |
| 1893 | 224 |
| 1894 | 201 |
| 1895 | 161 |
898 stories
- Divers Hunting a Sunken Safe Find a Watchman in the Harbor
While searching Tacoma harbor for a Northern Pacific safe and $14,000, Seattle divers uncovered the body of William Hansen, drowned months earlier when the pump house went down in a Thanksgiving landslide.
- Shipped Out by Force: The Sailor Who Wouldn't Sign
A Tacoma saloonkeeper lured three men to a vessel and kept them aboard against their will — now the seamen's union demands justice.
- A Mill Worker Vanishes, Leaving a Stamped Letter and a Shanghaiing Theory
J. R. Flack left his Tacoma room without his clothes or wages. His boss at Wheeler, Osgood & Co. suspects the former sailor was “shanghaied” aboard a vessel.
- The Runaway Gravel Car That Nearly Killed a Switchman
A gravel car cut loose on Tacoma's steep Pacific Avenue grade, tearing down the street at sixty miles an hour until a switchman leapt onto the engine's pilot to stop it — and was gravely hurt.
- The Confession That Stunned the Bench: A Stevedore’s Shameful Theft
In a Tacoma courtroom, Fred Wells didn't just admit to stealing from his sleeping bunkmate—he detailed how he lived like a king on stolen cash before being caught red-handed.
- A Woman's Fist Fights Off a Tacoma Street Robber
After being accosted at 11th and A, a woman turned the tables on her attacker, delivering a stinging blow that sent him fleeing into the night.
- Independence Day Fireworks Tragedy
While Tacoma celebrated with a quiet holiday, a local boy faced a life-altering injury when a cannon exploded.
- A Desperate End on the Waterfront
After allegedly being robbed of fifty dollars in Tacoma, a laborer was found nearly dead from a morphine overdose.
- The Social Siege of Miss Alioa Burns
A young Seattle resident is expelled from a Tacoma club dance, sparking a standoff and a threat of legal retribution.
- A Gambler's Estate Turns Ugly
A bitter legal battle over the estate of a Tacoma gambling house proprietor spills over into public accusations of fraud and pauperism.
- The Pressure Cooker of Tacoma Policing
Chief Zwickey steps down after juggling competing demands from saloon owners and moral reformers
- The Ballot-Box Stuffing of '92
When Tacoma's young reformers clashed with the political establishment, the result was a chaotic primary election featuring disappearing ballots, saloon-gang repeaters, and a hole in the ballot box.
- The Bitter Rivalry Between Tacoma and Seattle
A powerful committee of Tacoma businessmen lobbies state leadership to ensure no support is given to Seattle or local Republican candidates aligned with the city.
- A Father’s Scandal in Tacoma
A house painter is jailed after accusations of incest involving his teenaged daughter.
- Tacoma's $750,000 Railroad Bait—and the Utility Deal That Fell Apart
A hastily passed water-and-light purchase ordinance is dead on arrival, while C. B. Wright dangles another railroad in front of Tacoma taxpayers.
- The Battle Over Tacoma's Waterworks
As citizens gather to protest a municipal bond election for the private water company's plant, accusations of political bribery and corporate control boil over.
- A Young Bride's Escape to the City
After marrying a rancher, a 15-year-old runaway leaves the isolation of her forest home for the bright lights of Tacoma.
- Mary Stein Feist, 21, Dies by Suicide in Tacoma
A young bride, isolated and grieving for her family in Germany, takes her own life just seven weeks after her wedding in Tacoma.
- Labor Takes a Scalpel to Tacoma's Budget — and Calls Out the Boodlers
As Tacoma's finance committee hunts for cuts, the Trades Council arrives with its own salary schedule, demands depositories for the city's money, and accuses the Chamber of Commerce of encouraging 'unlawful appropriation.'
- Tacoma's Assistant City Clerk Walked Out on $1,000 Bail—and Friends Told Him to Run
A forgery case against a city official grows stranger: allies urge flight, Treasurer Boggs is drawn in, and a brother stays behind bars.
- Who Owns the Tide Lands? A Tacoma Title Fight Heads to the Supreme Court
Two Valentine scrip suits — Bier v. Moran Bros. and Mann v. Tacoma Land Company — are set to test whether private claimants or the State of Washington control the tide lands of its harbors.
- Labor Boycott Divides Tacoma Merchants
The Women's Auxiliary of the Trades Council is pressuring city merchants to drop advertising in a boycotted newspaper.
- Tacoma's Water Chief Accused—and the City Hall Feud Behind It
Mayor Orr's appointment of George H. Hollidge to run Tacoma's water and light plants blew up into a public corruption fight, with secret affidavits, anonymous postal cards and a grand jury waiting.
- Tacoma’s Strike Trials: Jail, Fines, and a $500 Lesson for Union Men
After the Pullman boycott collapsed, a federal court in Tacoma convicted American Railway Union officers of contempt, jailing three men and fining a former Northern Pacific clerk $500.
- A Governor's Board Takes On a Militia Commander—and a Bribery Charge
A state investigation will examine Gen. Curry's reinstatement of a Spokane company and a sergeant's claim that he paid Adj. Gen. O'Brien for a camp-store monopoly.