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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 8 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 6 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 15 |
| 1893 | 25 |
| 1894 | 17 |
| 1895 | 35 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 13 |
| 1904 | 10 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 12 |
| 1910 | 6 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1929 | 1 |
198 stories matching defect
- The Great Rail Strike Cripples Pacific Northwest Logistics
Defective equipment and massive delays plague the Harriman system as the national strike by railway workers intensifies.
- The Day Women Lost the Vote in Washington
A legal technicality regarding the wording of a territorial act effectively stripped Washington women of their hard-won voting rights in 1887.
- A Death-Trap Elevator in the Ball Block
An 18-year-old stenographer is critically injured after stepping into an open elevator shaft in downtown Tacoma, highlighting a pattern of mechanical neglect.
- The Night They Broke Down the Fence at Lake Union
A squatter’s float, a disputed shoreline and a forcible takeover produce a lawsuit that collapses twice on technicalities.
- The Price of a Badly Written Charter
Tacoma’s new municipal charter proves to be a legal disaster that costs the town thousands in needless fees and litigation.
- Injured Man Sues City Over Sidewalk Maintenance
A pedestrian seeks damages after a fall on a dangerous city sidewalk.
- City Inspector Cracks Down on Defective Chimneys
Building Inspector Hebblethwaite condemns six chimneys in a single week for fire safety violations.
- The Struggle for the Kennewick-Richland Marketing Union
Local growers navigate competing marketing strategies to establish a unified system for fruit distribution.
- Sidewalk Accident Triggers Municipal Lawsuit
A pedestrian seeks $1,800 in damages after a fall on a broken path between two industrial landmarks.
- The Day Seattle Women Lost the Vote
In a bombshell ruling that blindsided the territory, the Supreme Court struck down the 1883 law that first granted Washington women the right to cast a ballot.
- The Price of Neglect: Seattle's 1877 Health Crisis
As diphtheria sweeps through a growing Seattle, an 1877 editorial warns that city-wide sanitation failures and individual negligence are turning the climate's natural health into a breeding ground for disease.
- House Fire at North Fife Street
A residence at 610 North Fife Street is heavily damaged by a blaze likely caused by faulty wiring while the owners were sitting in the floor below.
- The Bridge That Saved a Boarding House
A ten-minute delay caused by a passing ship allowed firefighters to extinguish a blaze in the St. Paul Tacoma Lumber Company’s housing before it could spread.
- The Count's Obscene Mail Scandal
A self-styled Count faces trial in Tacoma for allegedly mailing obscene letters, despite his wife's legal campaign to free him.
- The Delegate Who Stalled the State’s Legal Progress
How a stubborn stand on woman suffrage paralyzed Washington Territory’s legislative agenda in the halls of D.C.
- The End of the Territory's First Hotel
The historic Eight House in Steilacoom, which once hosted Grant and Sheridan, has been destroyed by fire.
- The First House, Lost
A historic residence is reduced to ashes in Kettle Falls due to a faulty flue.
- Technicality Saves Alleged Thief
A grand larceny case against Nellie Blanchard was dismissed after her attorney exposed a critical flaw in the legal filing.
- Coroner Blames Corroded Boiler for the Explosion That Killed Two on the 'Owl'
A coroner's jury near Mukilteo rules that the Great Northern locomotive that blew apart was destroyed by broken stay bolts and corrosion — an industrial failure, not an accident of fate.
- Rejected by the Navy, Local Youth Persists in Pursuit of Service
After two medical rejections, a persistent young man finally clears his physical exam for military enlistment.
- City Liability for Sidewalk Accidents
The state supreme court caps damages for a school teacher injured on an Olympia sidewalk, setting a precedent for municipal liability.
- No Money, No Jury: Tacoma's Judge Stops Court to Prove a Point
Judge Stallcup vacated a jury order because the county had no cash to pay jurors—and his suit over Tacoma's water bonds made the bench itself the story.
- The Teacher Who Saved the Schoolhouse
A quick-thinking teacher organized students into a bucket brigade to save a burning schoolhouse at Hughes' mill.
- The Fight to Fund the Territorial University
Legislators debate the future of education in Olympia, questioning the status of the University's land title and its academic standards.
- Fire Claims a Veteran's Souvenirs
A local veteran loses his home and irreplaceable mementos from his overseas military service to an accidental fire.