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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1861 | 3 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 17 |
| 1877 | 10 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 5 |
| 1882 | 4 |
| 1883 | 8 |
| 1884 | 9 |
| 1885 | 12 |
| 1886 | 12 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 8 |
| 1889 | 11 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 16 |
| 1892 | 43 |
| 1893 | 33 |
| 1894 | 26 |
| 1895 | 38 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 11 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 8 |
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 7 |
| 1909 | 17 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 5 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1918 | 1 |
339 stories matching float
- Bears on Driftwood and Bridge Washouts in the Skykomish River
Heavy rains trigger a freshet in the mountains, leading to washed-out bridges and one very calm bear navigating the rapids on a log.
- Tragic River Crossing Claims Two Lives
Two men vanish in the flooded Yakima River while attempting a night crossing by boat, leaving behind only a drifting craft and a cabin left empty.
- Everett’s 1911 Labor Day Parade: A Display of Union Power
Thousands turned out for a massive parade and a fiercely contested baseball game at Robbins' park, reflecting the growing strength of the city's labor movement.
- Seattle’s Schools Ask Voters to Make the Ledger Balance
With teachers discounting their own salary warrants, the school board calls a special election to validate a $37,000 floating debt and put the district on a cash basis.
- The Silent Engine Room
A young sawmill worker drowns unnoticed while on the job at Lake Union.
- The Great 'Pulp' Boom of Seattle
While Seattle’s real estate developers were busy building the city, the local papers were fixated on an odd, failed experiment to tow a massive Canadian timber raft down the Pacific Coast to California—a project that ended in a floating, ocean-clogging disaster.
- Seattle's Grand Independence Day Jubilee
A massive display of civic pride, featuring a grand parade of labor unions, military companies, and elaborate trade floats, marks the most ambitious celebration in the city’s history.
- Richland Steals the Show at the Celilo Celebration
Thousands flock to the Columbia River Valley to mark a milestone in regional development with parades, floats, and historic crowds.
- The Tragedy of an Unnamed Soul
A body found in Elliott Bay prompts a swift, quiet burial, leaving no clues behind.
- The desperate engineering of a Snohomish log drive
With a drought halting logging operations, crews in Snohomish turned to a clever, labor-intensive dam-sluicing method to force logs to tide water.
- Ice-Cut Canoe Tragedy on the River
A dark night and floating ice claim two lives near Langley in a failed river crossing.
- City Council Faces Tough Choices on Infrastructure Spending
Proposals to fund sewer systems and an electric light plant pit civic necessity against concerns over rising debt and wasteful spending.
- The Struggle for a Seattle Shipyard
As railroad expansion swallows the waterfront, local mariners argue the city's future depends on building a floating dry dock to survive.
- The County's $75,000 Gamble
Yakima County proposes a major bond issuance to clear floating debt and modernize public financing.
- An Old Engineer's Body in the Harbor, and a Hole No One Could Explain
John Hall had run locomotives for thirty years. Too old for the road, out of work for weeks, he was found floating in Tacoma harbor with a wound the coroner called a bruise.
- The Tragic End of William Hill
The body of a Scottish laborer is discovered floating near the Seattle city front, leaving behind a simple will and a recommendation from a Victoria hotel.
- Aberdeen’s Municipal Debt Gamble
City council seeks to exceed debt limits to fund municipal operations and bridge purchases.
- The Price of Early Statehood
Fresh from statehood, Washington’s auditor warns of a looming floating debt and a chaotic tax system that left farmers and county officials struggling.
- The Great Log Boom Break: 800,000 Feet of Timber Set Adrift
A catastrophic failure at Colman’s mill sent a massive raft of logs floating into Elliott Bay, threatening the territory's primary industry.
- A Mother’s Desperate Rescue in Ocosta Bay
A mother who could not swim dives into the freezing tide to save her drowning son.
- The Beer Hall Heist: A Busted Scheme on the Waterfront
A would-be thief’s plan to float stolen kegs to an Indian encampment ends in a cell.
- The Lights Go Out in Oroville
A winter cold snap leaves the town in darkness after ice dams the river, testing the limits of early infrastructure.
- The Day the Newspaper Landed in the Bay
A minor dockside mishap leaves the Herald's front page floating in the water.
- J.C. Mills Lost in the Swollen Columbia
A man disappears into a whirlpool near Bridgeport, highlighting the treacherous nature of the river during high water.
- The Poet and the Plagiarized Verse
A Tacoma man discovers his own lines in a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, sparking a debate over the poet's 'clipping' habits.