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1. The Early Campaign for Mount Rainier National Park

   Prominent citizens and scientific societies lobby to transform the Pacific Forest Reserve into a protected national park, echoing the success of Yellowstone.

   Oct 11, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

2. The Great Smokestack Hoax: Seattle’s Mountain Top Mystery

   In 1873, local entrepreneur S. W. Peck convinced the city that a legendary 'living rod' lay buried atop American Flat. His desperate drilling operation reveals more about the era's speculative fever than geological truth.

   Oct 4, 1876The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime

3. Is There Gold Under Tacoma's School Land?

   A federal geologist is sent to sample the gravel of school section 16, where John G. McElroy claims a fortune in placer gold and the state says it is ordinary school land.

   Jun 30, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

4. A Gasser, a Picnic, and a Promise: Kennewick Bets on Oil and Gas

   Drillers pause to case off 400 feet of water, 85 people picnic at the well, and a Yakima promoter promises a franchise — and maybe oil — by summer.

   May 4, 1916The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

5. The Fight to Make Rainier Uncle Sam’s Park

   In 1894, scientists and mountaineers asked Congress to protect Mount Rainier as a national park—while carefully carving out the coal fields and leaving railroad passes open.

   Aug 23, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Mount RainierFollow the Money

6. The Pittsburgh of the Pacific: Kirkland's Industrial Fever Dream

   In 1891, developers and investors believed Kirkland would become a global powerhouse of iron production, fueled by a unique geological claim and massive railroad expansion.

   Feb 20, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerKirkland, King CountyBoom & Bust

7. The Myth of the Sterile Sound

   A Victorian-era editorial refutes the popular belief that the Snohomish Valley and surrounding lands were unfit for farming, arguing that geological history created a landscape ripe for immense agricultural prosperity.

   Mar 10, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

8. The Hard-Won Coal of Wilkeson

   A persistent mining operation in Wilkeson struggles with geological faults and shifting veins to keep the fuel moving toward the Puget Sound.

   Apr 17, 1878The Northern StarWilkeson, Pierce CountyWork & Pay

9. Drilling for Water Under Washington's Dry Wheat Country

   A federal geologist probes the desert east of the Columbia and the Big Bend wheatlands to see whether deep wells can water the dry interior — and finds pressure underground, but no free-flowing artesian springs.

   Feb 1, 1903The RanchCrab Creek, Moses LakeFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

10. A Minister Takes a Geologist's Hammer to Genesis

    Rev. Napoleon Hoagland tells a packed hall that the rocks do not show six days of creation, and that reason — not an infallible book — is the believer's best authority.

    Oct 13, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyStrange But True

11. The Late-Night Fight That Killed Washington's First University Building

    A governor's-office showdown between the state auditor and the university building commission halted construction, left laborers unpaid, and pushed Olympia toward a special legislative session.

    Oct 10, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall

12. The State’s Office is a ‘Sailor’s Boarding House’: Olympia’s Desperate Search for a Capitol

    With state officers scattered across the city in “miserably-ventilated” rooms and valuable records stored in sheds, Representative Collins introduces a bill to erect a temporary building on business property.

    Jan 26, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall

13. The Man Who 'Bled' His Town Dry: The Rise and Ruin of Eldridge Morse

    A 1876 traveler’s letter to the Oregon City Enterprise paints a damning portrait of Snohomish’s most energetic citizen, accusing editor Eldridge Morse of draining public funds for private ambition.

    Dec 30, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyCity Hall · Scandal

14. The General Who Conquered Rainier First

    A century after his perilous climb, Gen. A.V. Kautz recounts the first recorded ascent of Mount Rainier to a Seattle reporter, correcting the historical record on glaciers and glory.

    Jan 30, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

15. Seattle's Bid to Be the Liverpool of America

    In 1895, boosters imagined a Lake Washington ship canal turning Puget Sound into a freshwater harbor for world commerce, coal trade, and naval power.

    Feb 24, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

16. They Climbed Rainier First—and Slept in a Sulphur-Scented Ice Cave

    In 1870, Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump reached Mount Rainier's summit after a brutal 10½-hour climb, then spent a freezing night beside volcanic steam vents.

    Jan 6, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

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