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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1861 | 5 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 15 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1883 | 15 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 13 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 16 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 18 |
| 1892 | 19 |
| 1893 | 23 |
| 1894 | 18 |
| 1895 | 26 |
| 1897 | 1 |
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| 1899 | 4 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 20 |
| 1904 | 11 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 8 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
265 stories matching keeper
- Seattle’s Liquor Dealers Form Defense Association
Saloon keepers across Washington state organize to fight prohibition and regulatory pressure.
- The Tale of the Leschi Park 'Baby Seal'
A local newspaper mistakenly reports the birth of a sea lion pup at Leschi Park, but local fishermen reveal they actually caught a stray baby seal elsewhere and dropped it in the tank.
- Seattle's Saloon Keepers Face the 'High License' Squeeze
As 1885 begins, the city cracks down on liquor sellers, leaving many owners struggling to pay their bonds—and prompting some to consider an honest day's work instead.
- The Saloon-Keepers’ Council
A scathing editorial exposes how Seattle’s early city government was dominated by saloon owners, liquor distributors, and property men who thrived on the vice trade.
- The Editor Who Sold His Paper to a Brothel Keeper
A scathing letter in the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes the corrupt alliance between Seattle’s Republican party and its most notorious vice kingpins, asking: 'What of that newspaper publisher... who for a palm share in the wages of prostitution gives his aid and influence?'
- The Saloon Keepers' New Political Machine
Facing a midnight closing law and new regulatory costs, Seattle’s tavern owners band together to secure their influence at City Hall.
- The Bold Navigator and the Tatoosh Island Light-Keeper
A maritime dispute over a salvaged anchor reveals the shady side-hustles of a government lighthouse official.
- The Forgotten Law That Listed Walla Walla's Drinkers
A judge in Walla Walla is shocking the state by enforcing an 1883 statute that forces saloon keepers to post lists of 'habitual drunkards' in their establishments.
- The Perilous Wreck of the Steamboat at Ozette
After a devastating storm, a ship's crew and passengers faced a harrowing survival on the coast, clinging to the remnants of their vessel and the lighthouse keeper's mercy.
- Legislative Crackdown on 'Bar-Check' Fraud
A new proposal in the state house seeks to hold saloon-keepers accountable for cashing checks for intoxicated patrons, a practice contributing to high forgery rates.
- Brutal Stabbing in the Red Light District
A local restaurant keeper is fighting for his life after a violent confrontation in the Rose Street red light district.
- The Price of 'Immorality' in 1891 Seattle
When the city council targeted a saloon keeper for moral failure, the debate exposed deep divisions over class, race, and selective enforcement of the law.
- The Shocking Case of the Napping Keeper
A Seattle hospital patient, presumed to be suffering from narcotic poisoning, is jolted back to 'life' by a doctor’s electric battery—only for the doctors to realize they had the wrong man.
- The High-License Gamble: Seattle’s 1886 Liquor War
Business owners threaten to shutter their doors in a high-stakes protest against the city’s new, aggressive liquor licensing ordinances.
- Shanghaied in Tacoma
A waterfront boarding house keeper is caught in the act of kidnapping a sailor in Tacoma.
- Vancouver’s Sunday Shutdown
The saloon keepers of Vancouver, Washington, enforce a strict city-wide Sunday closure, leaving the town deserted.
- Tacoma’s Sailor-Shipping ‘Blood Money’ Combine
Rival boarding-house keepers demanded fees from captains before they could ship a crew—until a new federal law threatened the whole arrangement.
- The Counterfeiter of Tacoma’s Lodging Houses
A man is back in custody after passing fake gold coins on unsuspecting boarding house operators.
- The Editor, The Gambler, and The Incorruptible Judge
A fiery editorial from 1876 exposes a local feud between the press and the judiciary, revealing a landscape of 'dance houses,' gambling hells, and political bitterness.
- The Brewery Barricade: A Pioneer Land Grab
A young saloon keeper attempts to fence off a public path to build a beer garden, igniting a neighborhood revolt in 1887 Seattle.
- Seattle Ends the 'Pay-to-Play' Liquor Fines
A local judge breaks with a years-long precedent of allowing restaurant owners to pay a monthly fee in lieu of a full liquor license.
- The Bartender Who Saved a Life
A skeptical Seattle saloon keeper prevents a man from swallowing a mysterious powder, leading to a strange and poignant discovery.
- The Last Stand of Bebe Low: A Saloon Keeper’s Final Plea
In August 1876, Seattle saloon owner Bebe Low publicly demanded his debts be settled before disappearing from the city, leaving behind a cryptic notice and a legacy of vanished frontier commerce.
- The Shadow Over Seattle: A Councilman’s Scathing Exposé of Vice
In 1891, a fiery letter from C. B. Bagley to the Post-Intelligencer accused the mayor and police chief of being puppets to the city’s most notorious gamblers and saloon-keepers.
- A Hotel-Keeper's Last Night: The Saloon Shooting at Sultan
George Britton, 28, shot through the groin in a saloon row in the Snohomish County timber town of Sultan, is told he will not last the afternoon — so he sends for a preacher and a lawyer and makes his will.