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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 15 |
| 1893 | 15 |
| 1894 | 17 |
| 1895 | 26 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 6 |
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 8 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1925 | 2 |
| 1928 | 1 |
194 stories matching liabl
- Seattle’s Desperate Need for Modern Firefighting
As the city rapidly expands, the Common Council scrambles to replace inadequate, antiquated fire gear before a disaster strikes.
- Walla Walla Weighs Water Rights Against Costly Lawsuits
A legal dispute over riparian rights forces the city to weigh the cost of a new gravity system against the risk of massive damages.
- Seattle’s Rotten Garbage Problem
A health official warns that the city's sewage scow is falling apart, proposing a permanent incinerator.
- The Perils of the Cable Tracks
A local businessman calls out the street railway company for leaving hazardous, unfinished construction in the heart of downtown.
- The City Council Bribery Probe
A committee is formed to investigate rumors of vote-buying surrounding a lucrative new telephone franchise in Tacoma.
- A Medicine Man's Death, and a Debt Demanded in Blood
A Nisqually medicine man was killed after failing to cure children. Now his cousin says forty tribesmen will march on the Muckleshoot reservation for customary indemnity — or the killer and his kin may be killed.
- Smuggling at the Railroad Tracks
A local man is held on charges for attempting to smuggle 32 Chinese immigrants via rail boxcar.
- Deported for Being Poor: A Seattle Mother and Her U.S.-Born Children Ordered to Canada
A young woman who married a British subject, separated after a quarrel, and was deemed likely to become a public charge is turned over by the juvenile court for deportation—along with her two American-born children.
- The City Hall Sewer Fight
A contractor accuses the city engineer of bad faith after being ordered to halt construction on the town's new sewer system.
- The Stowaways of the Laurada: A $50 Fine for a Trip North
Two men caught sneaking aboard a steamer bound for Alaska were forced to disembark in Bellingham, facing Canadian customs penalties and a hefty fine.
- The Myth of the Land Monopoly
An 1877 Seattle newspaper sets the record straight for prospective homesteaders: unlike California, Washington Territory is free from the crushing weight of Spanish land grants and speculative hoarding.
- The Tailor's Revolt: Seattle Shops Defy Union Wages
As the local tailors' strike enters its second week with shops shuttered, merchants import labor from abroad to break the union, sparking fears of violent confrontation.
- The Loophole Arsonist
A man accused of burning down his own house escapes conviction because the law failed to define arson as a crime when committed against one's own property.
- North Yakima School Playground Accident Leads to $5,000 Judgment
A court ruling finds a school district liable for injuries sustained on modified playground equipment, sparking concerns about the future of school recreation.
- Fairhaven Moves Toward Self-Governance
With the Municipal Incorporation Act signed, the city prepares for local administration while drawing a hard line against annexation by New Whatcom.
- Tacoma’s Crumbling Infrastructure
Public Works Commissioner William Welsh warns that over a dozen city bridges are rotting and unsafe for public travel.
- Defending Treaty Fishing Rights
Federal authorities signal a crackdown on illegal fishing, reaffirming Indigenous treaty rights from 1866.
- The Milk Riots: How Seattle’s Dairymen Threatened to Spike Prices Over a Dog Ban
When the city council proposed banning pigs and limiting livestock to three cows per family, local dairy farmers didn't just complain—they warned that milk prices would skyrocket to 15 cents a quart.
- Shareholders Forced to Pay Debts of Insolvent Mill
A judge rules that the owners of the failed Fremont Manufacturing Company are personally liable for the firm's unpaid debts.
- The Steamboat 'Fleetwood' Over-Packed
A federal seizure looms after the steamboat Fleetwood is caught hauling dozens of passengers over its legal limit between Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia.
- The End of the 'Coolie Trade'
A new federal law moves to criminalize the transportation of indentured Chinese laborers on American ships.
- The Lovers’ Lane of Snohomish
A newly constructed plank road, intended for industrial timber transit, becomes an unlikely promenade for the town's romantic youth.
- The Oyster Bed Loophole
A Supreme Court ruling on tide lands inadvertently threatens the state's control over valuable oyster beds.
- The City Council Grants Massive Streetcar Monopoly
A sweeping new ordinance grants a local transit company the right to lay tracks across vast swaths of Seattle's downtown, prioritizing private infrastructure over the city's future growth.
- The Auditor’s Scathing Reply
A war of words erupts between a Mason County auditor and the Adjutant-General over military duty records.