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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 25 |
| 1877 | 16 |
| 1878 | 10 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1883 | 19 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 7 |
| 1886 | 3 |
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| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 8 |
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| 1892 | 34 |
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| 1909 | 5 |
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| 1911 | 2 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 3 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
256 stories matching mud
- Tumwater Gets Electric Lights but Still No Crossings—Two Ladies Stuck in the Mud
New lights on Reserve Street only made the missing crossings more obvious when two women tried to walk from the wagon bridge to the post office and sank to a standstill.
- The Snohomish River's 'Miasma of Decay'
An 1876 editorial decries the hazardous state of the river banks, warning that stagnant water and rotting sawdust are breeding sickness in the growing town.
- The City Streets Are Now Bottomless Mud Pits
Walla Walla business owners urge the city to scrape the main thoroughfares, claiming current conditions are worse than those found in small country villages.
- Dredging Up the Past in the City Waterway
Human remains and a rusted knife are unearthed from the Tacoma waterfront, likely belonging to a sailor from a ship that capsized years prior.
- Rain Turns Early Seattle's Front Street to Mud
When heavy rains turned downtown thoroughfares into impassable quagmires, residents demanded better engineering than the temporary, 'penny-wise' patch jobs of the 1870s.
- The Disgraceful State of Our Streets
Walla Walla's main thoroughfares have devolved into 'pig sties' of mud, and the city must fix drainage and maintenance before wasting money on new pavement.
- A Sea of Slimy Mud
Heavy November rains leave Walla Walla’s streets nearly impassable as the town struggles with a record-breaking deluge.
- Building the Great Northern Through the Cascades
Tunnel construction for the Great Northern Railroad claims a life as laborers battle mountain mud and unrelenting rain.
- The Real Estate Hustle of 1888
Before the skyline, there were the speculators: a look at how early Seattle developers used the 'Great City' narrative to sell lots in mud-soaked additions.
- Sheriff Rescues Abducted Child in Mud Bay Custody Dispute
A father steals his child; a sheriff's late-night ride ends in recovery and a court date.
- The Muddy Reputation of Walla Walla
A visiting eastern capitalist vows never to return after enduring the city's 'abominable' streets, sparking a local debate on infrastructure and civic pride.
- The Mud-Locked Road: Seattle’s 1878 Infrastructure Feud
A bitter war of words erupts in the press over the impassable Snoqualmie road and the 'cheek' of local politicians asking for funding they refused to spend.
- Streetcar Passenger Sues Over Dispute
A man sues the Tacoma Railway and Power company for $1,500 after a conductor allegedly shoved him into the mud.
- The Newport Hardware Man Who Went Through Johnstown — and Kept the River Mud to Prove It
In his store window, E. E. Reid displays a gilded St. George torn from a clock and a rocking chair pulled from the 1889 Johnstown flood — silt still hardened in the crevices — and jokes that he is still selling hardware because the flood only went through him, not over him.
- A Boy's Terrifying Plunge from the Tide Flats Trestle
A teenager suffers a severe break after his horse shies and throws him from the elevated roadway onto the mud below.
- An Ill-Fated Fishing Excursion to Brown's Wharf
Local residents charter a boat named 'Union' for a fishing trip, only to end up mud-bound and fishless.
- The Courthouse Mud Trap
A dangerous quagmire on Third Street leaves citizens stuck in the clay on their way to justice.
- The Presidential Impersonator of Snohomish
A local man causes a stir on Main Street, staging a political reception from the porch of the Snohomish Exchange before his performance is cut short by a mud puddle.
- A Wood Wagon Sank in the Mud Outside Good Templars' Hall
A Port Townsend editor told the new town trustees to fix existing roads before launching grand new ones—after neighbors had to unload Peter Smith's wagon to free it.
- A Visitor’s View of Seattle in 1884
A traveling correspondent offers a candid take on Seattle’s mud, growth potential, and the recent victory for women’s suffrage.
- A Plunge into the Mud at Carkeek's Brick Yard
A passenger on an electric railway takes a dark, unintended shortcut off the tracks and into the waters of the bay.
- The Mud of the Highlands
Melting snows leave Kennewick rural routes impassable, forcing students to crawl over dangerous flumes to get home.
- The Great Fourth of July Camp-Out Fiasco
When Seattle’s local militia attempted to prep for a military parade, their poor planning and lack of supplies resulted in a humiliating, mud-soaked retreat.
- Opening the Cascade Pass for Commerce
New improvements to the Snoqualmie wagon road are rapidly shortening travel time between the interior and Seattle, promising to boost the city's trade reach.
- An Aerial Bust at the Snohomish Ball Game
A much-anticipated airplane exhibition turns into a mud-caked failure, but the local baseball game saves the day for the fans.