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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 7 |
| 1894 | 7 |
| 1895 | 19 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
104 stories matching oak
- The High Cost of Keeping Warm in Pioneer Seattle
As Seattle's population climbed toward 45,000 in 1880, local leaders sounded the alarm on the soaring price of firewood and looked to the untapped coal mines of the region for a heating revolution.
- The Sound’s Secret: How Deep Waters and Giant Trees Built a City
A reprinted editorial from New York reveals why Puget Sound is the 'Mediterranean of the West,' detailing its impossible depth, massive timber resources, and the strange phenomenon of forests with only small and giant trees.
- The Duck That Struck Gold
A holiday dinner turns into a prospecting claim when a bell boy discovers nuggets inside a Whidby Island duck.
- The Railroad President Who Said No to Olympia
A Great Northern snub prompts the Olympia Tribune to rally the capital city behind its railroad ambitions.
- The Grocery Company That Cooked Its Own Books
Tacoma Grocery Company’s president is accused of falsifying minute books and hiding assets from the receiver, creditors and stockholders.
- The Railroad Baron Who Refused to Compete With Shadows
Northern Pacific president Tom Oakes tells Seattle that Jim Hill’s Great Northern is more phantom than threat—and explains why cutting timber rates could backfire on Puget Sound’s lumbermen.
- The Miracle Paint of 1876
Before modern synthetic coatings, a Seattle merchant promised a 'Rubber Paint' that would outlast the standard lead and oil of the frontier era.
- The Homestead That Became a Beaver Sanctuary
A mid-19th-century advertisement reveals the transformation of Island County wetlands into an agricultural dream, offering a snapshot of frontier land development.
- The Webster's Wild Ride: A Steamship’s Storm-Tossed Survival in Puget Sound
After being battered by a violent gale and running dangerously low on coal, the steamer *Webster* limped into port just days after its sister ship foundered nearby, leaving passengers shaken but alive.
- The Afternoon Everett First Looked Up
In 1911 a 'birdman' circled the mill stacks in a machine of spruce and wire, and the whole town stopped work to watch.
- The Man Who Shot at a Chinese Girl and Then Tried to Fight the Police
A drunken brawl on Washington Street ends with a drunkard in irons, revealing the volatile mix of frontier lawlessness and early civic order in Seattle.
- The Pioneer Variety Store: A Snapshot of Commerce in Early Seattle
Before the age of big-box retailers, local general stores like T. P. Freeman’s served as the essential hubs for hardware, furniture, and household needs on the frontier.
- The Fight to Keep Seattle’s Messenger Boys Out of the Saloons
A local judge cracks down on a liquor ordinance, forbidding businesses from sending underage employees into bars, even with parental consent.
- A School Board Battle in Everett
A state representative refuses to resign his seat on the local school board, sparking an outcry over transparency and political maneuvering.
- The Final Voyage of the James Cheston
The ship had a storied past, including a journey across the Atlantic while rudderless and half-submerged.
- The Snohomish Pulpit and the 'Spirit of Indifference'
A local sermon challenges the congregation to stop treating religion as mere entertainment and instead fight for their beliefs in an era of rapid scientific change.
- Railroad Giant Swallows Sound Steamship Line
Northern Pacific Railroad absorbs the Puget Sound & Alaska Steamship Company to consolidate management and slash operating costs.
- The Broadway Grade Grift
A contractor runs off without paying his workers, leaving the city in a bind over who gets the final payment.
- The Ball That Burned: A Seattle Saloon Mystery
In 1876, a patron at John Brendle’s beer saloon discovered that one of the billiard balls was made of highly flammable material, igniting instantly when pressed against his pipe.
- The Nancy Came to Town on a Sled—and Ended Up Keel-Up in the Riverbank
Newport's finest new motor launch was meant to link the town with Metaline. Then the unloading crew lost control on an icy grade and sent $300 worth of brass, oak, and electric lights over the bank.
- Whidbey Island Land Speculation
A syndicate eyes 14,000 acres for fruit farming, signaling a shift in regional agricultural development.
- The Political Price of Honest Dealing
A local land officer loses his position for resisting the 'land-grabbing' Northern Pacific Railroad, triggering a public petition to demand his reinstatement.
- Voters Reject Park Board’s $750,000 Tax Hike
Tacoma citizens shut down a massive bond proposal, citing a lack of transparency and fears of bureaucratic extravagance.
- The Great Timber Fires of 1883
Uncontrolled forest fires rage across Washington Territory, destroying logging camps and infrastructure with no end in sight.
- The Night a Gilded Age Mansion Lit the Road to Its Own Party
In 1894, Horace and Susan Henry welcomed nearly 200 guests to their new showpiece house above Lake Union—then sent them home by special streetcar under a private line of electric lights.