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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 13 |
| 1877 | 9 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 9 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 7 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 8 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 10 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 15 |
| 1892 | 39 |
| 1893 | 25 |
| 1894 | 26 |
| 1895 | 19 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 6 |
| 1904 | 15 |
| 1908 | 6 |
| 1909 | 5 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
252 stories matching plank
- A Sudden Tragedy on the Tide Flats
A dray team loses their footing on a rain-slicked plank road and plunges into the dark water below.
- Worker Falls 36 Feet in Opera House Construction Accident
German laborer Henry Neigleman fell 36 feet through a collapsed plank at Frye's Opera House, breaking a shoulder blade.
- The Political Satire of Sage Leevs
A vernacular-heavy, satirical column skewers the Spokane Republican convention and explains why local Populists are feeling optimistic.
- A Streetcar Franchise on the Line Over Naphtha Power
A citizen charges the Olympia street railway is violating its charter with an unsafe naphtha motor and neglected trackwork at Fifth and Main.
- Grays Harbor Voters Skeptical of McGraw's Ditch Scheme
A visit from Republican gubernatorial candidate John H. McGraw leaves local voters cold as he doubles down on the controversial Lake Washington canal project at the expense of local harbor interests.
- Democratic Convention Splits Over Ship Canal
A bitter political brawl at the state convention in Olympia ends in a stinging defeat for Seattle’s most ambitious infrastructure dream.
- Lake Washington Canal Becomes a Party Platform Issue
Both Republicans and Democrats fight over a proposed ship canal to connect Puget Sound to Lake Washington, turning the infrastructure project into a central campaign issue.
- City Attorney Blocks Olympia’s Columbia Street Assessment
A legal opinion found that street grading and planking done without contracts could not be charged to abutting owners beyond $500—putting more than $2,000 in assessments in doubt.
- Street Preacher Faces Trial for Pioneer Square Sermon
A street orator's right to speak on public planking sparks a debate over whether the Salvation Army's influence creates a double standard for public space.
- The Mud Hole at the Arlington Hotel
A local property dispute on Commercial Street exposes the messy reality of 1885 Seattle infrastructure.
- The Union Block Collapse: A Mason's Fall Through a Defective Staging
A plank gave way during construction at Union Block, sending one mason into the cellar with a broken collarbone and a second man tumbling to the ground floor.
- The Stevedore’s Claim: A Waterfront Legal Battle
After loading a massive cargo of spars, timber, and planks, a Seattle laborer took the ship owners to federal court to recover his unpaid wages.
- The Unsung Pioneer: A Plank Road to the Beach
While Seattle boomed, a local booster named Michael Kelly set out to connect the rural fringes of the Duwamish Valley to the city, one subscription at a time.
- The Price of a Shoddy Crossing
A railroad conductor is killed in a derailment caused by an improperly filled track crossing.
- A Boy Lost to the Mill Stream
A tragic accident at the dam leaves a family and a community in mourning.
- A Leap for Life on the Road to Hoquiam
A couple jumping from a runaway buggy to escape a terrified horse left one passenger unconscious in the road.
- Living on Borrowed Time in Lower Seattle
A scathing editorial decries the 'man-traps' of the waterfront, where buildings are propped up on flimsy planks to accommodate rising street grades.
- Fatal Plunge into the Tide
A runaway team forces a Seattle teamster off the unguarded planks of Commercial Street to his death.
- The Wild Rise of Fairhaven
How a 'Dirty Dan' ranch transformed into a bustling, debt-free boomtown in just eighteen months.
- Aberdeen and Hoquiam Finally Connected by Road
Mayors of the two Harbor cities exchange telegrams celebrating the completion of a plank road between their towns.
- Sidewalks Torn Up and Abandoned
Tacoma residents vent frustration as contractors rip up streets and leave them barricaded for months without completion.
- A Late-June Flood Chases Newport’s Riverfront
The Pend Oreille kept rising after mid-June, drowning grain in the Calispel Valley and tearing planks from the Lumbermen’s Transportation docks.
- The Perils of the Seneca Street Crossing
In 1877, Seattleites were forced to perform 'acrobatic feats' to traverse a dangerous gully, highlighting the city's struggle to keep pace with rapid infrastructure demands.
- Tacoma's Council Puts a Waterfront Deal on Hold — and Shuts Down a Fairgrounds Saloon
A proposed easement with the Northern Pacific and Tacoma Company waits for papers from Philadelphia, Pacific Avenue owners split over planking, and W.C.T.U. women watch the council reject a liquor license.
- The Failed Heist at Shaw’s Boarding House
An audacious attempt to rob a Tacoma mill worker's boarding house ends in a series of slapstick mishaps and a gunshot.