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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 5 |
| 1892 | 12 |
| 1893 | 5 |
| 1894 | 8 |
| 1895 | 8 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1918 | 1 |
89 stories matching precipit
- Students Storm Seattle to Save Their President
A campus revolt at Whitworth College ends with the sudden re-election of Professor Gault after students intervened.
- A Deadly Slip in the Cokedale Mine
Two carpenters, working on the rafters of an incline, lost their footing and fell 330 feet into a freezing, water-filled sump.
- Transforming the Arid Yakima Valley
A progress report from the Department of Agriculture on the potential to irrigate 200,000 acres of land in Washington.
- The Fight Over the Hawaiian Islands
As Washington politicians and chambers of commerce clamor for annexation, locals weigh in on the imperial ambitions of the United States.
- A Life-Changing Fall on Second and Yesler
A hotel worker narrowly survives a twenty-foot plunge after a window sash collapses, highlighting the precarious reality of daily labor in 1889 Seattle.
- The River’s Treacherous Grip
A routine canoe trip on the Snohomish River turns into a life-or-death struggle when a sudden collision with a snag leaves a laborer fighting the current.
- Passenger Train Derails Near Walla Walla
An engineer is severely scalded after a train crashes through a bridge near Riparia, prompting insurance agents to offer a reward for arsonists.
- A Near-Death Experience on Lake Union
Three young men capsized in a pleasure boat, saved by the quick thinking of two local boaters who paddled out to rescue them.
- The Pig That Almost Started a War
Before Seattle became a metropolis, Puget Sound was a wild frontier of rugged homesteaders, vigilante justice, and international border disputes sparked by a single, ill-fated swine.
- Tacoma Recalls the Great 'Wharf-Destroying' Blizzard of 1902
As a new winter storm hits the Sound, residents look back with dread on a 1902 weather event that claimed wharves, machinery, and lumber.
- An Early Coastal Survey of the Quillehuyt River
James G. Swan documents his journey to the Quillayute River, describing the geography, the Indigenous stronghold at James Island, and the aftermath of the Southerner shipwreck.
- A Tragic Afternoon at Whatcom Creek
A seven-year-old boy drowns while playing on log booms, sparking a somber community funeral.
- Bridge Collapse Kills Seven Great Northern Railroad Workers
A temporary construction span on the Wenatchee River failed under the weight of a heavy train, plunging workers sixty feet into the water.
- The Sniper of Post Street Bridge
A prominent Seattle contractor narrowly survives a cold-blooded shooting as he walks home in the dark.
- The Governor Who Fought the Lobby
A look back at Henry McBride’s political battles against corrupt railroad interests and secret tax evasion in Washington.
- Masters and Pilots Revolt Against Port Inspector
A powerful local maritime union files formal charges against U.S. Inspector W. J. Bryant, alleging systemic corruption, bullying, and insurance kickbacks.
- The Great Gambling Raid That Never Was
A power struggle between Seattle's Mayor and his Police Chief leads to a failed raid, secret deals, and a very public scandal.
- Drought Grips the Yakima Valley
A mild, snowless winter leaves ranchers facing a disastrous crop failure and calls for immediate expansion of irrigation canals.
- The Perils of Seattle's Cherry Street
In 1877, a local editor called out the city for the dangerous sidewalks and 'savory' sewage runoff plaguing one of Seattle’s most elegant residential streets.
- Tacoma's Public Works Commissioner Refuses to Vacate His Seat
David D. Dement says his term has not ended and will hold office until a successor is appointed, setting up a municipal power struggle with Mayor Orr.
- The Perilous Plank at Front and Seneca
For months, Seattle residents braved a treacherous, unlit crossing near the waterfront, until a cook’s brutal fall finally forced a call for accountability.
- The Deadly Pressure on Puget Sound Steamboat Captains
Shipbuilder John K. Barr argues that owners and agents, not sea conditions, are the real culprits behind marine disasters.
- The Railway Gold Rush: When Every Line Wanted a Piece of Seattle
In 1890, Seattle was the ultimate prize for three competing transcontinental railroads, leading to a tangled mess of franchise wars, tide flat terminal deals, and high-stakes corporate maneuvering.
- Mount Baker Wakes: Smoke, a New Rent, and an Earthquake at Dawn
Smoke rises a thousand feet from the Twin Sisters and Mount Baker, a fresh quarter-mile crack opens in the mountain, and a predawn shock rattles Whatcom County residents.
- The Stone That Crushed: A Fatal Day at Seattle’s City Hall
Two men are killed and another left for dead when a scaffold collapses during the construction of the new municipal building, exposing the deadly risks of civic ambition in 1877.