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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 7 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 5 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1914 | 1 |
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45 stories matching secreci
- The Fugitive and the Colonel
A Seattle man living under an assumed name in Vancouver attempts to negotiate his return home after alleged felonies.
- The Ghost of William Radloff
A Seattle poultry farmer appears to have staged his own death in a house fire to claim a $55,000 insurance payout, leaving investigators to wonder if the charred remains in the ruins were those of a stolen corpse.
- The Christmas Scavenger Hunt
A Kennewick family tired of the standard tree tradition invents a complex, house-wide treasure hunt for their holiday gifts.
- The Hidden Dens of 1870s Seattle
A citizen appeal from 1872 exposes how unchecked public gambling was eroding the moral and financial fabric of the developing waterfront town.
- The Day Farmers Blew Up a Dam
In a bold act of agrarian rebellion on the Fourth of July, Stuck River farmers used dynamite to destroy the White River dam, draining the muck and reclaiming their land.
- Tacoma Park Board Erupts in 'Fossil' Feud
Facing mounting debt and public scrutiny, the city's Park Board lashes out at 'meddlers' and critics.
- Gold Rush in the Cellar
A Tacoma resident digging a simple basement strikes a rich vein of gold and silver quartz, setting off a quiet, desperate race to stake a claim beneath the city's streets.
- He Chose the Altar Over the Jail Cell
A seduction warrant, a midnight minister, and a groom who nearly changed his mind.
- The Mailroom Kerfuffle in New Tacoma
A secret telegram, a local feud, and a postmaster who chose 'higher law' over departmental secrecy.
- ‘Bought for Hard Gold Coin’: The Railroad Bill Dies in Olympia
The Helm railroad bill, passed by the House, was killed in the Senate. Newspapers across Washington condemned the railroad lobby and the senators who voted against lower freight rates.
- The Sunday Bond Deal That Split Benton County
Two commissioners secretly arranged a courthouse bond sale, and a courtroom fight over lost premiums exposed how far they went to keep the third commissioner—and the public—in the dark.
- The Vigilante Committee: Tacoma's Desperate War on Crime
In March 1902, Tacoma’s elite formed a secret society sworn to kill without mercy after police failed to stop a wave of robberies and murders.
- The 'Odd Fellow' and the Suspicious Wife
A Seattle man's secret late-night meetings with his fraternal order spark a domestic showdown over 'goat riding,' moral uprightness, and marital suspicion.
- Midnight in the New York Block: A Creditor Catches a Stock Shuffle
William Harris watched from an alley as goods were moved between Rumpf's and Mayer's stores, then helped attach the stock before dawn.
- The Secret Courthouse Bond Deal Benton County Tried to Ram Through
Commissioners Clements and McNeill authorized $125,000 in bonds for a Prosser courthouse after a closed-door plan their own lawyer admitted was designed to keep taxpayers in the dark. A Kennewick lawsuit put the deal before Judge Grady.
- The Preacher, the W.C.T.U. Woman, and the Congregation That Chose Not to Look
Rev. C. C. Marston talked his way out of a scandal in Centralia, was dismissed in Olympia, and has resurfaced in Illinois doing revival work — with another man's wife at his side and his own wife and five children left in want.
- A Midnight Knock, a Bloody Hat, and the Farmer Who Vanished
Charles Gloystein joined an oath-bound farmers’ society near Mica, tried to leave, and disappeared. A bloody hat was all searchers found.
- The Treasurer Who Vanished, Then Wrote Home From Puget Sound
An Iowa county official disappeared in the 1870s. After his death, his family gathered at the Olympia Hotel to settle an estate—and letters revealed a hidden life, a bank failure, and a real-estate boom he hoped would make restitution possible.
- The 'Gold Brick' King: How a Master Con Man Sold Copper to a Banker
A too-trusting Aberdeen banker, a man disguised as an Indian, and a forged letter from the San Francisco mint—the Seattle trial of the notorious swindler 'Rebel George' Knowlton.
- The Trial of Judge Wickersham: A Tacoma Scandal Over Land, Lies, and 'Delirium'
In February 1889, the trial of a powerful federal judge in Tacoma exposed a web of political corruption, land fraud, and sexual scandal involving a young woman named Sadie Brantner.