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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 4 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 11 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 17 |
| 1877 | 26 |
| 1878 | 18 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 20 |
| 1884 | 17 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1886 | 14 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 15 |
| 1889 | 36 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 28 |
| 1892 | 53 |
| 1893 | 47 |
| 1894 | 75 |
| 1895 | 87 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 9 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 26 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1905 | 3 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 20 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 3 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 2 |
| 1928 | 2 |
639 stories matching execution
- The Girl Who Broke the Glass Ceiling at Whitman College
In 1903, Miss Worthington became the first woman to run for an executive office in the Associated Students, challenging a male-dominated political machine.
- The Governor Vetoes Debtor Relief—and Warns It Would Speed Foreclosures
Gov. McGraw kills a bill meant to shield struggling debtors, arguing it cannot apply to existing contracts and may trigger the mortgage sales it was supposed to prevent.
- The Price of Early Seattle Prosperity
A sheriff’s notice reveals the fragile nature of early real estate speculation in King County.
- The Price of a Debt: 400 Acres Up for Auction
A Snohomish County Sheriff’s notice reveals the steep cost of financial failure in the late 19th-century frontier.
- Yakima Signal Denounces 50-Million-Acre Northern Pacific Land Grant
A scathing editorial accuses President Arthur of abusing executive authority to grant fifty million acres of public land to a powerful railroad monopoly before the road was actually finished.
- The Sheriff’s Gavel: A King County Land Auction in the Shadow of the Gold Rush
In August 1876, Seattle’s legal system was already grinding out foreclosures on massive land claims, signaling that the territory’s boom would be built on debt and dispossession.
- The Mayor vs. The Board
Mayor J.T. Ronald rejects a city ordinance, clashing with the Board of Public Works over who controls the schedule of the city's executive branch.
- The Futility of the Gallows
One month after Seattle's first judicial execution of a white man, the local press questions whether state-sanctioned violence actually deters crime or simply breeds contempt for the law.
- The Constable Who Charged for Mileage on Every Duck
A local anecdote about a frontier constable’s creative approach to fee collection.
- The Sheriff's Auction of 1878
Public auctions at the King County courthouse reveal the financial fragility and land speculation common in early Seattle.
- Sheriff to Sell Snohomish Land to Settle $75 Debt
A local property seizure in 1878 reveals the precarious nature of land ownership during the Snohomish County settlement era.
- Labor Leaders Held Without Charge in 'Bull Pen'
A legal battle ensues for the release of union officials held in an extra-legal detention facility during an ongoing labor dispute.
- The Mayor vs. The Chief of Police
A high-stakes power struggle unfolds in 1885 Seattle as the Mayor moves to impeach his Chief of Police for refusing to crack down on unlicensed saloons.
- When the Titans of Industry Came to Seattle
In 1885, as Seattle clamored for growth, a high-society banquet for Senator John Sherman and railroad executives signaled the dawn of the city's obsession with 'big industry'—and the blunt, profit-driven advice they offered to the locals.
- The Knights of Labor’s Bold Bet: Criminalizing the 'Blacklist'
Seattle’s labor leaders draft a radical bill to make it a felony for employers to force workers out of unions.
- Vigilante Justice Claims a Life in Steilacoom
A cattle dispute turns into a fatal shooting, followed by a mob storming the jail to execute the prisoner.
- The Price of Early Seattle Expansion: A Sheriff’s Sale of the Talbot Coal Company
In 1878, as Seattle struggled to build its industrial backbone, the courts were already dismantling the assets of struggling developers, illustrating the precariousness of the city’s early capital-intensive boom.
- The Unstable Fruit Stand Proprietor
A Seattle man is arrested after threatening to murder his wife and daughter while obsessed with a news story about a local murder-suicide.
- The Silent End of an Unknown Man
A condemned prisoner faces the gallows in Snohomish with a chilling, final mystery: he refused to reveal his real name, dying as an enigma.
- A Hospital Takes Shape in a Rented Building
A charitable board leases the Avon building near Cedar Street and calls on churchwomen to furnish and oversee Seattle’s new general hospital.
- Chief Moses and the Stolen Reservation
A Spokane Indian leader bypasses federal agents to protest a land grab in Washington Territory.
- Vigilante Morality in Colfax
A secret league forms to purge the town of gambling and prostitution through direct action.
- The Sheriff’s Auction: Losing the Land in Snohomish
A legal notice from 1878 reveals the harsh reality of frontier debt, as a local resident faces the forced sale of his 120-acre homestead to satisfy a court judgment.
- The 1892 Campaign Against Japanese Restaurants
Local labor unions organized a targeted investigation into Japanese-owned eateries, fueled by xenophobic rumors and economic anxiety.
- The Shadowy Real Estate Dealings of Louis R. Kidd
A local legal battle reveals a trail of suspicious property transfers designed to shield assets from creditors in the middle of a city boom.