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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1862 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 16 |
| 1877 | 8 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1883 | 16 |
| 1884 | 24 |
| 1885 | 17 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 12 |
| 1888 | 19 |
| 1889 | 36 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 34 |
| 1892 | 69 |
| 1893 | 76 |
| 1894 | 66 |
| 1895 | 78 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 5 |
| 1899 | 18 |
| 1900 | 6 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 41 |
| 1904 | 19 |
| 1905 | 3 |
| 1908 | 7 |
| 1909 | 32 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1923 | 3 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
668 stories matching scheme
- The Bakery Betrayal
A local baker is swindled out of his life savings in a classic confidence game at the edge of Wright Park.
- The Great Canal Scheme Blocked
A judge strikes down a law that would have allowed private contractors to dig the Lake Washington canal and seize tide lands for profit.
- The Carpenter's Secret Compartment
A crafty smuggler’s hollowed-out tool chest, designed to look like the property of a humble working man, fails to outsmart Seattle Customs inspectors.
- The Con Man Who Sold the Seattle Circus
A clever swindler fleeced the city's elite by selling them on imaginary contracts for a Ringling Brothers circus that was never coming to town.
- The Battle for Education Funding
Seattle school officials rally against state legislature 'land-booming' schemes that prioritize local property interests over the needs of students.
- The Post Office Con-Artist
Authorities warn merchants of a sophisticated swindler operating across Washington by altering post office money orders.
- The Land Office Conspiracy
A broken man returns to Tacoma to implicate prominent businessmen in a high-stakes scheme to forge property titles.
- The Great Telephone Wars of Tacoma
A rival phone company manager staged a bizarre arrest of his competitor to derail a franchise bid—only for the plot to unravel at the police station.
- Councilors Accused of Plotting Political Machine
Proposed charter amendments spark fears of a power grab by council leaders aiming to consolidate control over city jobs and bypass civil service protections.
- The Shadowy Campaign for Seattle's Waterfront
Before the city was fully formed, a powerful railroad lobby attempted to secure the lucrative tide-lands of Elliott Bay through backroom deals.
- The Mediums' Trust: When Seattle's Spiritualists Tried to Fix Their Prices
A secret meeting of clairvoyants and mediums ended in failure as new arrivals undercut their rates, proving that even the spirit world is subject to market forces.
- The Dream of the Flameless Mill
A bold industrial scheme in Olympia to run a lumber mill via the power of the tides—and the quiet, resourceful spirit behind the invention.
- The Human Cost of Efficiency
Labor leaders speak out against the 'Taylor system,' arguing that industrial time-management schemes treat men like machine parts and lead to physical decline.
- The Centennial Lottery Gamble
In 1876, the Washington Territorial Legislature authorized a public lottery to fund a wagon road across the Cascade Mountains, marking a desperate and creative approach to frontier infrastructure.
- The Hustle of the Frontier Mercantile
A deep dive into the aggressive marketing and 'work-from-home' schemes that fueled Snohomish's early economy.
- The Great Seattle Homestead Fraud
A whistleblower exposes how workers were swindled out of their hard-earned money by a predatory land development scheme.
- The Mystery of the $55,000 Fire
After a man burns to death in his home, a new life insurance policy and a disgruntled lodger fuel suspicions of a deadly financial scheme in early Seattle.
- Port Angeles Wanted to Build Its Own Railroad—and Lure a Thousand New Colonists
A Board of Trade meeting heard that an Eastern syndicate might finance a Port Angeles & Everett line, while locals pushed a home-built railroad to Oak Harbor and a colony scheme to bring 1,000 settlers.
- The Stupendous Dam Proposal for the Walla Walla River
Engineers are eyeing the Reddin place for a massive masonry dam intended to transform the valley’s irrigation potential.
- The Shadowy Land Rush on the Tide Flats
Speculators and land-hungry developers descend on Seattle’s tide flats amid rumors of a secret railroad terminal.
- The Cheese Factory Swindle
A Wisconsin cheesemaker looking for opportunity in White Bluffs becomes the target of a classic Seattle bunco scheme.
- The Persistent Threat of the Louisiana Lottery
Despite legislative victories and public condemnation, the infamous Louisiana Lottery scheme attempts to relocate its base of operations to Honduras to exploit U.S. citizens.
- The Boodle Scandal at the Falls
Citizens storm the courthouse to stop an exorbitant, million-dollar water-works project they claim is rife with city hall corruption.
- The Tide Land Land-Grab Case
A judge rules against 'land jumping' schemes, protecting property rights against claims on submerged tide lands.
- Port Angeles Pays $5,000 for a Failed Municipal Power Scheme
City officials settle with a contractor after a water power project collapses, leaving taxpayers to cover the cost.