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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 28 |
| 1877 | 19 |
| 1878 | 31 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 6 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 29 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 16 |
| 1886 | 12 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 10 |
| 1889 | 19 |
| 1890 | 6 |
| 1891 | 18 |
| 1892 | 26 |
| 1893 | 36 |
| 1894 | 32 |
| 1895 | 21 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 10 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 3 |
| 1903 | 6 |
| 1904 | 13 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 9 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 11 |
| 1917 | 4 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 3 |
408 stories matching ton
- The Lockwood Claim and Washington's 1880 Gold Rush
Reports from Ellensburg described a profitable 1880 season at the Lockwood claim and other quartz mining operations in the region.
- The Profit in Prunes
How a small-scale orchard near Olympia is proving that fruit farming can be a lucrative venture in Western Washington.
- The Irrigation Skeptics Proven Wrong
A local farmer fights regional agricultural myths with thirty tons of seed potatoes.
- The Beet Sugar Gamble
Ezra Meeker rallies Seattle to show the world that Washington Territory could become a global leader in sugar production, despite lacking funds.
- The Marsh That Could Feed a City: Snohomish’s Hidden Goldmine
A detailed survey of the vast wetlands between Snohomish and the Skykomish River reveals thousands of acres of fertile land, drained by new ditches and accessible by scow, waiting for developers to turn swamp into wealth.
- The Price of Warmth in 1876
As Seattle grew, the Renton Coal Company leveraged its local supply to promise affordability, offering a ton of coal for six dollars—or four for shareholders.
- The Hustle of the 1889 Waterfront
Before the skyline, Seattle's heartbeat was the chaotic, cargo-filled rhythm of the piers and the brick-laden schooners arriving from Portland.
- A Mountain of Coffins: Franklin Buries Its Miners
After a mine fire killed 37 men, the coal town of Franklin held a day of funerals—five graves at Black Diamond, three Italian miners on a hillside, and widows whose grief doctors feared would kill them.
- The Eastern Oregon Burned at Percival’s Wharf
A repair crew’s paint store caught fire aboard the steamship Eastern Oregon, forcing men to jump forty feet to the mudflats and killing one cook; the blaze threatened Percival’s Wharf before rain helped firefighters.
- The Explosion at Deadman's Point
A colossal blast of two and a half tons of dynamite levels waterfront shanties and shatters windows miles away.
- The Cudahy Packing Plant Fire
A catastrophic fire destroys a waterfront warehouse, turning tons of meat into a 'seething mass of flames.'
- The Iron Flash: How Spokane Fell for a Railroad
In a daring midnight maneuver that bypassed local obstructionists, the Oregon and Washington Territory railroad laid its tracks through downtown Spokane in a single night, turning a political standoff into a civic celebration.
- Seven Months at Sea: The State of Maine’s Ordeal
The State of Maine left New York in July 1892 and reached Seattle 201 days later, her crew disabled by saltwater boils, her water spoiled, and her captain forced to beat men to the pumps.
- The Ice That Crushed a Man: A Frightful Death on White Pass
Louis Wrick was clearing ice near the summit of the White Pass when a massive block gave way, pinning him beneath tons of frozen weight. Another worker survived; Wrick did not.
- The Waterfront Teeming with Global Trade
A look at the sheer variety of goods flowing through Seattle's wharves reveals a city rapidly expanding as a commercial powerhouse.
- Great Northern Train Narrowly Escapes Destruction
Passengers on a Great Northern train watched in horror as thousands of tons of earth wiped out a work site just feet from their tracks.
- The Industrial Gamble That Defined a City
How local visionary James M. Colman pushed Seattle into the future by betting his fortune—and demanding the town follow suit—on a critical rail link to the coal mines.
- The Buried Wealth of King County: Seattle’s Industrial Rise
How a series of accidental discoveries and ambitious railway projects transformed the coal industry around Seattle, turning the region into an industrial powerhouse of the Pacific Northwest.
- City Hall's Petty Wars and the Cost of Patronage
Seattle's water and fire departments are being crippled by the 'reform' administration's obsession with political spoils and patronage over efficiency.
- Roslyn Coal Production Surges
A new Union Pacific contract promises to revitalize the Roslyn coal camps after a sluggish summer.
- A Seven-Ton Crushing on Mill Street
A laborer’s insistence on helping a heavy team leads to a gruesome injury in the heart of 1876 Seattle.
- The Ship That Tore Its Own Bow Off: A Seattle Coal Vessel Lost to the Gale
In January 1877, the 1,200-ton ship *Commodore* was driven ashore at Cape Flattery in a ferocious storm. The crew survived, but the vessel—owned by local Port Ludlow resident Arthur Phinney and valued at $20,000—was destroyed.
- The Unstoppable Rail Builder of 1877
How James M. Colman bet his personal fortune to push the Seattle & Walla Walla Railroad through the mountains, defying skeptics and funding the project on his own terms.
- The Price of Seattle's Coal Wars
A Senate committee interrogates local coal barons on why Washington's abundant resources are being undersold and exploited while labor conditions stagnate.
- Seven Tons of Banking Disaster
A construction accident at the Dr. Horton & Co. bank building left a heavy stone facade in ruins on the sidewalk after a derrick bolt sheared off.