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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 799 |
| 1884 | 455 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
3,198 stories
- The Industrial Empires of the Puget Sound
How corporate consolidation and the lumber boom transformed the Washington Territory into a global timber supplier.
- The Price of Silence: How Big Rail Controlled the Press
When the Northern Pacific Railroad forced a Spokane newspaper to drop its investigation into timber fraud, it exposed the industry's grip on the territory's news.
- The Shadow of Graft on Seattle's Armory
A high-stakes bribery scandal reaches the halls of power as a prominent board member is arrested over city land dealings.
- The Drive for Anti-Chinese Ordinances in 1885 Seattle
A local petition sought to bar Chinese laborers from laundry businesses and vegetable peddling, laying the groundwork for a wave of exclusionary legislation.
- The Perilous Wreck of the Steamboat at Ozette
After a devastating storm, a ship's crew and passengers faced a harrowing survival on the coast, clinging to the remnants of their vessel and the lighthouse keeper's mercy.
- Tragedy in the Woods Near Lone Prairie
A woman experiencing a mental health crisis locked her home and set it ablaze, killing herself and her four children.
- The Olympia Scandal: A Town’s Moral Reckoning
A prominent local official’s public affair with a woman known as Mrs. Birdie Maxwell ruptures his household and sparks a criminal trial that captivates the community.
- The Industrial Engine of Snohomish
How a trio of Maine brothers revolutionized logging in the Pacific Northwest with a singular, patented invention.
- The Land Office Commissioner Caught in a Crossfire of Corruption
When Commissioner William Sparks began fighting land-grabbing monopolies, the corporate press launched a smear campaign calling him insane, ruffian, and incompetent.
- The Street Hawker's Stand Against Discriminatory Laws
When a Chinese produce seller was arrested for violating city peddling ordinances, he challenged the legality of a law targeting his livelihood all the way to the Chief Justice's chambers.
- The Price of Coal and the Cost of Living in Newcastle
As winter tightens its grip, a labor dispute at the Newcastle coal mines forces a shutdown, leaving families without work and the community in crisis.
- The Coal Mines Shut Down: Economic Anxiety Grips 1886 Seattle
Falling prices and labor disputes forced the indefinite closure of the Newcastle mines, throwing hundreds out of work.
- The Great Land Reclaim: The Fight Over Northern Pacific’s Unearned Rails
A legislative push in 1886 aimed to strip the Northern Pacific Railroad of vast swaths of public land it held but failed to build upon, seeking to return it to settlers.
- The Price of Coal and the Cost of Labor
After shifting from Chinese laborers to white workers, mining companies find themselves in a standoff over wages that leaves miners idle and mines shuttered.
- Brutal Murder of Two Settlers
A Canadian man and his sons arrested for the cold-blooded killing of two men traveling to Seattle to provide evidence in a murder case.
- President Cleveland Speaks on Chinese Exclusion
A presidential message to Congress calls for federal restraint amidst rising anti-Chinese violence in Wyoming and Washington Territories.
- A Deadly Valentine's Day Shooting
A young woman shoots and kills her former suitor after he breaks his promise of marriage.
- Seattle Business Leaders Condemn Railroad Monopoly
Local merchants organize to protest the Northern Pacific Railroad's mishandling of local commerce and their shift from rail service to land speculation.
- An Ambush in the White River Valley
A local store owner and his daughter narrowly escape a violent attack by three assailants.
- Streetcar Strike Paralyzes Seattle Transit
Conductors and drivers halt operations across the city, leaving only two lines running as labor disputes escalate.
- The President Intervenes for Chinese Merchants
President Cleveland challenges Congress to reconcile the restrictive Chinese Exclusion Act with the reality of international trade.
- The Fight to Forfeit the Northern Pacific Land Grants
A fiery congressional minority report slams corporate lobbyists and land speculators while demanding the government reclaim unfinished rail corridors.
- The Iron Horse Arrives in Ellensburg
A town celebrates the completion of the railroad track as the local mood turns jubilant.
- The War of Words at the Edge of the Frontier
In an era of unchecked corporate power, a fiery letter from labor leader T.V. Powderly to tycoon Jay Gould exposes the raw nerves of a nation in the throes of a massive railroad strike.
- The Senate Floor Fight Over Washington Women's Votes
As Washington Territory stood on the threshold of statehood in 1886, U.S. Senators debated whether they—or the people of the territory—had the right to grant women the vote.