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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 31 |
| 1893 | 48 |
| 1894 | 46 |
| 1895 | 34 |
172 stories
- A Political Uproar at City Hall
Fairhaven Democrats storm City Hall to protest a federal appointment, signaling deep fractures within the county machine.
- The Ghost Wages of the Bellingham Mill
Workers built a dream of industry, only to find the rent-seekers were never serious about paying.
- A Bluff Democrat Tells the State Committee to Hold Its Convention in Hell
Samuel Bass, a Whatcom Democrat, answers a request for advice with a scalding letter about party hacks, shyster judges and tin-horn gamblers.
- Silence Was Golden: How Two Japanese Laborers Escaped Deportation
A smuggler's luck and a well-timed memory lapse freed two Japanese laborers held in a Washington county jail—a small episode in the era's fierce battles over immigration.
- Two Years in Limbo: Whatcom's Failed Bank
Depositors in the Columbia National Bank get only a sliver of their money back while the officers scatter — one to Honolulu, one to the shingle business — and the receiver's promises dissolve.
- The passing of Edward Eldridge, a Whatcom pioneer
A sailor-turned-settler who played a pivotal role in the early development of Bellingham and Whatcom County dies at 73.
- Political Corruption and Fiscal Crisis in Whatcom
Following a massive embezzlement scandal, the City of Whatcom's council scrambles to stabilize finances and track down missing public funds.
- Whatcom's 'Honest Phil' Found Guilty of Embezzling City Funds
A Whatcom County jury rejects Philip Isensee's claim that missing public money was a mystery, convicting the official known as 'Honest Phil' after a hard-fought trial.
- The Collapse of a Whatcom Banker
Cashier C. M. Atkins faces a laundry list of embezzlement charges following the insolvency of the First National Bank of Whatcom.
- New Whatcom’s Ledger Had a Credit Side, Too
After a defalcation and the Panic of 1893, New Whatcom’s mayor and a local editor argued over whether the city was broke or merely bruised.
- Industrial Tragedy at the Bellingham Bay Mill
A newly arrived laborer loses his life in a brutal workplace accident.
- Tragedy at the Cornwall Mill
A seven-year-old boy drowns in Whatcom Creek, and witnesses fail to intervene, claiming inability to swim.
- The Whatcom City Hall Embezzlement Scandal
A local clerk faces eighteen criminal charges after a trail of forged warrants and treasury theft is unearthed in Whatcom.
- Midnight Fire Wipes Out a Whatcom Shingle Mill and 19 Jobs
A hot box in the shingle mill ignites a $15,000 blaze on the Alton road, leaving Kenoyer Bros. and a lumber operator uninsured.
- The Ill-Fated Divorce of Whatcom County
A couple of thirty years' standing attempted a DIY divorce through a notary, only to find themselves inadvertently back in the bonds of matrimony when the law intervened.
- The Wild West of Washington Rail Speculation
As Seattle rapidly expanded, a flurry of shadowy railroad companies and land speculators rushed to claim water-front territory, hoping to dictate the future of commerce in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Girl Who Ran Away: A Battle for Custody in Whatcom County
When W.M. Hart returned from British Columbia with a young girl he had sent to school, he sparked a public feud with her father, revealing the complex realities of child welfare and family law in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Price of a Midnight Ejection
After refusing to pay a fare, a passenger was cast into the rain at night, leading to a legal showdown over transit rights and railroad corporate power.
- A Horse-Thieving Liveryman’s Great Escape
After mortgaging his entire business and selling off his neighbor's property, a British Columbia liveryman makes a desperate flight across the border into Washington.
- The Shadow Trade at Nooksack River
A government agent describes the precarious intersection of logging, displacement, and the illicit opium trade on the Lummi Reservation.
- The Pride of the Vagabond
A man in Whatcom chooses starvation over begging, highlighting the grim extremes of dignity and survival in the 1890s labor market.
- City Councilman Physically Ejected After Accusing Mayor of Fraud
A fiery public confrontation at a Whatcom council meeting leads to the forced removal of a councilman by the town marshal.
- Mining Dispute Turns Violent in Whatcom
A representative of a Seattle development company is arrested for assaulting a mining expert at the Blue Canyon mine.
- Steamer Triumph Lost to Fire in Fairhaven
A ferry boat plying the Puget Sound trade caught fire from a loose spark while its watchman slept, resulting in a total loss of the vessel.
- The Pioneer’s Tale: A Life in the Early Puget Sound
Captain Henry Roeder, one of Whatcom County’s earliest settlers, recounts his journey from the California gold fields to establishing the region’s first sawmill.