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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 314 |
| 1889 | 785 |
| 1891 | 328 |
| 1892 | 1,308 |
| 1893 | 1,604 |
| 1894 | 1,246 |
| 1895 | 1,087 |
6,672 stories
- The Skagit Land Rush: A Morning of Chaos and Cleverness
When the federal land office in Seattle opened to accept claims for the Upper Skagit river, a line of hundreds descended into a power struggle defined by military-style organization, gender politics, and shifting rules.
- Chief Butterfield's Night Raids on Two Gaming Houses
After weeks of public defiance, Seattle’s police chief launched a series of high-stakes raids on the city's most prominent gaming houses, leading to dramatic foot-booted entries and stacks of confiscated faro layouts.
- The Ferryboat War of Elliott Bay
A high-stakes territorial dispute over a commercial shipping slip leads to a dangerous maritime game of chicken between two competing steamships.
- The Deadly Hum of the Electric Current
A routine building fire in downtown Seattle turns into a terrifying, lethal brush with the new technology of electricity.
- The Renton Addition: Seattle’s 1889 Speculative Gold Rush
As property developers paved the way for Seattle's expansion, one man's high-stakes sale of the 'cream' of Beacon Hill real estate signaled a city-wide frenzy for land and infrastructure.
- The Real Estate Battle for the Heights
Before the neighborhood was fully formed, the Renton Addition was marketed as the 'Fifth Avenue of Seattle,' sparking a feverish battle for transit and development on the city's highest crest.
- The City of Checks and Balances
A Seattle man is indicted for a $2,160 forgery spree, while a local police officer’s sudden wealth—and his suggestion that he made it smuggling opium—becomes a matter of intense public curiosity.
- The Padlock Swindle on the Sidewalks of Seattle
A new arrival in Seattle was relieved of his life savings by a pair of confidence men using a trick lock and a fake partnership.
- The 'Prison Evangelist' of the Seattle Jail
After two weeks of revival, a former variety actress turned missionary offers a glimpse into the transient lives and moral reckonings of the Pacific Northwest.
- The Forgotten Constitution: Seattle's 1889 Apathy
While Washington territory scrambled to establish statehood following the Great Seattle Fire, the public was so consumed by the disaster's aftermath that the upcoming constitutional convention went almost unnoticed.
- The City's Water Problem: A Nuisance in the Making
After the Great Seattle Fire, one man's attempt to build a makeshift shelter leads to a messy public legal battle over fire hazards and sanitation.
- The Battle for the Tide-Flats
A group of enterprising squatters use the cover of darkness to plant cabins on disputed Seattle waterfront land, challenging a prominent businessman's claim.
- The Art of Survival on $4 a Week
A Seattle family reveals the harrowing, precise mathematics of feeding themselves for pennies a day in the wake of the Great Seattle Fire of 1889.
- The Court House Conflict
King County officials struggle to seize property for the new courthouse as tenants refuse to vacate.
- The Bank Clerk Who Stole a Quarter-Million to Prove a Point
A bank employee holds his own employer's cash hostage to force a change in labor relations and banking ethics.
- The Wrestling Match That Ended in a Near-Riot
A high-stakes wrestling bout at Turner Hall descended into chaos when the Japanese contestant collapsed, leaving the crowd baying for answers.
- The Trickle-Down Fury of the Waterfront
A brutal hierarchy on a Seattle steamboat illustrates the chaotic and abusive nature of labor relations in the 1889 maritime trade.
- The Prizefighter’s Penance: John L. Sullivan in Seattle
After his high-profile prizefight in the Pacific Northwest, boxing legend John L. Sullivan faces a harsh judicial reality in a Seattle courtroom.
- The Squatters of Front Street
When a building’s rent price surged following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the owner tried to renege on an existing lease—leading to a tense standoff and a vigilante guard force.
- The Political Circus at the Armory
A rowdy King County Republican convention reveals the deep divisions and high-stakes maneuvering behind the scenes of Washington's impending statehood.
- The Tragedy on the Jackson Street Trestle
An elderly man, fleeing police custody, fell through a gap in the wooden street bridge and plunged thirty feet to his death.
- The Great 'Pulp' Boom of Seattle
While Seattle’s real estate developers were busy building the city, the local papers were fixated on an odd, failed experiment to tow a massive Canadian timber raft down the Pacific Coast to California—a project that ended in a floating, ocean-clogging disaster.
- Democratic Campaign Rally Turns Into Street Brawl
A political meeting in Seattle dissolved into violence when Democratic attendees attacked a band of Black minstrels who were innocently marching down the street.
- The Torchlight Parade for 'Prosperity'
Thousands of Seattle residents packed the streets and an armory in 1889 to cheer Republican candidates, a political display that felt more like a frantic race for jobs and survival.
- The Tragedy at Virginia Street
A grisly discovery on the Seattle waterfront exposes the hidden desperation of 1889.