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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 799 |
| 1884 | 455 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
3,198 stories
- The Wreck of the Lily Grace
After surviving a harrowing gale and the total loss of his ship near Cape Flattery, a sea captain washes up in Seattle to recount a battle against the elements.
- The Unsolved Mystery of the 'Soft-Footed' Burglar
A quiet intruder terrorizes Seattle residents, leaving victims baffled after appearing in their homes in the dead of night—only to flee at the sound of a voice.
- The Struggle for Seattle’s First Classrooms
Before the city became an educational powerhouse, Seattle’s early schools were built on the backs of local volunteers, rented rooms, and desperate community fundraising.
- A Deadly Toast in the Waterfront District
A young woman is found poisoned in a Seattle lodging house after a violent argument with a suitor over her refusal to live with him.
- The Dangerous Whiskey of Washington Street
A domestic dispute turns criminal in 1887 Seattle, as a man is accused of spiking his partner’s drink with a lethal dose of sulphate.
- A Birthday Gift for the Future
When pupils at the Denny School wanted to honor their principal's birthday, they didn't buy him a trinket—they built a library.
- The Jailer's Secret Cache
When nine prisoners attempted a daring escape from the Pierce County Jail, they left behind a strange assortment of contraband that revealed their desperate ingenuity.
- The Sniper of Post Street Bridge
A prominent Seattle contractor narrowly survives a cold-blooded shooting as he walks home in the dark.
- A Lawyer Halts Seattle Wharf Construction
As Seattle's waterfront development heated up, a pile-driving crew found themselves caught in a messy property dispute, leading to a temporary injunction that halted work.
- The New York Money Behind the Squak Valley Line
Doubters in Seattle whispered that the new railroad project was all talk, until a sudden $10,000 infusion into a local bank silenced them for good.
- The Solitary Tragedy of Maple Valley
A lonely squatter, once neighborly, ends his life in a wretched cabin while local settlers eye his unclaimed homestead.
- The Ghostly Burglar of Main and 12th
A Seattle household tried everything to stop a persistent intruder—from chair barricades to tin-pan alarms—but the culprit bypassed every obstacle, leaving the family baffled.
- The Transformation of Front Street
As property values soar in 1887, Seattle’s downtown business district begins a rapid transition from wood to brick, signaling a new era of permanence.
- The Forgotten Women of the 1887 Labor Convention
A rare glimpse of women organizers taking the floor at an early Seattle-area political gathering, challenging the 'monopolists' of the Gilded Age.
- The Crusade Against Seattle Saloons
A visiting revivalist prepares to lead a campaign of song and prayer against the city’s drinking establishments.
- The Great Tacoma Smelter Scam
A smooth-talking promoter arrives in the dead of winter, promises a mining fortune, and leaves a town holding the bag.
- A Desperate Rescue in Elliott Bay
A local man spots an overturned canoe in the freezing waters of the bay, pulling two people from a near-death encounter with the winter tide.
- The Tragic Disappearance of James Irving
A young sailor, days away from his wedding and the start of a new life in Tacoma, vanishes after a final boat trip across the bay.
- The Ghost of Yealer's Hall
Before it was dismantled to make room for modern offices, a historic Seattle landmark served as the city's unofficial beating heart for two decades.
- Pioneering the High Desert: An Early Settlement Dispatch from Yakima
A lifelong resident of Washington Territory recounts the struggles of farming near the Yakima River, the rapid expansion of homesteads toward the mountain summits, and the indignity of being denied the right to vote in one's own home.
- The Lonely Life of the Seattle Bachelor
A local writer laments the lack of respectable social outlets for unmarried men, arguing that the city’s saloons and variety shows offer nothing but 'hardening influences.'
- The Boom and Bust of Washington Hops
An 1887 agricultural columnist dissects the volatile global hop market, warning Pacific Northwest farmers against reckless expansion while grappling with the realities of 'hired hand' labor versus high-yield ambitions.
- The Broken Promises of the Tide Flats
Tacoma business leaders turn on the Northern Pacific Railroad after years of waiting for promised infrastructure.
- The Stranger in the Basket
A disoriented woman arrives at the St. Charles Hotel, sparking a frantic search for her family in a city still finding its footing.
- The Brutal Work of Boring Stampede Tunnel
Deep in the Cascades, a reporter documents the grueling labor conditions of the men carving the Northern Pacific’s Stampede Tunnel through the mountain’s gut.