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1. A City Hotel Fire Mysteriously Ignites

   A blaze in the heart of Snohomish threatens the city center, sparking theories about Halloween pranksters.

   Nov 2, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerFirst Street, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyTrue Crime

2. The Phantom Murder of Snohomish

   A night of terrifying screams and gunfire leads to a frantic, futile search for a body in the river.

   Jan 23, 1884Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSnohomish River, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyTrue Crime

3. The Sudden Loss of the Monte Cristo Purser

   A young purser fell from the deck of a steamer and vanished into the river near the shingle mills.

   Jan 29, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish, Snohomish CountyTrue Crime

4. A State Representative Takes the Pulpit Against Cigarettes

   A Snohomish church hosts a union meeting where a lawmaker decries the 'cigarette habit' as a greater evil than alcohol.

   Mar 24, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerCongregational church, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

5. Two Boys, Two Open Switches, and a Train Barely Saved

   Jimmy Francis and Johnnie Harrier, ages 11 and 12, were sent to reform school after opening railroad switches near Snohomish and nearly wrecking a passenger train.

   Aug 30, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

6. The Health Officer Called It 'Varioloid.' An Everett Doctor Called It Smallpox.

   A farmer who caught the disease while working in Snohomish is the test case in a quiet jurisdictional war — the town's disgraced former health officer against a doctor hired by the county to cover whatever the local authorities won't.

   Sep 3, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish, Snohomish CountyCity Hall

7. The Pistol That Wouldn't Fire in a Snohomish Saloon

   G. K. Friars, chairman of the Snohomish County commissioners, was accused of putting a pistol to Robert Johnson's abdomen in the Gem saloon. Only a bad cartridge prevented a killing.

   Jan 26, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish, Snohomish CountyCity Hall

8. The Man Who Set Type at 71: William Lloyd Garrison’s Snohomish Surprise

   In a rare moment of local celebrity, the famous abolitionist visited his old printing shop in Washington Territory to celebrate his semi-centennial anniversary as an apprentice.

   Mar 11, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

9. The Steamer Yakima’s Narrow Escape on the Snohomish River

   A dangerous excursion up the river tests the limits of steamboat navigation through uncharted waters and shifting logjams.

   Oct 28, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish River, Snohomish, Snohomish County

10. The Editor Who Walked 15,000 Miles to Save the Snohomish Star

    While most men stayed home for Christmas, Mr. Eldridge Morse crisscrossed Washington and Oregon on a grueling tour that has turned his struggling weekly paper into a regional powerhouse.

    Dec 30, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

11. The Fight to Save the Stillaguamish Salmon

    Long before environmental regulation was common, Snohomish Councilman Ferguson pushed for a law to curb the destructive use of dynamite in Washington’s rivers.

    Oct 20, 1877The Northern StarStillaguamish River, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyFollow the Money

12. The Newspaper Editor Who 'Drowned' in the Sound

    After an editor’s unexpected delay while traveling to report on the regional resources of Washington, his local readers spiraled into a panic—leading to a very awkward, very alive homecoming.

    Nov 3, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

13. The Great Delinquency: Snohomish’s 1878 Tax Auction

    A sprawling list of property seizures offers a rare window into the instability of early Snohomish settlers, who faced total loss of their homesteads for debts as small as twenty-two cents.

    Mar 6, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyFollow the Money

14. The Snohomish Afterlife: A Spiritualist Joke

    In an 1878 newspaper, a medium's séance takes a darkly humorous turn when a grieving widow asks her late husband if he is in heaven.

    May 1, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

15. The 1878 Patent for Long-Distance Kissing

    A satirical inventor in Snohomish introduces a bizarre 'kisograph' machine to keep lovers connected across thousands of miles.

    Jun 19, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

16. Terrified Passengers Flee as Steamship Hits Snag on Snohomish River

    A routine trip turns into a frantic scene of life-preserver panic when the steamboat Fanny Lake hits an underwater obstacle just a mile from city docks.

    Dec 14, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish River, Snohomish, Snohomish County

17. Promoting the New State

    An editorial from the Snohomish Sun argues that Washington must attract specific types of settlers to achieve its full potential as a state.

    Nov 14, 1889The Yakima HeraldSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

18. County Board Orders Isolation for Tulalip Reservation

    As a smallpox epidemic looms, Snohomish County officials order the Tulalip Indian Agent to restrict movement to contain the outbreak.

    Sep 30, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyExclusion & Resistance

19. The Great Snohomish Brawl: A Night of Blood and Broken Bones

    A chaotic street fight in downtown Snohomish left one man dead and several others injured, sparking a grand jury investigation into the town's declining morality.

    Feb 5, 1876The Northern StarMain Street, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyTrue Crime

20. The Tragic Accident That Stopped a Clock: The Death of Mr. H. Kelly

    A promising builder and father of four dies in a freak hunting accident on the banks of the Snohomish River, leaving his grieving widow to raise their children alone.

    Jun 30, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyDisasters

21. Explosion Levels Snohomish Sawmill

    A boiler failure leads to a total loss of property at the Day Brothers' operation, with recovery plans already in motion.

    Jul 21, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish, Snohomish CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

22. Snohomish's Standard Mill Goes Up in Flames

    A boiler-side fire consumes the Loggie Bros. mill and its lumber, threatening a town payroll already strained by strike.

    Jul 20, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnohomish, Snohomish CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

23. The Great Heartbreak: A Local Girl’s Secret Wedding to a Seattle Stranger

    When Miss Mary Ann Farmer married Mr. J.G. York in Snohomish, the town was left reeling—not just by the news, but by the sudden silence of their local bachelors who had been courting her.

    Apr 15, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyScandal

24. A Heartbreak by the Snohomish River

    A lonely local man is caught in a 'melancholy case' of unrequited love, spending his days watering a hitching post in a lovestruck daze.

    May 27, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

25. The Great Strawberry Heist: A Town’s Sweetest Mystery

    When a local dignitary donated an overflowing bucket of cherries and strawberries to the Snohomish newspaper office, they vanished by nightfall—leaving behind only gratitude and a very full belly.

    Jun 24, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

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