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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 18 |
| 1883 | 98 |
| 1884 | 44 |
| 1885 | 93 |
| 1886 | 54 |
| 1887 | 60 |
367 stories matching back
- The Art of the 'Back-Seat Sermon'
A Seattle preacher shares his cunning, slightly cynical strategy to force young couples in the back pews to stop courting and actually listen to the gospel.
- The Unlikely Companions of the Dairy Farm
A persistent hen and a reluctant cow form an inseparable, if highly annoying, bond in rural Washington.
- The Child on the Train
A conductor discovers a feverish little girl wandering a train alone with only her doll for comfort.
- The Realities of Homesteading in the Washington Territory
A pragmatic farmer pushes back against the romanticization of agricultural life, detailing the hard labor required to tame the land near Seattle in 1888.
- A Heartbreaking Accident on the Back Porch
A three-year-old child drowns in a wash-tub while the mother is momentarily away from the kitchen.
- A Coal Train Kills a Miner on the Tracks at Renton
Bradbury Whittaker, a miner from Pennsylvania, was run over by a backing coal train near Renton—the third such death in a short time—and a coroner's jury found no one to blame.
- The Corset Clerk's Nightmare: A Beaver Dam Prank Gone Wrong
In a tale of mistaken identity and trembling knees, a young man’s attempt to escort a famous lecturer ends in panic when he is led to believe he must be measured for lingerie.
- The Fallout of the Anti-Chinese Expulsions
A witness recounts the inhumane treatment of Chinese merchants who were brought back to Tacoma to testify after being violently displaced.
- The Siege of Seattle: A City Born in Fire
Recalling the 1856 Indian War attack on Seattle, when a handful of settlers held their ground behind a blockhouse against a barrage of fire and shell.
- The Charity Case Who Came Back a Brutal Husband
Port Blakely mill hands passed the hat for a crippled co-worker and sent him home to Kentucky. He came back married — and the town's justice of the peace had to take his wife away from him by night.
- The Name Debate: Why Seattle Nearly Became 'Tacoma'
When an Eastern Senator tried to force a name change on the future state, the people of the Washington Territory pushed back with fierce regional pride.
- Armed Standoff at the Green River Coal Mines
A local syndicate and a railroad-backed corporation clash over mineral rights in the Green River country, as hired men and revolvers complicate property disputes.
- The Miracle of the Giant Powder Blast
A laborer describes his harrowing journey through the air after a catastrophic industrial explosion near Puyallup.
- A Steamboat Standoff on the Puget Sound
When a captain accused a passenger of skipping town on a fare, two witnesses stepped forward to detail a tense armed confrontation aboard the steamer 'Otter.'
- The Great Migration of Seattle’s Buildings
A peculiar phenomenon hits Pacific Avenue as wooden structures vacate their lots to make way for the city's new brick ambitions.
- The Pony Express Rider of Grand Coulee
A young, nameless conductor pulls off a daring rescue mission to uncover why telegraph riders were vanishing, leading to a grim discovery in the rugged depths of the Washington interior.
- The True Cost of the Eight-Hour Day
As 1886 labor strikes roil the nation, local analysis weighs the temporary gains of the eight-hour movement against the looming threat of business closures and a housing market in decline.
- The Struggle of the Nicholson Family
A coal miner in distress highlights the precarity of laborers facing mental health crises while attempting to relocate their families.
- The Unpredictable Life of Seattle’s 'Odd Job Man'
William D. Southworth, a local eccentric, attempted to organize a national guard, impersonated high-society figures, and left a trail of bafflement across 1880s Seattle before his final confinement.
- A Tragic End in the Wire
A well-known Seattle man is found dead in a field near the Orphan's Home, his body tangled in barbed wire.
- New Year's Eve Terror at the Brunswick
A head cook is struck down by an unknown assailant in a downtown lodging house, sparking a city-wide investigation and an arrest of a desperate, unemployed plasterer.
- The Great Escape at the Seattle Dock
A man adjudged to be insane mounts a desperate, final bid for freedom as he is being escorted to the state asylum.
- The Ghost Ship of Seattle’s Waterfront
A derelict bark ship, once a billboard for local businesses, is buried in sawdust and slabs to become the foundation of a new shoreline.
- The Price of Loyalty in the Mill
A convict's poem reflects on his friend's sacrifice after a desperate act of theft to feed a starving family.
- The Dream That Cracked the Theft Case
A jailed boarder's dream led police to a stolen gold watch and chain hidden under foundation blocks.
Also about this, in other words
- A Laundryman's Return to a Hostile City
A Chinese resident attempts to collect back pay after being expelled from Seattle.
- The Switchback Brawl
A violent confrontation breaks out between railroad workers and locals over a disputed switchback rail line.