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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 6 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 5 |
| 1886 | 5 |
| 1887 | 10 |
27 stories matching cell
- The Jailbreak on Commercial Street
A clever prisoner manages to pick the lock of his cell and slip away into the night, leaving the sheriff scrambling for a lead.
- Seattle's Jail Was Overcrowded and Waiting on Steel Cells from St. Louis
Sheriff Winger held eleven prisoners in the county jail, including four sailors and two Puyallup men sentenced for assault, while unfit close cells had to be used until new steel cells arrived.
- The Ghostly Note of Joe Davis
After his wife’s death in Oregon, a man jailed in Seattle took his own life in his prison cell, leaving behind a haunting, misspelled confession that claimed they had died for each other.
- The Fortress at Walla Walla
After two years of labor, the Territory's new penitentiary stands finished—a 15-foot high stone-and-cement stockade built to hold the region’s criminals.
- The Persistent Jailbreaker of Seattle
Bob Matthews, imprisoned for stealing lard, proves to be a one-man wrecking crew for the local jail’s security.
- A Murderer Pries His Way Out of the Steilacoom Asylum
Gianini, convicted of killing a Jewish peddler in Eastern Washington, removed a bar from his cell window and vanished; scouts were sent out in every direction.
- The Grand Jury's List of Complaints
In 1885, Seattle’s grand jury turned its attention to everything from jail conditions to the 'inhaling or smoking' of opium, highlighting a city struggling with the growing pains of a frontier boom.
- Bloody Jailbreak at Walla Walla
Two prisoners pull off a brutal escape, leaving a sheriff and jailer wounded as a citizens' committee takes up the hunt.
- The Jailhouse Recognition: A Killer Unmasked in Seattle
While awaiting his own release, a prisoner in the Seattle city jail spots a familiar face in the next cell and realizes he is sharing space with a notorious fugitive wanted for murder.
- Locked Away for Being a Stranger
A Seattle man traveling to meet his brother in Tacoma finds himself swept up in a case of mistaken identity, thrown into a filthy, unventilated jail cell, and ignored by officials despite his pleas for evidence.
- The Jailhouse Scare: Seattle's Dynamite Terror
After dynamite bombs were discovered near the city jail, the authorities tightened their grip, trapping prisoners in silence and fueling public anxiety over labor unrest.
- The Beer Hall Heist: A Busted Scheme on the Waterfront
A would-be thief’s plan to float stolen kegs to an Indian encampment ends in a cell.
- The Struggle to Build the Territorial Penitentiary
A desperate plea from the prison board for funding to build essential living quarters, highlighting the dire state of the Washington Territorial Penitentiary in 1887.
- An Empty Cage: Sheriff McGraw’s ‘Ghost’ Jail
In a turn of fortune for the Seattle jail, the cells have emptied out, leaving the Sheriff with little to do but manage a single remaining debtor.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1886
After being convicted of a sensational local murder, a Seattle man pulled off a daring escape from the county jail by using clever DIY tools.
- The Shame of Seattle's City Jail
A grand jury investigation into Seattle’s penal system reveals a crumbling facility plagued by filth, corruption, and the disappearance of evidence.
- The Opium Thief of Port Townsend
A worker entrusted with thousands in opium decides to sell the cargo and flee, setting off a frantic, brief escape that ends in a Seattle jail cell.
- The Trial of Prince the Dog
A Seattle jailhouse standoff erupts when two men both claim ownership of a local canine, forcing a judge to decide who the dog really belongs to.
- The Violent Path of a Border Raider
A profile of a man whose life of violence—from the Mexican War to the Indian Territory—ended in a Seattle jail cell.
- The Woman Who Refused the Judge
A Seattle woman stands her ground in municipal court, calling out a judge's election fraud and choosing jail over a fine.
- The Jailbreak at the Center of Town
After four prisoners escaped the local lockup, the Sheriff sounds the alarm on the failing state of the city's crumbling jail.
- The Riot at the White River Schoolhouse
A young drifter recounts how he and his companions, spurred by a mysterious 'big fellow,' turned a quiet schoolhouse into a scene of chaotic destruction.
- A Local Dream of Justice and Hell
A Seattle man dreams of a corrupt city court system that leads him straight into a satirical version of the afterlife.
- The Hunter and the Runaway
A determined civilian investigator tracks a suspect across the West, certain he’s bagged a notorious fugitive, while the target sits in a Seattle jail cell for the minor crime of selling liquor to Indians.
- The Boys in the County Jail
A look inside the cell of four Seattle youths arrested for petty theft, and the cycle of crime they are already trapped in.