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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 8 |
| 1884 | 6 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 5 |
27 stories matching descript
- 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 Palace on the Hill: A Glimpse into Seattle’s Victorian Splendor
A rare 1885 look inside the 'stately' McNaught residence, a mansion built to impress at Third and Marion.
- The Ghost of the River
A tragic mix-up in identity leaves a drowned man's body buried in a shallow grave until friends intervene.
- Inferno in the Olympics
Citizens gather on Church Hill in Port Angeles to watch a massive timber fire burning in the Olympic Mountains.
- The Struggle for Space: Seattle’s Overcrowded Schools in 1887
An 1887 inspection of Seattle's public schools reveals a city straining against its rapid growth, featuring dilapidated buildings, overcrowding, and a desperate search for adequate space for its pupils.
- The Barber and the Vanishing Man
A man disappears from a train under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a baffled barber and a trail of questions.
- The Strange Disappearance of Nellie McNeil
After a frantic police search, a woman reported missing is discovered living in a rooming house above a local saloon.
- The Marriage and Landing of Chinese Merchants
A customs decision allows the wives of three Chinese merchants to enter Seattle, citing the legal status of marriage.
- The Quest for a Snoqualmie Pass Railroad
A citizen's pitch for a specific route through the Cascades to connect Seattle with the riches of Eastern Washington.
- The Sheriff’s Shabby Costume: A Prisoner’s Trick to Escape the Penitentiary
In a bizarre twist of early Washington Territory justice, a sheriff attempted to smuggle a prisoner into the territorial penitentiary by disguising him in shabby clothes. The trick failed, but not before the warden made a memorable quip.
- The Mass Departure of Chinese Laborers
After the completion of the Cedar River extension, the Oregon Improvement Company arranged for the mass transport of 1,700 Chinese workers out of Seattle.
- The New Jewel of the Seattle Skyline
A descriptive look at the newly completed Yesler-Leary block, a state-of-the-art brick edifice at the corner of Mill and Front streets.
- The Waterfront Teeming with Global Trade
A look at the sheer variety of goods flowing through Seattle's wharves reveals a city rapidly expanding as a commercial powerhouse.
- The Great Seattle Property Map Scandal
A scathing editorial reveals that King County’s property assessments are so riddled with errors that the tax rolls are essentially worthless, leaving the local government in a state of administrative paralysis.
- Steamer Josephine Boiler Explosion Remembered a Year Later
A haunting one-year retrospective on a boiler explosion that devastated a local crew and passengers near Port Hadlock.
- The Political Campaign Against Chinese Labor in 1886
A local representative’s fiery defense of anti-Chinese exclusionary policies, detailing the economic anxieties that gripped Seattle workers during the late 19th century.
- The Deadly Plumbing of American Hotels
A leading medical journal warns travelers that the sanitary conditions in American and Canadian hotels are putting lives at risk.
- The Chinese Laborers Building Seattle’s Railroad
A reporter visits the line of the Northern Pacific railroad to find the massive, hidden workforce extending the tracks into the city.
- Sawmill Company's 2,700-Acre Timber Land Fraud Exposed
A government investigation exposes how powerful sawmill companies in Washington Territory used dummy entrymen to systematically steal thousands of acres of federal forest land.
- The Strange Disappearance of the Wharf Thief
A witness recounts the mysterious final moments of a man who stole a boat and seemingly vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a trail of questions.
- The Tragedy at Cle Elum
A head-on collision between a work train and a locomotive leaves construction workers dead and local physicians scrambling in the wake of the worst accident on the Northern Pacific line.
- An Enchanting Journey Across the Salish Sea
A descriptive account of an 1881 midnight steamship voyage from Seattle to Victoria, capturing the beauty of the Sound and the Straits of Juan de Fuca.
- The Circus Comes to Walla Walla
A traveling spectacle transforms a sleepy town with camels, elephants, and a daredevil 'human fly' act.
- The High Cost of Isolation
A local editor argues that the lack of direct transport routes creates an artificial tax on basic goods like beef, coal, and timber.
- The Expulsion of Tacoma’s Chinese Residents
A celebratory procession and public speeches in Tacoma mark the return of twenty-seven men indicted for the forced removal of the city's Chinese population.