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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 16 |
| 1876 | 21 |
| 1877 | 18 |
| 1878 | 13 |
| 1880 | 9 |
78 stories matching ever
- A Maritime Giant Hits the Water
The largest vessel ever constructed on Puget Sound, designed to carry 1.3 million feet of lumber, successfully launches in Seabeck.
- The Ghostly Return of Mr. Folliott
A Seattle husband returns from a harrowing journey in India to find his 'widow' has remained faithful—despite the local gossips who were eager to see her remarry.
- The 'Witty' Baritone of Olympia
A skeptical newspaper editorial skewers a local social columnist for romanticizing a drunken political gathering at the state capital.
- The Mud of Commercial Street
Seattle’s main commercial artery was once a treacherous gauntlet of 'semi-fluid mud' and rats, nearly impassable for the city's horse-drawn wagons.
- An 1872 Manifesto for the 'Working Girl'
In an era of stifling expectations, a Seattle newspaper columnist argues that women should prioritize professional autonomy over the 'inferno' of a loveless marriage.
- The Tragic End of a Railroad Worker
A young man, injured on the job, succumbs to his injuries at a local Seattle hotel.
- The First Railroad Built on 'Siwash' Labor
In a stark reflection of territorial labor practices, the first contracts for the Puyallup Valley Railroad have been awarded to Meeker & Mann, with plans to employ local Indigenous workers for four miles of track.
- The 'Virtuous Spasm' of 1876: Seattle’s Early Critique of Political Greed
An editorial from the Puget Sound Dispatch captures the simmering public outrage over a government scandal in Washington Territory, drawing parallels between national corruption and the mismanagement of local university land grants.
- The Political Rings of Olympia
An editorial from 1872 exposes a 'carpet-bagger' political machine using public funds to bankroll a partisan newspaper and manipulate Territorial elections.
- Billy Fife: Self-Taught Caricaturist of Frontier Seattle
A biography of Billy Fife, a sailor and self-taught caricaturist whose sharp wit and rare artistic skill captured Seattle's frontier life.
- An Explorer's Curious Discovery in the Puyallup Valley
In 1878, a local explorer ventured into the uncharted territory of the Puyallup Valley, reporting back with observations that bordered on the absurd.
- The Desert Town That Finally Found a Well
For years, the residents of Port Townsend relied entirely on collected rain for drinking water, fearing the earth held nothing but salt.
- The Mayor Who Bought His Seat with Lottery Money
In Seattle’s first hotly contested municipal election of 1876, the newspaper publisher who ran for mayor lost to Dr. Weed—not because he lacked support from mechanics and laborers, but because his opponent mobilized the city’s notorious lottery gamblers.
- The Great Thaw: Mountain Snows Turn Every River Into a Rampage
An unusually cool spring held a winter's worth of snow until a few hot days sent it all down at once, flooding the Skagit, Cowlitz and Columbia, drowning farmland and putting Portland under water.
- The Ring of Corruption: How King County’s Auditor Hid the Books
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch exposes Gardner Kellogg for refusing to explain thousands of dollars in missing county funds, accusing him of treating public office as private property.
- A Heartrending Tragedy in Hereford Swamp
A father's desperate attempt to rescue his children from a falling tree results in a devastating loss of three lives.
- The Last Stand of Yesler’s House: Seattle’s First Skyscraper Rises on the Site of a Pioneer Home
In November 1876, King County Commissioners approved the demolition of Henry Yesler’s historic residence to make way for a three-story artificial stone business block, marking the end of an era and the beginning of Seattle's commercial boom.
- The Territorial Governor’s Malice: A False Rumor of Corruption Exposed
In June 1876, the *Puget Sound Dispatch* launches a fierce defense of Washington Territory Governor William H. Wallace against a malicious slander campaign claiming he was embezzling public funds.
- The Great Sailor Shortage: Why Seattle’s Labor Market Was Starving for Hands
In December 1876, the city faced a paradoxical crisis: despite the suspension of summer logging work, sailors were vanishing from the docks. Commissioner Ballou reported that a single crewman was worth more than a pair of jacks in poker, as wages had to be inflated just to secure basic maritime labor.
- Life on the Inland Sea: The Steamboats That Built Seattle
A detailed look at the vessels, crews, and wages of Puget Sound's maritime industry in the 1870s.
- The Price of a Seaman's Hand
A mariner sues for $3,000 in damages, claiming gross negligence led to a permanent injury aboard a ship docked at Port Blakely.
- A Night of Political Fervor at Yesler's Hall
Hundreds pack the Seattle venue to hear Judge Thomas Burke and local speakers rally support for the Democratic ticket.
- The Hunt for the Runaway Wife
After his wife eloped to Seattle with a family friend, a jilted husband tracked her across the coast to initiate a legal reckoning.
- Gold Fever on the Skagit: A Prospector's Report
Fresh from the gold fields, miners report that the Skagit region is sparkling with riches, promising to make skeptics take a backseat.
- A Printing Office Blunder
A romantic visit to a printing office turns disastrous for a typographer when his fiancée accidentally destroys his hours of labor.