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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 2 |
| 1872 | 9 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 3 |
31 stories matching tree
- A Tragic Warning in the Slate Creek Woods
A logger is killed by a falling tree, fulfilling a premonition voiced by his son just moments before.
- The Great Timber Heist: Federal Law Cracks Down on Puget Sound Loggers
In 1872, the U.S. government enforced a strict new law protecting live-oak and red-cedar from unauthorized removal, threatening massive fines and ship seizures for anyone caught logging federal lands without Navy permission.
- The Tragedy of the Straddled Log
A valuable horse owned by Schwabacher Bros. & Co. is found dead in the woods after a bizarre and fatal encounter with a fallen tree.
- 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 Caterpillar Ordinance: Olympia’s War on Woodland Pests
In a rare display of municipal power in 1871, the Olympia City Council passed an ordinance giving residents one week to burn infested trees or face fines and forced destruction by the Marshall.
- The Hilltop Slip: Seattle’s Shifting Waterfront
Decades before the regrades reshaped the city, residents of the Belltown waterfront watched their homes slide into the bay as the ground beneath them turned to quicksand.
- The Search for Fruitful Soil in the Seattle Basin
A pioneer orchardist shares a nineteen-year struggle to master the stubborn, clay-heavy soils of the Duwamish Valley and the Puget Sound region.
- Holiday Revelry in Early Renton
A historic gathering of pioneer families at the new schoolhouse marked a high-water mark for the young coal mining settlement.
- The Ship Eldorado is Lost
A valuable Seattle coal vessel runs aground near Port Angeles, signaling a likely total loss.
- The Industrial Revolution of the Puget Sound Frontier
Two local inventors debut a massive, horse-powered stump-pulling machine, promising to clear vast swaths of Washington timberland for a fraction of the cost.
- The Perils of Coasting: A Sidewalk Smash-up
Two local boys narrowly escape tragedy after a high-speed sledding accident on a steep Seattle street.
- Miner Gershall Wardpil Dies by Suicide in 1872
An itinerant worker seeking a new start in the Washington territory ends his own life, leaving behind only a watch and a pocket of cash.
- The Day a Prisoner Broke His Chains and the Police Chief Grabbed a Boy's Horse
A robbery suspect makes a mid-day run for the bushes from the chain gang; Seattle's police chief commandeers a horse and trees him just outside town.
- The Price of Failure on the Duwamish
As Seattle grew, a wave of court-ordered property auctions flooded the local papers, displacing families and settling debt with the cold finality of the sheriff’s gavel.
- The Mail Carrier of Port Gardner Bay
A harrowing tale of survival in the winter of 1872 when the mail route between Mukilteo and Snohomish met a sudden, icy squall.
- The City’s Rare Nursery Devastated by Record Snow
A brutal winter storm destroys a world-class botanical collection in Seattle, marking a significant loss for regional horticulture.
- The Gold Rush Trail to the Skagit
As prospectors flock to the Skagit River, old-timers debate the best route through the wilderness to reach the promised riches.
- The Iron-Spoke Innovation of 1876
A radical new design in carriage wheels promises a smoother, sturdier ride for Seattle’s muddy, nascent streets.
- The Myth of the 'Frozen' Northwest
An 1877 dispatch to a San Francisco newspaper explains the 'warm belt' of air—the Japan Current—that kept Puget Sound from being a frozen wasteland.
- The New Frontier on the Shores of Lake Washington
While the city worried over mysterious prowlers, settlers were carving out orchards and gardens from the old-growth forests near Lake Washington, marveling at the land's hidden potential.
- Betrayal and Bloodshed on Whidbey Island
A ranching partnership ends in a fatal, cold-blooded ambush near Useless Bay.
- The Price of Industrial Expansion: A Sheriff's Sale on the Duwamish
In 1878, a court-ordered auction of land near the Duwamish River revealed the high-stakes debt and legal entanglements defining early Seattle development.
- 1878 Sheriff’s Sale Lists King County Land
A 1878 legal notice reveals a forced property sale near the Duwamish River, capturing the raw reality of early Seattle’s land-based economy.
- Sheriff's Auction: King County Land Sold to Settle a Debt
A 1878 legal notice reveals a grim snapshot of early King County land struggles, as a riverside homestead goes to auction to satisfy a debt.
- The Price of Panic: Losing the Farm to the Sheriff
After a grueling economic downturn, a King County family faces the auction block as court-ordered sales sweep Seattle.