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1. The Candidates’ Campaign Trail on the Snohomish River

   As election season heats up in 1878, candidates for the Territorial Assembly trade speeches in the freezing cold and debate the future of the Northern Pacific Railroad.

   Nov 2, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyCity Hall

2. A Night in the Hollow Tree

   A traveler lost in the brush near Snohomish spends a freezing, rain-soaked night in an hollowed-out tree, only to discover he was feet away from safety.

   Dec 2, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

3. The Workingman’s Haven in Old Seattle

   A look back at the 'American House' boarding operation, offering weekly room and board at the edge of the Seattle waterfront.

   Mar 8, 1879The Northern StarHill Street, Seattle, King CountyHousing & Rent

4. The Last Breath of Susie Shouts: A Mother’s Grief in the Garden Lands

   In March 1877, just as the Northern Star was extolling the fertile promise of Snohomish’s tide marshes, a local family lost their four-year-old daughter to acute bronchitis at the Riverside Hotel.

   Mar 17, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

5. The Great Ice Blockade of the Snohomish River

   A historic winter freeze has choked the river with ice, threatening the timber industry and commerce in the early days of Snohomish.

   Feb 8, 1879The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

6. The Hustle of the Frontier: Training for the New Economic Order

   An advertisement for the Puget Sound Business College paints a vision of a rapidly industrializing Snohomish, where young men and women were taught the cold, hard skills of accounting and commerce to survive in a burgeoning territory.

   Nov 30, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

7. The Forgotten Colony of 'La Grande Marsh'

   Promoters promised a thriving agricultural paradise on the outskirts of Snohomish, marketing deep-water access and fertile soil to lure a new generation of settlers.

   Sep 14, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

8. Taming the Snohomish Valley Marshlands

   A look at the settlers turning the muddy, fertile banks of the Snohomish River into a bustling agricultural hub through sweat and engineering.

   Aug 4, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

9. In Defense of the Old Hat

   A Snohomish resident offers a defiant, humorous ode to a battered, three-year-old hat that refuses to quit.

   Nov 30, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

10. The Miner Who Came Home: A Snohomish Native Rejects the Yukon for the Slough

    After years of chasing gold in British Columbia and finding only poverty, Neil McMillan returns to his old partner's side on Ehey Slough to start a ranch, proving that local timber is more valuable than distant dreams.

    Mar 31, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyFollow the Money

11. The Unsung Toll of the Snohomish Frontier

    A poignant obituary for Julia E. Haskell reveals the fragile reality of life, health, and community dependence in 1878 Snohomish.

    Feb 6, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

12. The Great Grasshopper Panic: Why Washington Farmers Are Bracing for a Locust Apocalypse

    Professor Riley predicts an unprecedented crop of grasshoppers across the Northwest and beyond, urging immediate preparation as eggs hatch in offices from Minnesota to Missouri.

    Feb 10, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

13. The Price of Credit in Territorial Snohomish

    A legal notice from 1878 reveals the steep cost of debt and the cold machinery of territorial law for two local men.

    Aug 17, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

14. The Myth of the Sterile Sound

    A Victorian-era editorial refutes the popular belief that the Snohomish Valley and surrounding lands were unfit for farming, arguing that geological history created a landscape ripe for immense agricultural prosperity.

    Mar 10, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

15. The Mukilteo Colony Dream

    Promoters pitched a 32-tract 'colony' in Mukilteo as a perfect, self-sustaining opportunity for families to own land and work the Sound, promising everything from shipbuilding to fertile marshland farming.

    Oct 5, 1878The Northern StarMukilteo, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

16. The Town That Wouldn't Sleep: Snohomish’s Fourth of July Overflow

    When the steamers arrived with guests from Seattle and upriver, two hotels couldn't hold them all. The town celebrated with a reading by a woman, a poem by a local man, and a boat ride that nearly capsized on the Skagit.

    Jul 14, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

17. The Day She Asked for Our Front Door

    A Snohomish resident’s hilarious and exasperating account of his neighbors’ audacious borrowing habits reveals the thin veneer of civility in close-knit frontier communities.

    Feb 3, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

18. The 'Rich Deed' That Wasn't: Snohomish’s Wild Gold Rush Hoax and the Community’s Reality Check

    A sensational tale of a legendary gold mine in Snohomish captivated locals, but the paper quickly pivots to a sobering assessment of the lumber industry's financial struggles and the region's agricultural potential.

    Jan 22, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust · True Crime

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