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1. The Persistent Promise of Easy Money

   A classic 19th-century 'work from home' pitch promises Snohomish laborers a fortune for minimal effort.

   Dec 1, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountySnake Oil

2. The Great Heartbreak: A Local Girl’s Secret Wedding to a Seattle Stranger

   When Miss Mary Ann Farmer married Mr. J.G. York in Snohomish, the town was left reeling—not just by the news, but by the sudden silence of their local bachelors who had been courting her.

   Apr 15, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyScandal

3. Organizing the Veteran Battalion for the Sioux War

   A local editor and former soldiers organize to provide support and military service amidst tensions following the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

   Oct 28, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyExclusion & Resistance

4. The Foundation of Washington State’s Civil Liberties

   A look back at the original constitutional guarantees of free speech, property rights, and due process that shaped early Snohomish and the state.

   Aug 24, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyCity Hall

5. The Day Snohomish Became a Ghost Town: A Fatal Accident and the Paper That Got It Wrong

   A logger’s tragic death in Holmes Harbor was so widely reported that it appeared in newspapers across the territory—except for one crucial error: they all got the location wrong.

   Jul 1, 1876The Northern StarHolmes Harbor, Island CountyStrange But True

6. The Sermon on Snohomish: A Frontier Pulpit Feud

   A local clergyman takes to the press to defend his ministry against an anonymous critic, sparking a heated public debate on science, theology, and the moral state of Snohomish.

   Jul 29, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyScandal

7. The Wild West of Washington Land Speculation

   A 19th-century land agent pitches the 'script' system for acquiring Snohomish homesteads, revealing the complex, sometimes predatory, machinery behind early settlement.

   Nov 23, 1878The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyFollow the Money

8. The Sudden Passing of Captain E. A. Starr

   A beloved community leader and steamship captain dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances.

   Jul 22, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyTrue Crime

9. The Great Log Jam: A River of Lost Timber

   In March 1877, a sudden rise in the Skykomish River swept away thousands of feet of logs belonging to local sawmills, turning a potential fortune into driftwood.

   Mar 17, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyDisasters

10. The Night of the War Dance: A Frontier Survival Story

    A young fur trader, caught in the crossfire of escalating tensions during the Indian Wars, finds his only salvation in the quick thinking of a woman named E-wan.

    Apr 17, 1878The Northern StarBig Bend, Snohomish CountyExclusion & Resistance · Strange But True

11. The Day Fall City Danced: A July 4th Celebration in the Shadow of War

    While General Howard debated tactics against Native tribes elsewhere in Washington Territory, residents of Fall City gathered in a cedar grove to celebrate the nation's birthday with speeches, picnics, and swings.

    Jul 21, 1877The Northern StarKent, King County

12. The Great Snohomish Church Hunt: Why Our Clergy Keep Fleeing

    A local editorial lambasts the community's inability to retain a minister, blaming itinerant preachers for their incompetence and demanding a permanent, educated clergyman who will actually work rather than just preach.

    Apr 1, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish County

13. The Timber Tax Trap: How Snohomish County’s Wealth Was Slipping Away

    A local writer warns that mill companies are exploiting a flawed $2.50-per-acre tax assessment to monopolize land, leaving the county with debt and no court house while small loggers go bust.

    Jun 10, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyFollow the Money

14. A Correspondent Reports on the Nez Perce Conflict

    Writing from Olympia in 1877, a local correspondent describes Nez Perce leaders’ refusal to relocate and the surprise attack that sparked a war many understood as a defense of home.

    Jul 14, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyExclusion & Resistance

15. The Man Who 'Bled' His Town Dry: The Rise and Ruin of Eldridge Morse

    A 1876 traveler’s letter to the Oregon City Enterprise paints a damning portrait of Snohomish’s most energetic citizen, accusing editor Eldridge Morse of draining public funds for private ambition.

    Dec 30, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyCity Hall · Scandal

16. The Postal War: How Snohomish’s Star Exposed Seattle’s Corrupt Postmaster

    In June 1877, the editor of the *Snohomish Star* launched a blistering public attack on the Seattle post office, alleging that political cronyism and negligence were deliberately delaying his paper to protect local rivals.

    Jun 2, 1877The Northern StarCommercial Street, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

17. 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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