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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 5 |
| 1891 | 11 |
| 1892 | 15 |
40 stories matching start
- Post Office Inferno Narrowly Avoided
A quick-thinking resident discovers a fire smoldering under the post office stove, saving the block from total destruction.
- A Glue Pot, a Pail of Water, and the Fire That Took Seattle
A painter, a cabinetmaker and a frightened workman recount how a glue pot and a bucket of water ignited the blaze that consumed Seattle.
- The Grave Robbery Insurance Scam
A Seattle man faked his own death using a stolen corpse to collect a massive insurance payout, but a lover's confession blew the lid off the plot.
- A Close Call in the Indian Wars
A survivor recounts the harrowing 1856 campaign and a near-death encounter along the banks of the Snake River.
- The Violent Reformation of Bumble the Dog
A notorious St. Bernard, known for terrorizing local residents, has a new owner with a questionable theory on canine rehabilitation.
- The Cross-Threaded Nozzle That Cost Ellensburg the Race
In an 1889 hose-cart contest, North Yakima’s fire team beat Ellensburg—but the day’s real drama was a stuck coupling and a heartbroken nozzleman.
- A Perilous Descent Down Cowychee Hill
When a team of horses spooked on a steep grade, a local farmer had to make a split-second decision to save his family.
- The Whiskey Wagon on the Reservation
Law enforcement in Yakima hunts a bootlegger accused of supplying alcohol to the Yakama Reservation.
- Home Lost in Afternoon Fire
A northern Yakima house is reduced to ash while a mother tends to her sick child.
- The Valley's New Tobacco Boom
Yakima prepares for massive production as tobacco emerges as a leading rival to hop farming.
- Fire Ravages Cle-Elum
A devastating blaze wipes out a business district, echoing the recent destruction in North Yakima.
- The Grand Coulee Canal Dream
A bold proposal to divert the Columbia River into the Grand Coulee to irrigate millions of acres of desert land.
- The Great Yakima Duck Caper
A wild northern bird is lassoed in the middle of town by electric light, leading to a spectacle at the local hotel.
- The Railway Expansion That Remade the Cascades
Northern Pacific filed a blanket mortgage covering a planned rail line from North Yakima over the Cascades to the Pacific.
- The Teenager Who Rushed Toward the Pen
A young drifter steals a horse in Yakima, only to be caught in Toppenish the very next morning.
- Fatal Miscalculation at the Tacoma Railyard
A tragic accident involving a Northern Pacific Railway official highlights the brutal mechanical risks of the era's expanding infrastructure.
- The Narrow-Gauge Dream Through Naches Pass
A completed survey and North Yakima's $100,000 pledge push a rail line toward the Sound.
- A Violent Altercation at Taggard's Saloon
A dispute over a gambling debt nearly turns fatal when a patron draws a knife.
- Sewer Work Halted Amid Dispute
City council freezes funds for contractor over allegations of using rejected pipe.
- The Smoke Over the Okanogan
Forest fires fueled by arsonists are devastating the landscape and choking the residents of the Okanogan country.
- The Garden Prank That Sour-Ed a Marriage
A husband’s elaborate scheme to fool his wife with gilded pebbles backfires, leaving the household in a state of icy tension.
- Divorce Proceedings Halted by a Train Ride
A couple bound for court to finalize their divorce ends up on the same train car, leading to an unexpected reconciliation.
- Turning the Desert Into an Empire
A massive engineering project is underway to irrigate 125,000 acres of Yakima bench land, fueling the local boosterism of the 1890s.
- The Decade-Old Debt of the Log Drive
Local creditors hope to finally collect on a failed timber contract from the 1880s involving prominent political figures.
- The Constitutional Fears of a Growing Territory
As Washington prepares for statehood, editorial warnings emerge that restricting capital and corporate investment could paralyze the region’s economic momentum.