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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1890 | 91 |
91 stories
- The Desperate Flight from a Domestic Abductor
A mother fighting for custody of her child leaps from a steamer to escape her husband’s attempt to forcibly abduct their daughter.
- Vigilante Sentiment Grows After Sunday Violence
A wave of fights and assaults by 'tramps and toughs' on Harris Street leaves the town calling for better policing.
- The Four Cities of the Bay: A Failed Marriage
Delegates from four separate municipalities on Bellingham Bay meet to debate the dream—and the logistical nightmare—of merging into a single metropolis.
- The Great Boundary Brawl of 1890
Fairhaven and Bellingham citizens mobilize to challenge New Whatcom's aggressive land-grab tactics before the county board.
- Street Blasting Terrifies Fairhaven Neighbors
A massive stump removal operation inside city limits wreaks havoc on local storefronts and rattles the nerves of residents.
- A Railroad Feud in Whatcom
Citizens of Whatcom are up in arms after a railway company performs a bare-minimum, last-minute track laying to save their franchise.
- The Stench of the Fairhaven Mudflats
Citizens demand immediate action to address the foul refuse dumping ground north of Harris Street.
- The Fight for Washington’s Tide Lands
A high-stakes political battle in the state legislature over the future of Washington's valuable waterfront property.
- The Mystery of the Ferndale Road Victim
After months of anonymity, the murder victim discovered on the Ferndale Diagonal road has been identified as Samuel McCauley, a family man and Mason from Barniston Island.
- Tragedy in the Stetson-Post Row
Three travelers en route to Snohomish perished in a fire, their bodies found huddled together in an attempted escape.
- Fairhaven Businesses Rally Behind City Incorporation
Citizens gather to fund city services and strategize for the upcoming municipal incorporation battle.
- The Battle for the Bellingham Waterfront
Fairhaven and New Whatcom are locked in a bitter struggle to claim the developing city of Bellingham for their own booming municipal territory.
- Fairhaven Celebrates Its Official Birth
After a long and bitter boundary fight with neighboring towns, the new city of Fairhaven secures its incorporation and throws a massive party.
- A Fugitive’s Final Escape in a Seattle Lodging House
Facing a retrial for a violent attempted murder, a young man ends his life in a room above a downtown saloon.
- Teenager Charged with Fatal Shooting of Indigenous Man
A tragic confrontation on a La Conner wharf leaves a man dead and the local community in a state of high tension.
- The Magic City of Puget Sound
A booster’s portrait of 1890 Fairhaven, capturing a boom town fueled by speculation, deep-water access, and massive infrastructure projects.
- Fairhaven Fights for Its Own Steamship Line
Local merchants move to break the shipping monopoly of Seattle and Tacoma by courting a direct San Francisco steamship connection.
- The Rapid Rise of Sedro
A reporter recounts a trip to the burgeoning Skagit River town, which has transformed from a forest clearing to a rail hub in mere months.
- State Legislature Grants Cities Local Control
A landmark bill passes in Olympia, allowing smaller towns to incorporate and manage their own debts, fueling the boom of the 1890s.
- Federal Ruling Kills Tide Land Speculation
The Secretary of the Interior rejects the use of 'Valentine Scrip' for public tide lands, dealing a blow to speculators in Seattle and Tacoma.
- The Tragic End of a Forgotten Life
A young, disabled woman dies in Seattle after surviving a life of exploitation at the hands of 'charitable' organizations.
- The Strange Attempt to 'Disincorporate' Sehome
Citizens and property owners are in an uproar over mysterious, potentially illegal efforts to redraw city boundaries and effectively end the existence of Sehome as a municipality.
- Fairhaven Objects to Whatcom Annexation Over Debt
Booster leaders argue that merging with Whatcom would be 'death' to Fairhaven’s budding identity and prosperity.
- The Starving Crew of the Iroquois
A US Navy vessel arrives in Port Townsend after a harrowing, months-long drift across the Pacific, leaving its crew near starvation.
- The Widow’s Revenge at the Buzzard Saloon
A young boarding house proprietor storms a local saloon to confront her lover at gunpoint after a broken promise of marriage.