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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 11 |
| 1859 | 12 |
23 stories
- A Town Organizes a Vigilance Committee to Keep 'Northern Indians' Off Its Shore
Citizens meet at the Court House, resolve that 'no Northern Indians at any time be allowed to land at this place,' and appoint a standing Committee of Vigilance to enforce it.
- Steilacoom Empties Its Garrison for a Near-War on San Juan Island
On Aug. 9, 1859, soldiers and two brass cannon left Steilacoom aboard the steamer Julia to reinforce Capt. Pickett’s tiny command, as the U.S. and Britain edged toward war over a boundary and a pig.
- The Night Steilacoom's Records Burned
A Tuesday-night blaze destroyed the county auditor's office, forced the demolition of a neighboring building, and nearly took Anthony's Hotel—until soldiers joined the bucket brigade.
- The Schooner That Never Came Back
A Steilacoom resident and a captain vanish after leaving Port Townsend; a rumor from Vancouver Island speaks of a wreck and murder.
- Gold Fever Empties Puget Sound
A schooner captain confirms rich strikes on the Fraser and Thompson rivers—and hundreds of workers are already leaving Victoria and the Sound for the mines.
- Gold Fever Empties the Army Posts—and Leaves Steilacoom’s Mail in a Canoe
A steamer from the north brings word of rich surface diggings on the Fraser and Thompson rivers, soldiers deserting lower Puget Sound posts, and Steilacoom cut off from its mail.
- A Gold Rush Tide Swells Through Steilacoom
Miners from Oregon and the Columbia are streaming through town bound for the Fraser River, buying supplies and predicting thousands more.
- The Wharf, the Steamer, and the Grudge
A Puget Sound steamer damages Steilacoom's private wharf; the repairs are made, but the landings become a running feud between a steamboat captain and the town.
- Gold Fever Reaches Steilacoom by Schooner
A Saturday arrival brings word of gold at Fort Yale, a turn-by-turn route up the Fraser River, and a miner's warning that provisions are very high.
- The Night a Soldier Robbed the Editor's House
While the Puget Sound Herald's proprietor and his wife were away, a soldier slipped into their home—then walked back through the kitchen into the sitting room.
- The Night Seattle Danced Until Two: A Steamer Excursion from Steilacoom
In July 1859, the steamer Julia carried Olympia and Steilacoom society across the Sound to Seattle, where three supper tables and a hall full of dancers made territorial news.
- A Councillor Settles a Political Argument With Clubs, Then Leaves Town
A quarrel over loyalty to the mayor ends in a back-lot club fight, a wounded stranger, and a town official who vanishes from the city.
- A Runaway Horse, a Broken Skull, and a Mother's New Misfortune
Near Judge Chambers's house, Mrs. Riccomba's young son was thrown and dragged; he lay in a very critical state.
- Fighting Whisky and a Free Fight in Steilacoom's Streets
A dozen strangers brawl outside Jerry Dennis's house, prompting the editor to demand the disorderly den be closed.
- Steilacoom Builds Before the Crowd Arrives
Warehouses on pilings, a new store and a brick jail: the town's 1853 building boom was a bet on growth.
- A Miraculous Escape on Puget Sound: Two Steamers Collide Near Steilacoom
The steamer Northerner and a second vessel met suddenly on the water in October 1858, crushing the little steamer’s bow and nearly sending its captain into the Sound.
- The Vultures on Steilacoom's Streets
A furious 1858 editorial accuses local authorities of letting California gamblers plunder the town in plain sight.
- Steilacoom’s Editor Asks Who Will Start the Fire Brigade
With wooden buildings packed into the business district and no reservoir, engine or ladder company, the Puget Sound Herald warns that a single blaze could erase the town’s prospects.
- A Boomtown Year: Steilacoom Runs Out of Empty Houses
In its first-anniversary survey of Puget Sound, the Herald finds every vacant building in Steilacoom filled — and thirty new ones thrown up in eight months.
- The Steamer That Never Came: Steilacoom's Broken Promise of a Pleasure Trip
A hundred neighbors set aside their work for a promised steamboat excursion to Olympia — but the boat failed to show, the crowd simmered, and the day ended in a dance hall instead of on deck.
- The Coat That Became a Campaign Scandal
A Steilacoom merchant says Col. Wm. H. Wallace paid for the coat Warren Gore called stolen—and that the real target is the county's voters.
- A Frontier Fourth: Cannon, Troops, and a Ball in Steilacoom
On July 4, 1859, Steilacoom turned out for a warship salute, a military review at Fort Steilacoom, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, and an evening ball.
- A Rumor of War on the Snake River
The Puget Sound Herald casts doubt on its own report of a battle between Col. Steptoe and Indigenous fighters, noting that no reliable account has arrived.