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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1899 | 25 |
25 stories matching lead
- The Boy Who Swallowed a Peanut: A Two-Month Ordeal
A Seattle teenager’s life hangs in the balance after a gust of wind forces a nut into his lung, leading to a dramatic surgical rescue.
- The Klondike Hangover: When Thousands of Prospectors Got Stuck in Seattle
Fresh off the gold fields, prospectors and tourists have flooded Seattle’s hotels and lodging houses, leading to a seasonal 'nuisance' of revelry and joblessness in the city center.
- The Disappearance of Harry Lombard
A sober and industrious logger vanishes into the dense woods near Enumclaw with a fortune in his pocket, sparking a community-wide hunt for a murderer.
- The Seattle Star’s Bold Prediction: Cable Cars, Real Estate Booms, and the 'Famine' of Housing
In March 1899, the city's leading paper championed new transit infrastructure as the key to unlocking a real estate boom, while simultaneously warning of a severe shortage of homes for newcomers.
- The Great Silver Heist: Burglars Strike Judge’s Home on Capitol Hill
Thieves bypassed a vigilant household to steal $500 worth of silverware from the residence of Judge J.A. Stratman, marking one of the most daring crimes in Seattle this month.
- The High Stakes of Seattle Tennis
Athletes from across the Pacific Northwest descend on Seattle for a high-tension tournament, as the city gears up to host the regional championships.
- The Witch of Avenue A: A Violent Superstition
A Seattle family’s belief in sorcery leads to a brutal attack on their former governess.
- The Sunday War in Seattle
A local Christian organization vows to shutter all saloons and theaters on the Sabbath, sparking a defiant clash over public pleasure and civic life.
- The Vanishing Agent: Duncan Inverarity’s Flight from Justice
A trusted local savings bank agent absconds with $1,500, leaving Seattle to evade arrest in Victoria.
- Tragedy on Pioneer Square: A Young Woman’s Brush with Death
While visitors from Victoria watched the fireworks display on Pioneer Square, a stray firecracker ignited a young woman's clothing, leading to a harrowing struggle for survival.
- Doctor Questions City's Smallpox Quarantine Delay
A health officer faces a public revolt after a suspected smallpox outbreak at a local mission leads to a tense standoff and accusations of official negligence.
- The Great Cedar Shingle Cartel: How Washington’s Mill Owners Colluded to Halt Production
In a bold move to stabilize collapsing prices, nearly all of the state's 141 cedar shingle mills agreed to shut down for two weeks, forming an association to enforce quality standards and living wages.
- The Boomtown at the Edge of the Clouds
A report from the rugged mining district of Index, Washington, where prospectors and investors are carving a new industrial future out of the Skykomish River valley.
- The Mediums' Trust: When Seattle's Spiritualists Tried to Fix Their Prices
A secret meeting of clairvoyants and mediums ended in failure as new arrivals undercut their rates, proving that even the spirit world is subject to market forces.
- The Great Peace Jubilee: Seattle’s Plan to Outshine Washington City
As the capital prepares for a national celebration of peace, Seattle residents are rallying with unprecedented unanimity to host their own magnificent reception for the First Washington Regiment, promising fireworks on Puget Sound and a naval battle reenactment.
- The Moonshiner’s Crusade: A Local Man Offers to Lead a Private Army Against the Spanish
Arthur T. Abernethy, a Seattle resident with deep ties to Southern Appalachia, has proposed an audacious plan to President McKinley: recruit fierce moonshiners from North Carolina and Tennessee to crush the rebellion in the Philippines.
- The Circus Comes to Town: Seattle’s First Big Top Spectacle
As the Hingling Bros. circus unloads its menagerie and performers in the Northern Pacific yards, locals gather for a parade and show that promises 'everything advertised.'
- The Vigilante Committee: Tacoma's Desperate War on Crime
In March 1902, Tacoma’s elite formed a secret society sworn to kill without mercy after police failed to stop a wave of robberies and murders.
- The Lawyer Who Spoke 'Jargon' to Save a Man from Prison
In a Tacoma courtroom in the early days of Washington state, Attorney Frank Clark stunned federal prosecutors by abandoning legalese for Chinook Jargon, winning the acquittal of a poor logger accused of stealing timber.
- The $12.50 Gold Rush: How a Railroad Rate War Flooded Seattle with Hope and Skepticism
As Canadian Pacific slashes fares to half the price of American lines, local merchants debate whether the coming wave of homeseekers will build the city or break it.
- The City That Forgot How to Ride: Seattle’s Battle for Short-Term Streetcar Franchises
In May 1899, the Seattle Star warned that granting long-term monopolies to street railway companies would leave the city trapped with obsolete technology and inflated prices. The paper argued fiercely for short-term grants to keep corporations accountable—a debate that echoes in today’s transit infrastructure battles.
- The Iron Leviathan Meets the Excursionists: A Day on Puget Sound
When the USS Iowa arrived in Port Orchard, local dignitaries and chamber of commerce members boarded a steamer to greet the battleship, leading to a dramatic encounter in the fog and a cordial invitation to a banquet.
- The Seattle Star's 'Inklings': A Glimpse into 1906 Courtroom Drama and Civic Life
From a bitter divorce trial involving accusations of insanity to the arrest of nineteen men selling whisky to Native Americans, this page captures the gritty, colorful daily life of Seattle in April 1906.
- Seattle’s Ladies Plan a Royal Welcome for the Boys of Manila
As the First Washington Volunteers prepare to return from the Philippines, prominent women and Mayor Humes unite to organize a massive civic celebration, turning grief into gratitude.
- The Invisible Killer in Your Milk: Seattle’s Health Officer Warns of Tuberculosis Cows
With consumption rates soaring and no dedicated veterinary inspector on staff, local officials admit the city is dangerously unprepared to stop diseased cattle from entering the food supply.