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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 19 |
| 1889 | 47 |
| 1891 | 10 |
| 1892 | 27 |
| 1893 | 58 |
| 1894 | 101 |
| 1895 | 134 |
396 stories matching commenc
- The Sheriff’s Swift Justice at Commencement Bay
After a horse was stolen from Georgetown, the sheriff tracked the thieves to a camp near the Indian reservation and recovered the animal in less than 24 hours.
- Seattle Raises $50,000 to Start the South Seattle Canal
A state paper cheers Seattle's nerve as the subsidy is secured and digging begins on one of two canals meant to remake the city's waterways.
- The Dredgers Are Coming: Seattle's Canal Project Finally Starts Moving
After years of financing delays, engineers promised to begin bulkheads and surveys on the south canal—and to haul giant hydraulic dredgers north to reshape the tide flats.
- A Close Call on the Logging Trail
A local sportsman finds his gun jammed while a bear charges, forcing a desperate, makeshift solution.
- Commencement at the Academy of the Holy Names
A crowded hall celebrates the academic achievements of young women at a cornerstone Seattle institution on Jackson and Ninth.
- The Governor’s Grand Brick Block
As Seattle expands, former Washington Territorial Governor Watson C. Squire commissions a massive new downtown commercial building on South Second and Main Streets.
- The Almshouse Grand Jury Faces a Conflict of Interest
Jurors with business ties to the contractor under investigation are allowed to remain on the case after an unusual courtroom scene.
- The Poker Con on the Anacortes Train
An unwary traveler loses twenty-five dollars to professional card sharps after a distraction at the window.
- The Library Ball that Defined 1889 Seattle
High society gathers at the First Regiment Armory to fund the Yesler Library, marking a glittering return to the social calendar after the solemnity of Lent.
- The Iron Shed Rebellion
After the Great Seattle Fire, one man defies new building codes by erecting corrugated iron structures in the fire-restricted zone, triggering a city-wide showdown over safety and property rights.
- The Iron Road Reaches the Snoqualmie River
As construction on the Snoqualmie branch of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railroad nears its completion, a new frontier town emerges on the South Fork of the river.
- New Year's Eve Brawl Leaves Landlady Stabbed
A festive celebration at a Jackson Street boarding house turned violent when a dispute between two women resulted in a serious stabbing.
- The Harbor Master’s Religious Test
An immigrant laborer claims he was denied city sewer work specifically for being a Greek Catholic.
- The Transit Dream of 1889
A Seattle streetcar consolidation promised a single nickel fare from the bay to Salmon Bay, linking the city's future through private transit deals.
- The Great Jailbreak Attempt of 1888
A desperate group of prisoners, including a local forger and a pair of Vancouver burglars, came within thirty minutes of freedom before being thwarted by a vigilant guard.
- The 'Golden Eagle' Real Estate Boom of 1889
As Seattle prepared to rebuild from its Great Fire, developers used high-profile endorsements—and the promise of a streetcar line—to sell the prestige of the Renton Addition.
- A Gunfight on Marion Street: The Clerk Who Shot a Seattle Policeman
Harry Good was bound over for attempted murder after a running shootout that left Officer Glasscock wounded and the downtown force scrambling.
- Seattle Starts Building Its Own Ground
Contractors drive the first piles in the tide flats, launching a massive fill project that will remake the city’s waterfront and industrial south end.
- Collision at Sea
A schooner captain blames a lack of lights for a mid-sound collision that scattered wood into the water.
- The Colossal Graveyard at the Columbia
With seventy-five lives lost to the river's breakers this season alone, local reports condemn the lack of intervention to protect the fishermen.
- Coxey's Army on Trial: Seattle Laborers Testify About the Yakima Gunfire
In federal court in Seattle, members of the Commonweal Army described how deputy marshals clubbed and shot at unemployed men trying to ride a train east to present the Coxey bill to Congress.
- The Miners Who Own the Mine: Renton's Co-op Coal Company Is Ahead of Schedule
A cooperative of miners, mechanics and laborers has raised money faster than expected and will start work early — with most of its coal bound for Seattle.
- The Endless Legal Battle for the Denny Hotel
A massive, years-long legal tangle over liens and mortgages stalls the completion of one of Seattle's most ambitious building projects.
- When Wires Crossed: Seattle's Great Electrical Tangle of 1895
A freak accident at 11 p.m. mixed electric light, fire alarm, and telephone lines, cutting off 50 subscribers and burning out equipment across downtown Seattle.
- A Reservation Created at the Mouth of the Hoh
Presidential proclamation sets aside one square mile of land for the Hoh tribe.