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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 3 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1893 | 4 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 4 |
23 stories matching plug
- The Water Main Blowout on Lake Washington
A faulty metallic plug failed under pressure, exposing the vulnerability of Seattle's early water infrastructure.
- Seattle's Fire Drill Revealed a City Almost Defenseless Against Flames
A routine test of the fire department exposed feeble water pressure and sent two firemen to bed with serious injuries.
- Bagley Calls Out Selective Policing
A city council member accuses the police of targeting marginalized women while ignoring male-run gambling houses.
- The Tinderbox City: How Unprotected Seattle Lived in Fear of Fire
While the downtown core grew rapidly, many residential districts remained dangerously isolated from fire protection, leaving property owners in a literal state of vulnerability.
- A Flash at the Switchboard: Tacoma's Veteran Electrician Killed by 2,000 Volts
Peter Peterson, six years with the city light station, grabbed two live plugs at once. He was dead before doctors could even attempt a revival.
- The Pirate of Salmon Bay
A local captain confesses to scuttling his own schooner to collect insurance money, narrowly avoiding a death sentence due to a legal technicality.
- Gamblers Threaten a Crusading Preacher
A Tacoma clergyman and the local newspaper face death threats after exposing a thriving municipal gambling underground.
- A Midnight Ditch Plugging in the Snoqualmie Valley
A water dispute near Tolt (now Carnation) turned neighbor against neighbor, with accusations that O'Leary plugged a shared ditch under cover of darkness.
- The Serpent Slayer of Chehalis
A man wanders into town wearing a top hat to battle a monster he believes is terrorizing the rail lines.
- The Ticking Gas-Pipe Scandal
A fearful day in the Burke building as an office worker discovers a 'bomb' left by a disgruntled typist.
- The Shadow Over Seattle: A Councilman’s Scathing Exposé of Vice
In 1891, a fiery letter from C. B. Bagley to the Post-Intelligencer accused the mayor and police chief of being puppets to the city’s most notorious gamblers and saloon-keepers.
- Seattle Athletic Club's Humiliating Baseball Defeat
The home team suffers a crushing 17-1 loss to Portland, with spectators dwindling as the game devolved into a series of errors.
- The Sad State of McNeil Island
A former inmate calls for books to replace the monotony of prison life.
- Firefighters battle blaze in the ruins of the old McMaster mill
A fire sparked by a passing engine ignited the long-abandoned McMaster's mill wharf, forcing firefighters to wade through shallow mud flats to save the structure.
- South Seattle Laborer Stabbed Over a Nickel
A brickmaker at Lohse's brick yard was attacked by a vagrant after refusing to hand over money for transit.
- The Night Cheney Burned to the Ground
A pre-dawn fire decimated half of Cheney’s business district, leaving city officials to suspect arson as the town vowed to rise again from the ashes.
- Fireboat Battles Blazing Mill on the Tide Flats
McMaster's shingle mill, a sprawling wharf-side structure, is lost to a massive fire as the city's fireboat struggles to maneuver through a congested waterway.
- The Transformation of Seattle's 'Pencils'
A beloved local street vendor and Civil War veteran receives a surprise wardrobe upgrade from a local merchant, sparking a reflection on Seattle's unique local legends.
- The Hill That Couldn't Be Saved: Fire Chief Pleads for Water on Seattle’s Steepest Slopes
In a stark report from June 1904, Chief Joshua Phillips warns that the city’s volunteer fire brigade is powerless against blazes in the steep upper districts, where gravity defeats their hoses and time kills buildings.
- The Vigilantes’ Bones: Seattle Dug Up Its Most Notorious Lynching
Thirteen years after a mob hanged three men on James Street, a county doctor exhumed their skeletons for anatomy students— ropes, necktie and all.
- Thirty-Six Hours Rudderless: The J.C. Ford's Last Voyage
A lime cargo catches fire, a rudder snaps, and eight sailors are rescued off Grays Harbor moments before their ship goes down.
- The Valley Sixty Miles From a Railroad
In 1892, the Big Bottom settlers of Lewis County had no road, no sawmill and no rail line — just hand-hewn homes, packhorses, a tobacco-chewing cat, and a Fourth of July party for 160 neighbors.
- Seattle's 1894 Election: Corruption, Fraud, and the Fight for City Hall
As voters head to the polls, the Post-Intelligencer unleashes a blistering attack on the Democratic administration, alleging graft, forgery, and a machine determined to hold power at any cost.