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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 5 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 7 |
24 stories matching plummer
- Abandoned and Alone in a Growing City
A woman arrives in Seattle looking for a new start, only to be left destitute by a husband who vanished with their life savings.
- The Broken Promise of the Port Angeles Railroad
A New York broker promised a transformative rail line to Port Angeles, but city boosters discovered the 'syndicate' was just a man with a scheme.
- A Custom Official's Reputation Cleared
A malicious smear campaign against a Seattle official, fueled by Tacoma gossip, falls apart after the accuser retracts his claims.
- The Waterfront Flood That Never Was
Hundreds of Seattleites gathered at the waterfront, expecting a disastrous high tide prediction that failed to materialize.
- The Battle Over the Plummer House
Mayor Ronald blocks a city ordinance that would have extended liquor limits to a specific building, sparking a public outcry from residents and churchgoers.
- Who Owns the Waterfront? Dry Dock Company Asks Seattle to Erase Three Streets
The Seattle Dry Dock and Shipping Company wants Charles, Plummer, and Norman streets vacated so its tide-land property can conform to the official plat—a request that raises questions about private control of public streets.
- The Senate Seat and the Missing Quorum
Olympia Republicans try to unite behind Ankeny or Wilson, but a holiday exodus and a Populist refusal leave the 1895 U.S. Senate election in limbo.
- A Low Bidder Cries Foul Over Tacoma’s New Water Pipes
Charges of inferior material and work outside the contract were briefly cleared—until affidavits from a lower bidder forced a fresh council inquiry.
- Ballard Wedding Celebrated with Community Cheer
Miss Jennie Dow and Mr. John Kyle were wed in a ceremony attended by local family and friends at the Dow home in Ballard.
- Tacoma Council Ghosts Water Works Bidders, Raising Questions of Corruption
Four engineers waited two hours to present plans for a gravity water system. Not a single council member showed, and observers whispered the fix was in for the private water company.
- Two Hundred Axes Clear the Woods for a 2,500-Soldier Colony
Port Angeles turned out an ax-and-saw brigade to fell forty blocks of townsite timber before a Michigan colony of veteran soldiers arrived — and the Secretary of the Interior steamed in to bless the work and the squatters' shaky claims.
- Regents Plant a Flag (and an Umbrella) at the University
University of Washington regents scramble over stumps and brush to select the permanent location for the new campus main building.
- The Mayor's Battle Against the Saloon
Mayor J. T. Ronald vetoes a retail liquor license, charging the council with 'gerrymandering' and favoring special interests over the well-being of residential neighborhoods and schools.
- The Day the University of Washington Decided It Needed a Law School
Regents endorsed a law department, began the search for a dean, and ordered gymnasium plans capped at $15,000—all in one afternoon.
- Mistaken Identity Leads to Shooting on Grant Street Bridge
A nervous guard mistakes a resident for a burglar, resulting in an armed struggle and an arrest in the shadow of the bridge.
- Tacoma Offers to Hand Its Water System Back to the Man It Bought It From
With springs shut off and a fire engine pumping to keep taps flowing, Tacoma's mayor writes C. B. Wright a remarkable offer: take back the light and water plant.
- The Interior Secretary Came to See Whether the Puyallups Could Manage Their Own Land. He Left Surprised.
John W. Noble toured the Puyallup reservation's farms ahead of opening it to sale — and found the people he had been told could not handle their affairs running them well.
- Rainier Is Taller Than the Map: The Barometer Fight Over Washington’s Mountain
A new summit reading revived a two-year-old claim: Olympia’s Dr. Riley had used three government barometers to put Mount Rainier near 15,000 feet—well above the official 14,444.
- The Great Sweep: Jefferson County Goes Republican for the First Time
In a historic political shift for Washington Territory, the newly elected county officers in Port Townsend take office, marking the first time Jefferson County has been governed exclusively by Republicans.
- The Resolution They Had to Strike: A Port Townsend Convention and the Warrant-Forgery Fight
Jefferson County Republicans convened in Port Townsend, then recoiled when a platform resolution praised the prosecutor who had refused to pursue forgery charges against county warrant endorsers.
- The Bell in the Woods: How Seattle Built Its First University
A 34-year anniversary feature on the Territorial University: 48 laborers, $2-a-day wages, lumber from Port Blakely, and an old bell that warned ships in fog and rang for hangings.
- The Secretary Asks the Puyallups Whether They Are Fit to Hold Their Own Land
Interior Secretary John W. Noble met 200 Puyallup people on the reservation and promised to carry their wish to sell to President Harrison — after satisfying himself that they could be trusted with the money.
- The Imaginary Mine of Seattle's Would-Be Count of Monte Cristo
A charming elderly German claimed a Mexican mine, a California ranch and a German inheritance—then paid for gifts with checks no Seattle bank would honor.
- One Street, Eight Names: The Tide-Land Map That Broke Seattle's Addresses
When the tide-land appraisers published their new plat, they named the filled waterfront after the states and the big cities — ignoring every street already on the ground. City Engineer Thomson's renaming scheme collapsed on the spot.