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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 14 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 24 |
| 1893 | 25 |
| 1894 | 32 |
| 1895 | 45 |
147 stories matching tool
- Smuggling Scandal at Mary Island
A customs official is dismissed for allegedly allowing small craft to run illegal liquor shipments to Indigenous populations, sparking a debate on enforcement limits.
- The Shady Labor Contract
Workers in Seattle grow suspicious of an unusual labor solicitation demanding payment for tools.
- A Hostile Arrival at the Land Office
Local Democrats express outrage as a new federal land office register assumes power, fearing his appointment signals a partisan strike against the city.
- The Political Immolation of C.G. Heifner
When an out-of-town appointee snatched a local land office position, a Seattle official was burned in effigy by angry crowds in Skagit County.
- Tools Found, Thief Caught
A young man is arrested months after a suspected larceny involving building materials in the aftermath of a fire.
- An Undocumented Arrival in Whatcom
A Chinese man found hiding in a tool box on a rail car bound for Seattle illustrates the brutal reality of the Exclusion era.
- A Treasure Hunt Gone Underwater
While digging for a water source on Shaw Island, a local man struck a geyser that swallowed his tools and promised a new lake.
- The Unlucky Blacksmith of Front Street
A routine building project in early Seattle ends in a chaotic tumble as a blacksmith shop collapses, sending tools and timber into the thoroughfare.
- Police Smash the Gaming Dens
Seattle authorities conduct a sweep of the city's gambling parlors, seizing tables and furniture in a public show of force.
- The Midnight Raid on Seattle's Gambling Halls
A surprise police sweep through Seattle's gaming dens sends hundreds of players scrambling into the rainy streets, leaving gambling tools and jail cells in their wake.
- A Crushed Finger Gave the Safecracker Away
A suspected Kent burglar was tracked to a Railroad Avenue cabin, where police found skeleton keys, drills and powder—then identified him by the crushed finger described in an old escape notice.
- A Political Slap in the Face
Seattle Democrats are reeling after President Cleveland bypassed local favorites to appoint a 'Skagit man' as land office register.
- Plot to Oust Mayor Ronald Thwarted by Public Exposure
A suspected conspiracy among gamblers and city officials to force Mayor Ronald from office has been dissipated by recent press investigation.
- The Millionaire, the Colonel, and the $100,000 Snowbank
Montana copper king Marcus Daly poured a fortune into a Cascade mountain mining camp — then sent an auditor up to see what the colonel had been doing with it.
- The Waterfront Pirates Who Stashed a Household in Tacoma
A Seattle liveryman and a police officer followed a trail of stolen oars and tools to West Passage, where two men had turned a small cottage into a robber's roost.
- The Price of Pioneer Street
A suspected incendiary blaze tears through a grocery and saloon, narrowly missing the Kink Opera House.
- Delayed Hopes in Port Angeles
A much-anticipated townsite lot sale in Port Angeles is postponed as officials scramble to clear legal hurdles and land records.
- The Curious Treasures of a Local Thief
Police clear out a sprawling collection of stolen property, ranging from hydraulic equipment to jeweler's tools, found at the home of a man named Albert Lombard.
- Minors Gain Right to Own Land in Port Angeles
Federal ruling confirms that young people can hold title to government land, ending a ten-week legal standoff.
- The Kent Burglary Manhunt
A hardware store robbery leads to a tense, armed pursuit through the thickets of the Green River valley.
- The Minor Land Grabbers of Port Angeles
Federal authorities rule that underage settlers may claim townsite lots, sparking a unique legal experiment.
- They Would Rather Grow Than Beg: Seattle’s Unemployed Turned Vacant Lots Into Potato Patches
In the depression year of 1893, nearly 200 Seattle men—most with families—were given free seed, tools and borrowed city lots through the Pingree plan and the Co-operative Industrial Society.
- The Taxpayer Who Sued to Stop Ballard’s Water Deal
A $1,800 purchase of pipe and tools from a private water company sparked a court fight over public money and municipal ownership in Ballard.
- The Homesteaders Who Couldn’t Own Their Land
A delayed federal survey left settlers near Sedro unable to prove title, borrow money or improve their farms—red tape with real human cost.
- The Wood Yard That Taught the City How to Care
In the winter of 1892, a group of Seattle residents turned a South Seattle timber tract into a 'work camp' to provide dignity and bread for the unemployed.