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1. The Sheriff’s Hammer: Snohomish’s Last Stand Against the 'Nuisance'

   In March 1877, Judge J.R. Lewis and the local Grand Jury launched a coordinated assault on vice, seizing brothels and fining operators, while simultaneously exposing corruption in county bonds.

   Mar 24, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

2. The Judge and the Brothel

   A Tacoma magistrate’s attempt to move his court away from a neighboring brothel backfired when the City Council ordered him to clean up the street instead.

   Jul 12, 1884Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerPacific Avenue, Tacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

3. The City Council vs. The Slaughterhouses

   In an early effort to clean up the city's streets, the Seattle City Council orders the immediate abatement of butcher-shop nuisances.

   Apr 4, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSecond Street, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

4. The Great Northwest Flood of 1894

   Historic deluges across the Columbia, Fraser, and Skagit river valleys have paralyzed rail travel and left thousands displaced from their homes.

   Jun 5, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyDisasters

5. The Eastern Oregon Burned at Percival’s Wharf

   A repair crew’s paint store caught fire aboard the steamship Eastern Oregon, forcing men to jump forty feet to the mudflats and killing one cook; the blaze threatened Percival’s Wharf before rain helped firefighters.

   Dec 2, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

6. The Sky Turned to Smoke: Forest Fires Choke Puget Sound

   Fires across Whatcom, Skagit and the Olympic Mountains destroyed bridges, barns and a shingle mill, derailed a Great Northern train and left Puget Sound under a suffocating haze.

   Aug 30, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerBellingham, Whatcom CountyDisasters

7. Mukilteo Residents Battle to Oust Japanese Workers

   A simmering local movement against the employment of Japanese workers at a Mukilteo mill intensifies as residents plan a mass protest in Everett.

   Mar 11, 1910The Labor JournalMukilteo, Snohomish CountyExclusion & Resistance

8. The Great Rabbit Drive: Blood, Snow, and the Hunt for Sport in Yakima

   Hundreds of men, boys, and ladies converged on a four-mile line to corral hundreds of jackrabbits into a killing field, resulting in more broken bones than dead rabbits.

   Jan 30, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerYakima, Yakima CountyStrange But True

9. King County Railroads and Valleys Reeling from Historic Flooding

   As floodwaters finally begin to recede, residents and rail companies assess the massive destruction left in the wake of the '92 deluge.

   Nov 23, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerDuwamish River, Auburn, King CountyFollow the Money · Disasters

10. The Soldiers Who Refused to Ride With Scabs

    During the Pullman strike, a Washington National Guard company mutinied rather than travel on a train crewed by non-union men—and the colonel who disarmed them said the whole unit should be disbanded.

    Jul 18, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyWork & Pay

11. A Midnight Knock, a Bloody Hat, and the Farmer Who Vanished

    Charles Gloystein joined an oath-bound farmers’ society near Mica, tried to leave, and disappeared. A bloody hat was all searchers found.

    Aug 20, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMicaCity Hall · True Crime

12. The City's Water Problem: A Nuisance in the Making

    After the Great Seattle Fire, one man's attempt to build a makeshift shelter leads to a messy public legal battle over fire hazards and sanitation.

    Jun 22, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerFront Street, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

13. The Saloons vs. The Dynamite

    A railroad company’s failed legal attempt to ban saloons in Kittitas County on the grounds that drinking made workers careless with explosives.

    Apr 25, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerKittitas, Kittitas CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

14. A Neighborhood's Battle Against Filth

    Tacoma residents at 11th and Sprague demand city action to clear stagnant wells and sloughs breeding typhoid.

    Apr 29, 1909The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall

15. Flood Waters Ravage Duwamish Valley Farms

    Farmers report $25,000 in damages and plan to petition county commissioners over neglected drainage locks.

    May 21, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerDuwamish River, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Disasters

16. The Fight for Lewis County Land

    A federal court decision could strip railroad corporations of vast land grants held since the early days of territorial expansion.

    Jan 30, 1909The Tacoma TimesLewis CountyFollow the Money

17. Olympia's Volunteer Firefighters Warn the City: We Are One Blaze Away From Disaster

    In 1891, the city's three fire companies pushed to reorganize as a single department, citing a 25-year-old hand engine, unfurnished sleeping quarters, and waterfront shacks that could turn a small fire into a catastrophe.

    Dec 14, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall

18. The Steamer Traveler Goes Down Off Foulweather Bluff

    A sudden leak in a winter gale drowned Captain Slater and several others on a routine Puget Sound run from Port Townsend to Port Gamble.

    Mar 12, 1858Puget Sound HeraldHansvilleDisasters

19. The Mystery of the 'Man in Woman's Clothes'

    A queer identity case arrives at the Seattle Police Court, as a person arrested for cross-dressing faces a judge and a courtroom full of skepticism.

    Jun 16, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyLGBTQ+ Lives · True Crime

20. Smoke So Thick You Could Not See a Block: The August the Sound Went Dark

    Forest and peat fires from Lynden to Wilkeson filled Puget Sound with smoke in late August 1894. Seattle's weather observer promised rain within thirty-six hours, and Whatcom County counted its losses.

    Aug 31, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyDisasters

21. The Unpopular Appointment of B. F. Kendall

    Public outcry swells across Washington Territory against the controversial selection of a local lawyer as the new Indian Superintendent.

    Aug 31, 1861Washington StandardOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall

22. City Council Targets 'Disorderly' Tenements

    A new ordinance aims to clear out homes deemed a public nuisance based on the 'customs and habits' of residents.

    Apr 3, 1890The Yakima HeraldYakima, Yakima CountyHousing & Rent

23. The Slaughterhouse Tragedy

    A young worker’s mental health decline is met with the blunt reality of institutionalization.

    Mar 28, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay

24. The Paper War: Port Townsend vs. Seattle

    In 1876, a small rival town accused Seattle of economic sabotage over who printed their business cards.

    Jul 27, 1876The Daily IntelligencerPort Townsend, Jefferson CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

25. The Great Bill-Posting Scandal: Seattle’s First War on Urban Clutter

    As the city grows, merchants are plastering every available surface with advertisements. Now, frustrated business owners are demanding the City Council step in to stop the visual chaos.

    Oct 2, 1876The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

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