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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 4 |
| 1861 | 4 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1863 | 4 |
| 1872 | 10 |
| 1876 | 39 |
| 1877 | 32 |
| 1878 | 14 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 9 |
| 1882 | 9 |
| 1883 | 28 |
| 1884 | 8 |
| 1885 | 24 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 35 |
| 1889 | 57 |
| 1890 | 5 |
| 1891 | 37 |
| 1892 | 44 |
| 1893 | 33 |
| 1894 | 28 |
| 1895 | 12 |
| 1897 | 3 |
| 1899 | 15 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 12 |
| 1904 | 6 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 9 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 5 |
| 1916 | 4 |
| 1917 | 4 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
528 stories matching beauti
- The Night a Gilded Age Mansion Lit the Road to Its Own Party
In 1894, Horace and Susan Henry welcomed nearly 200 guests to their new showpiece house above Lake Union—then sent them home by special streetcar under a private line of electric lights.
- The Orphan’s Plea: A Poem That Moved Seattle to Tears on Decoration Day
As the city honored Civil War dead with solemn processions and speeches, a young girl’s grief over her father’s unmarked grave brought the Grand Marshal to tears.
- The Great Cascade: A Pilgrimage to the Roar of Snoqualmie Falls
In July 1877, three travelers walked the rugged trail from Snohomish to Fall City, documenting the lush farms, the hospitality of settlers, and the awe-inspiring power of the falls—a testament to the beauty and isolation of early Washington Territory.
- The Case for a 'Seattle the Beautiful'
A visionary letter to the editor advocates for creating a network of public parks before the city's rapid expansion makes such land unaffordable.
- The Moss-Cloaked Giants of Bay Center
A teacher’s letter from the Pacific Northwest frontier describes a landscape of colossal trees and lush undergrowth, challenging the myth of the harsh pioneer struggle.
- A House of Prayer for All the Nations
In 1892, Seattle's Congregation Ohaveth Sholom dedicated the first Jewish synagogue in Washington, filling the new sanctuary at Seventh and Seneca with Jews and Gentiles and with sermons that insisted the building must be more than stone and gold.
- The Gilded Union: A Chorus Girl and a Chinese Actor Defy Convention in Seattle's Chinatown
In a scandalous departure from social norms, Jessie Kitchie and Ah Bock exchanged vows in the opium-scented apartments of Jackson Alley, marking a rare public union across racial lines in 1889.
- The Goddess of Slang: A Poetic Flirtation in the Territory
A whimsical verse from the late 19th century captures the playful, rhyming courtship rituals of Snohomish Territory, offering a glimpse into the lighthearted side of pioneer life.
- The High-Society Union of Alena Hayden and Wellington Clark
A meticulously decorated home ceremony in Seattle highlights the turn-of-the-century social season, marking the departure of a beloved local figure to Walla Walla.
- The Waterfall That Broke the Poets: Snoqualmie’s Majestic Leap
A special correspondent describes the Snoqualmie Falls not as a mere tourist stop, but as a 'noble and striking natural wonder' that defies language, offering a glimpse into the rugged beauty of Washington Territory in 1888.
- The City That Forgot Its Trees: Seattle’s Dusty Streets and the Missed Opportunity for Green
A year after citizens demanded shade trees, the city remains barren. An editorial warns that without immediate action, Seattle will remain a 'dry, dusty' settlement rather than a beautiful metropolis.
- The Bid for the Capital: North Yakima’s 1889 Pitch
Before Olympia was cemented as the seat of power, boosters in North Yakima laid out an elaborate, nature-inspired argument for why their valley was the natural heart of the new state.
- The Myth of the Wage-Earner’s Castle
A local advertisement claims that laborers in Spokane are buying beautiful new homes for less than rent. But is this a miracle of cooperation or a dangerous illusion?
- The Old Man’s Last Stand: A Father’s Flight from Greedy Heirs Ends in a Sheriff’s Chase
P.V. Thorpe, an elderly pioneer fleeing false rape accusations and property theft by his son and son-in-law, was arrested for carrying a revolver in Seattle—only to be vindicated when the truth about his family’s blackmail scheme came to light.
- They Climbed Rainier First—and Slept in a Sulphur-Scented Ice Cave
In 1870, Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump reached Mount Rainier's summit after a brutal 10½-hour climb, then spent a freezing night beside volcanic steam vents.
- The Millionaire’s Gamble: Ryan & McDonald Awarded the $3M Rail Contract
New York contractors secure the massive deal to connect Seattle and Spokane Falls in just two years, promising to unlock Eastern Washington's grain and timber wealth.
- Canoeing the Queets: Promise and Dispossession on the Olympic Peninsula
An 1892 travelogue celebrates homesteaders in the Queets River valley while arguing that Native hunters should be confined to the reservation.
- Seattle's Cow Pasture Problem
A local resident argues that Seattle cannot be a beautiful city of lawns and shade trees while the streets remain nothing more than open grazing grounds for cattle and horses.
- The Loggers Who Built a Town: How an Indian Settlement Thrived on the Banks of Port Discovery
While Snohomish debated its own agricultural future, a thriving community of Indigenous farmers and loggers was quietly building a prosperous life in Dungeness, complete with schools, hotels, and dairy herds.
- New Whatcom’s Ledger Had a Credit Side, Too
After a defalcation and the Panic of 1893, New Whatcom’s mayor and a local editor argued over whether the city was broke or merely bruised.
- The Town That Wouldn't Sleep: Snohomish’s Fourth of July Overflow
When the steamers arrived with guests from Seattle and upriver, two hotels couldn't hold them all. The town celebrated with a reading by a woman, a poem by a local man, and a boat ride that nearly capsized on the Skagit.
- A Road, a Railroad and a 10x10 Schoolhouse: Into the Wilds of Clallam County
S. W. Clark returns from the far western corner of the Olympic Peninsula with tales of rich soil, bachelors' cabins, Indian-canoe supply lines and a weekly paper published in the forest.
- Riding the Rails to Newcastle: A Journey Through Seattle's Future
In 1883, a Post-Intelligencer correspondent took the new Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad south from Seattle, dreaming of tide flats turned into wharves and a bustling commercial city.
- Firefighters Host Aberdeen's Grand Masquerade Ball
Youth and beauty, hobgoblins and nuns, all crowded the armory for a raucous night of revelry.
- The Promised Heights of West Seattle
A booster-era description of a neighborhood rising above the clouds, promising a future of wharves, factories, and mountain views.