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1. The Great Political Tickling: How Daniel Bugley Outwitted Seattle’s Beriah Brown

   A fiery editorial in the *Snohomish Sun* exposes a political alliance between two rival editors, accusing them of using religious fervor as a cover for partisan maneuvering.

   Jun 16, 1877The Northern StarSeattle, King CountyScandal

2. Washington's Public Lands Were Run by a Patchwork. Reformers Wanted One Powerful Board.

   A joint legislative committee concludes that county tide-land boards, roving land cruisers and district attorneys have wasted public money, and recommends a three-member state land board to manage school and tide lands.

   Mar 12, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

3. A Steamboat Inspector on Trial, and the Men Who Kicked

   A Seattle courtroom hears masters and pilots defend Capt. Bryant against charges of favoritism—and admit that the men who complain are often the incompetent ones.

   Mar 2, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay

4. A Killer's Calm: Craemer Hears His Death Sentence Without a Flinch

   Convicted of murdering a mother and her child, the stoic German prisoner awaits a new trial while his lawyer hunts a missing alibi witness in the mountains.

   Sep 13, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime

5. Seattle’s Post-Panic Pep Talk: Canals, Steel and Paved Streets

   On New Year’s Day 1895, Seattle’s mayor and aldermen promised economy, railroad terminals and a Lake Washington canal—and insisted the Panic of 1893 was finally fading.

   Jan 2, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerUnion Street, Seattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

6. City Hall Showdown: Council and Reformers Clash Over Charter Revision

   A heated joint meeting of the city council and civic organizations debates whether to call a special election for a new city charter, with accusations of bullying and claims of wasted taxpayer money.

   Mar 14, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle City Hall, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

7. The Poor Man's Stump Burner: Newport Farmers Pack Kelly's Hall

   In 1909, 150 farmers crowded a Newport hall to hear a state expert explain how to clear land by charring stumps—a low-cost method that promised to open Pend Oreille County fields.

   Mar 10, 1910The Newport Miner (Newport, WA) 1899-CurrentNewport, Pend Oreille County

8. The Darkest Hour: Temperance Leader Declares Cause 'Dead' Amidst Political Corruption

   At the State Temperance Alliance meeting in Seattle, Rev. Clark Davis delivers a scathing indictment of the liquor industry's grip on politics and religion, while Rep. De Steiguer rallies support for Watson Squire.

   Jan 22, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

9. The Shadow in the Long Grass

   A community in Tacoma is on edge after the discovery of a makeshift bed in a meadow leads residents to believe a fugitive murderer is living among them.

   Jul 18, 1903The Evening StatesmanTacoma, Pierce CountyTrue Crime

10. A Church Scandal Erupts in a Seattle Libel Trial

    M. H. Nichols stood accused of criminally libeling Presiding Elder T. B. Ford. The defense spent the day trading rumors, old grudges, and one complaint about the prosecutor's booming voice.

    Feb 1, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyScandal

11. Eastern Washington Lawmakers Want Cheaper Freight and a Break on Taxes

    Fresh from wheat country, representative-elect Moses Bull and Senator J. L. Roberts laid out their Olympia agenda: grain inspection, lower railroad rates, softer tax penalties, and leaner county government.

    Jan 5, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerButler Hotel, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

12. The Loyalty Test at the Breakfast Table

    A Kennewick editor argues that questioning official reports of German war atrocities is tantamount to treason.

    Dec 27, 1917The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton County

13. A Political Feud in the Ledger

    A local political dispute exposes the shifting allegiances of a newspaper proprietor and the fierce partisan battles over the Republican ticket.

    Sep 18, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

14. A Boston Banker Tells Walla Walla to Hold Its Wheat

    A capitalist touring the territory by rail — with $75,000 already sunk in Washington land — predicts high grain prices, a finished Northern Pacific, and scolds the town's 'sleepy' businessmen for taking their money elsewhere.

    Jul 31, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

15. The Senator Who Came to Bless the Canal

    Illinois senator Shelby Cullom tours Seattle's proposed Lake Washington ship canal, flirts with a presidential run, and tells boosters their city needs 'a little Chicago push.'

    May 17, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

16. A Minister Takes a Geologist's Hammer to Genesis

    Rev. Napoleon Hoagland tells a packed hall that the rocks do not show six days of creation, and that reason — not an infallible book — is the believer's best authority.

    Oct 13, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyStrange But True

17. The Judge Who Was Both Defendant and Accused

    In a stunning legal double-header, Judge Wickersham is convicted of seduction in one court, then immediately indicted for perjury by the federal grand jury in the very same day.

    Feb 27, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Scandal

18. Murder at Mica: A Midnight Political Killing in Spokane County

    Charles Gloystein was called from his home after the Oregon election. Local papers blamed the Farmers’ Protective Silver Federation—and said neighbors were too afraid to talk.

    Aug 9, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMicaTrue Crime

19. The Lumber Barons’ Ultimatum: 'No Treaty Without Tariff Protection'

    In a packed Tacoma hall in June 1904, Seattle’s top timber executives drew a hard line with Senator Fairbanks: if the U.S. wants a trade deal with Canada, it must keep lumber tariffs high—or lose the Pacific Northwest’s economic backbone.

    Jun 9, 1899The Seattle StarChamber of Commerce, Tacoma, Pierce County

20. The Body in the Hen House: An Unidentified Murder Near Eagle Harbor

    A well-dressed stranger was found half-burned in an abandoned Kitsap County farmhouse, with only spectacles, a corkscrew, and a torn newspaper to say who he was.

    Jan 10, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerEagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island, Kitsap CountyTrue Crime

21. Ten Cents a Month to Save Seattle's Library

    With the library closed for lack of funds, the commission and City Council try a subscription fee—and a last-minute deal to reopen.

    Mar 9, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle City Hall, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

22. The Morning Mine Cuts Into a 60-Foot Ledge of Galena

    A company announcement claims the largest body of galena ore yet found in the Northwest, and the Metaline district suddenly has proof that its mineral wealth runs deep.

    Feb 20, 1908The Newport Miner (Newport, WA) 1899-CurrentMetalineFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

23. A Preacher Was Hissed for Defending Seattle’s Catholics

    At a packed American Protective Association meeting, Rev. Clark Davis called for tolerance and warned that bigotry would fail — then heard jeers from members who wanted red meat.

    Mar 25, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

24. The Pastor, the Circular, and the Hung Jury

    For three days a Seattle courtroom heard accusations of adultery, an illegitimate son, and a pastor’s libelous circular. At 12:35 a.m., the jury was still deadlocked.

    Feb 2, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyScandal

25. The People vs. the Railroads: Olympia Debates a Rate Cap

    While the Capitol fought off adjournment, a bill to cap passenger and freight rates reached the floor of the Washington House — with Populists demanding an up-or-down vote and railroad men asking for more time.

    Feb 22, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

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