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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1889 | 4 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1893 | 1 |
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22 stories matching bismarck
- The Brewery Worker Who Dreamed of Marrying Bismarck’s Daughter
Known only as “Bismarck,” a Bay View brewery employee was found drowned at the mouth of the Duwamish—still chasing a delusion that he was bound for Germany and an imperial marriage.
- The Nightgown Defense
A man is fined for failing to assist a police officer in Bismarck, Washington, citing the embarrassment of being caught in his nightclothes.
- The Bismarck Lodge Brawl
A disagreement over lodge business turns into a physical altercation between two Tacoma women, leading to a police warrant.
- The Widow’s Bargain
An elderly woman signs away her property in exchange for the county's promise to provide her care for the remainder of her life.
- A Lamp, a Three-Story Frame, and Two Families in the Street
A predawn fire at Bismarck and Hanks streets in Lake Union leaves the Krieger and Masly families uninsured and out of their belongings.
- The Bismarck Bluff: Washington’s Last Stand in the Samoan Crisis
As German warships loom over the Pacific islands, Seattle’s former federal commissioner warns that yielding to Berlin means abandoning American neutrality—and potentially igniting a conflict closer to home.
- Logging Locomotive Stolen and Abandoned on Tracks
A joyride on the Tacoma Eastern line ends in a collision after thieves abandon a logging engine on a blind curve.
- The Switch Engine Heist
A local manufacturer goes to court to find the thief who commandeered a switch engine and crashed it into a logging train.
- The Saturday Night Highwaymen
A masked gang terrorized citizens on the edge of town, holding up two men at gunpoint in a single night.
- The Prince’s Apples
A gift of Yakima-grown fruit is carefully packed for delivery to the Iron Chancellor of Germany.
- Burning Oil, a Shattered Shanty, and a Logger Who Threw Two Men to Safety
Chester LaChapelle rescued his cousin and a roommate after a gasoline stove exploded near Kapowsin, sacrificing his own face and hands to the flames.
- Bismarck’s Bluff: Germany Claims Samoa While Washington Watches
As the German Chancellor declares no treaty prevents his nation from seizing control of the Pacific islands, U.S. officials in Washington struggle to respond to a diplomatic crisis that threatens American interests across the ocean.
- A Family Reunited After Five Years of Silence
A man's long search for his wife and children ends in Ballard after a misunderstanding led to a mistaken belief that he had died.
- Fatal Currents: City Under Fire for Electrocution
Electricians question the city's management after two men died from a high-tension wire grounding failure.
- Congress Moves to Reclaim Northern Pacific Land Grants
A House committee votes to restore millions of acres of public land to the domain, challenging the Northern Pacific Railroad's long-delayed construction promises.
- The Fight to Forfeit the Northern Pacific Land Grants
A fiery congressional minority report slams corporate lobbyists and land speculators while demanding the government reclaim unfinished rail corridors.
- The $18,784 Express Package That Vanished—and the Sheriff Arrested for It
A grand jury charged a Northern Pacific agent, a Franklin County sheriff and another man in a January 1894 express theft. The sheriff’s Ainsworth neighbors posted his bond—and doubted the charge.
- The Name That Wasn't: How Washington State Got Its Name Back
In February 1889, Congress nearly erased Seattle's home state from the map, replacing it with 'Tacoma' in a final admission bill. A last-minute correction saved the territory's identity just before statehood.
- A Clerk’s Error Won Seattle an Army Post
A mix-up in the civil appropriation bill let the Secretary of War skip a site board and choose Magnolia Bluffs—giving Seattle a federal payroll and a decisive win over Tacoma.
- The King Who Wasn't: How Seattle Watched a Pacific Empire Betray Its Own
While the city prepares for its own boom, a local editorial warns that American honor is being sacrificed to German ambition in Samoa—and asks if Washingtonians care enough to stop it.
- The Rockets Turned Around: Tacoma's Fourth of July Went Up in a Sheet of Flame
A spark touched off the entire $500 pyrotechnic stock at Wright Park, driving rockets and bombs into a crowd of thousands and leaving women and children burned, trampled and briefly lost in the smoke.
- Pike Street Runs Into a Lake: The Man Hired to Untangle Seattle's Eight-Named Streets
In 1895 the city handed City Engineer Thomson the worst street-naming mess on the Pacific Coast — five Cedar streets, three Adams, four Elliotts — and one road with eight different names. Then the ladies of Queen Anne Hill went to war over who got to be Highland Avenue.