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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 3 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 31 |
| 1877 | 23 |
| 1878 | 11 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 14 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 26 |
| 1884 | 21 |
| 1885 | 32 |
| 1886 | 18 |
| 1887 | 27 |
| 1888 | 25 |
| 1889 | 42 |
| 1890 | 8 |
| 1891 | 23 |
| 1892 | 77 |
| 1893 | 87 |
| 1894 | 82 |
| 1895 | 25 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1899 | 23 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 38 |
| 1904 | 39 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 25 |
| 1910 | 2 |
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| 1915 | 5 |
| 1916 | 16 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 2 |
764 stories matching broken
- Telescoped at the Crossing: A Grant Street Horror
When a Northern Pacific freight train plowed into an electric streetcar on May 20, 1909, one man died and dozens were mangled in the icy water below. The crash exposed dangerous speeds and negligent watchmen at a city intersection that remains vital today.
- Seattle's Broken Sewers Were Shoveled to Pieces, Engineer Says
City Engineer Thomson rejects the explosion theory and blames wet clay clods and soft-burned pipe for fractures under Kenny Street.
- The Floor Gives Way: Panic and Death at Seattle’s Morris Opera House
A grand opening night turns into a nightmare when the second-story floor of the newly converted theater collapses into the stables below, killing several and injuring dozens in one of the city's earliest major disasters.
- A Chaotic Buggy Crash on Third Street
A pair of young, half-broken horses went berserk in downtown Seattle, leading to a violent wreck that left the passengers with broken bones and the animals severely injured.
- A Broken Heart, Then a Wedding: Port Townsend's Breach-of-Promise Plaintiff Marries Again
Mary E. Bellinger sued James Craswell for $10,000 over a broken engagement; now, while the appeal is pending, she has married Albert E. Stevens of Vancouver, B.C.
- The Broken Promise of the Northern Pacific
Nineteen years after receiving millions of acres in land grants, the Northern Pacific Railroad barely reaches Seattle, sparking local outrage over broken contracts.
- The Forgotten Pioneer Who Built Tacoma
Job Carr arrived in a wilderness with an ox team and a dream of a railroad terminal, only to die with a broken heart as the city he staked rose up to push him aside.
- The Slave Ship That Vanished: An Old Man’s Confession in Seattle
A weathered sailor walks into a Seattle saloon and recounts the night his crew mutinied against a slaver, only to watch the ship sink with 200 souls aboard.
- A Life-Altering Elevator Accident at the Bank
A young student files a $25,000 lawsuit against the Seattle National Bank Building Company after a gruesome elevator accident leaves her permanently disfigured.
- A Mystery in the County Jail
A man suffering from delirium tremens was found with both legs broken just hours after being locked in a secure cell.
- Villard’s Broken Promise to Seattle
After failing to deliver rail service to Seattle, Henry Villard’s company begins pulling up tracks, cementing Seattle’s economic frustration with Tacoma’s rail dominance.
- Typographical Union Clashes Over Spokane and Tacoma Strikes
A convention of typesetters descends into internal conflict over broken contracts and the legitimacy of recent industrial action in Washington State.
- Jail Time for a Runaway Horse
A man claims he was wrongfully jailed after his horse got out of control on 12th Street, sparking a tense confrontation with police.
- A Drunk Man Mistakes a Stranger for a Burglar—and Lands in a Slander Suit
After his house was broken into, Capt. Peter Jensen drowned his sorrows, spotted Henry Wolfe on Front Street and accused him of the burglary. Wolfe knocked him down; now a jury weighs the wreckage.
- A Shipboard Altercation at Port Blakely
A sailor is hospitalized with a broken leg following a mysterious scuffle in the forecastle of a ship docked at Port Blakely.
- The Pastor, the Missing Husband, and the Seattle Libel Trial
A church feud goes to court as Rev. M. H. Nichols is tried for circulating scandalous charges against Dr. T. B. Ford—whose testimony reveals a broken engagement, a vanished first husband, and a dramatic courtroom kiss.
- He Splinted His Own Broken Leg, Then Rode Five Hours for Help
Joe Hooker's horse kicked him in the Simcoe Mountains. Alone in the backcountry, he set his own leg and rode to a farmhouse.
- The Sewers Were Cracking — And Seattle Wanted to Know Why
City engineers trace a rash of shattered pipes to Ballard and Olympia, and to the manufacturers who made them.
- The Dance Hall Regular and the Broken Gun
A failed pawn shop transaction in a Commercial Street shop leads to an arrest and a look into the city's 'suspicious' nightlife figures.
- The Great University Runaway
Two schoolboys, terrified by their principal's stern warning about broken windows, decided to flee campus entirely.
- The Ruins of a Bishop’s Household
After years in storage on the Seattle waterfront, Bishop Paddock's furniture was recovered in a state of 'shameful' decay, riddled with rats and broken glass.
- A Workplace Accident at the Dayton Lumber Yards
A timber handler suffers a broken leg while loading lumber, highlighting the daily physical dangers of the early regional timber industry.
- A Deadly Prank at the Blue Front
A malicious false alarm of a plague quarantine triggers a fatal panic in a Seattle dance hall.
- Death Reared Its Horrid Head: Steam Heater Explosion Kills Two Men in Downtown Seattle
A careless Japanese fireman left a boiler unattended at Second and Washington, causing a catastrophic explosion that killed one man instantly and mortally wounded another.
- The Beggar’s Plea: How an Old Man’s Tears Won a Judge’s Mercy
In a touching scene at the Snohomish County Courthouse, John Burner, a destitute laborer of 73 years, pleaded guilty to grand larceny not for greed, but because his starving family had no other way to eat.
Also about this, in other words
- Broken Leg on the Offner Ranch
A routine day of breaking horses turns painful when a bookkeeper is struck by an iron-shod hoof.
- The Day the Canal Broke: Kennewick’s Irrigation Crisis and Recovery
When a critical break in the local irrigation canal threatened crops last Sunday, residents scrambled to repair the leak before Monday morning. The incident highlights the fragile lifeblood of Benton County agriculture.
- The Bridge That Broke: Tacoma's Infrastructure Crisis and the Union Mutiny
As a vital bridge spanning the Puyallup River collapses under its own weight, Tacoma residents face logistical chaos while a separate maritime labor dispute erupts into violence on the docks.
- A Runaway Horse, a Broken Skull, and a Mother's New Misfortune
Near Judge Chambers's house, Mrs. Riccomba's young son was thrown and dragged; he lay in a very critical state.
- The Fractured Philosophy of Josua Klein
Once a confident leader of a 'radio-active philosophy' retreat, Josua Klein sits in a Tacoma jail cell, broken and waiting for deportation.
- A Holiday Call for a Broken Family
A mill worker’s leg injury at the dawn of 1887 leaves his eleven children in dire need, sparking a rare community effort in early Seattle.
- Tragedy at Eagle Gorge
A broken rail causes a catastrophic train derailment, leaving two dead and scores injured.
- Broken Rails and Broken Promises
A construction company sues the Canadian Pacific Railway for failing to deliver materials on time, causing a project to stall.