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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1876 | 11 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 8 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 9 |
| 1892 | 17 |
| 1893 | 24 |
| 1894 | 13 |
| 1895 | 9 |
| 1899 | 4 |
| 1903 | 6 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1909 | 5 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1919 | 1 |
145 stories matching burst
- The Boiler That Killed Safety: How Neglect Nearly Sank the Oliver Walcott
A steamboat captain’s repeated warnings about a faulty boiler were ignored by department officials until the vessel burst into the dock at Port Townsend, leaving it stranded for repairs.
- The Great Broadway Pump Failure
An experimental city attempt to save money by shutting down the Broadway pump station ends in a burst main and a chaotic emergency repair.
- The Logging Hazard: Court Rules on Hidden Dangers
A landmark state supreme court decision shields lumber merchants from liability for hidden defects in timber that cause mill accidents.
- The Fire That Starved a City: How a Burning Lime Ship Stalled Seattle’s Building Boom
When the steamer *Yquina* exploded in flames at Pacific Dock, it didn't just destroy $35,000 worth of cargo—it left 600 mechanics without work and halted the construction of a growing metropolis.
- The Water Works Water-Pump Fiasco
Public officials scrambled to hide that the new city water pump was 'pounding' and breaking down, just as citizens were losing faith in the entire system.
- The Steilacoom Bubble That Burst
A grand, failed railway scheme proves that even the most ambitious 'railroad kings' can't build an empire without a single cent in the bank.
- Firefighters Fail as Rotten Hoses Fail to Save Homes
A residential fire on Eleventh Street in Aberdeen spirals into a local crisis when faulty equipment and a lack of unified command prevent the fire department from saving two houses.
- A Smallpox Quarantine in a Snowbound Hotel
A burst pipe left six quarantined smallpox patients without water as Tacoma's snowstorm shut down plumbers, coal deliveries and the Northern Pacific.
- A Coal Elevator Gives Way at the Foot of Madison Street
Two coal cars and three workers fall twenty feet when a corroded hydraulic cylinder bursts at the Seattle Coal & Iron Company bunkers; all escape without a scratch.
- The Valley Nobody Surveyed: Pioneers Wait for a Government Pen
A settlers' advocate returns from the surveyor-general with promises and a rapturous account of a hidden valley where poor young farmers are hewing homes out of the forest without so much as a title to their land.
- The Mint Saloon Loses Its License—and City Hall Braces for Court
The council confirmed a new police commissioner, reappointed officials, revoked the Mint Saloon's license over loud legal objections, and set Pike Street on the road to vitrified brick.
- The Great Grape Carnival Canning Catastrophe
A local canning contest turns messy when improperly processed fruit leads to an explosion in the Commercial Club rooms.
- Cottage Home Reduced to Ashes
A summer resort property at Lillewaup Falls is destroyed by a mysterious overnight fire, leaving guests and owners scrambling to save what they could.
- A Socialite's Call to the Mexican Border
Mrs. Seth Barton French, a veteran of the European war, seeks to establish hospitals on the Mexican border amid rising tensions.
- The Missing Will That Would Have Given Seattle a Library
Henry Yesler's widow and two doctors are arrested, accused of burning a will that left the pioneer's fortune—and his mansion—to the city.
- A Revolver at Her Ear: Mary Steel's Third Fight for a Divorce
Mary Steel's third divorce suit against David H. Steel laid bare a bitter fight over $49,000 in Seattle and Montana property—and allegations of violence, control and intimidation.
- They Killed Poor Mac
A widow steps off the stage at Pomeroy's St. George Hotel with news of her husband's death in Dayton — and the town's sympathy stops short of the dead man.
- The Tragic End of the Steamboat Annie Faxon
A boiler explosion on the Snake River kills eight passengers and crew, leaving only wreckage in its wake.
- The Bakeman Block Consumed in Snohomish
A pre-dawn inferno destroys the downtown commercial core, barely sparing city records from the collapse.
- Nineteen Buildings Gone Before Breakfast
With no fire department and only buckets, the Kitsap County seat of Sidney watched its entire business district burn to the ground in three hours — then promised to rebuild as Seattle had.
- Avalanche Devastates Great Northern Train in the Cascades
A passenger train stopped on the tracks in the Cascade mountains was struck by a massive snowslide, resulting in multiple deaths and a desperate rescue effort in the snow.
- The Wickersham Scandal: A Judge’s Honor on Trial
In a Tacoma courtroom that captivated the Pacific Northwest, Miss Brantner takes the stand for days, detailing alleged improprieties with Probate Judge Wickersham. The trial exposes a web of land fraud, cocaine use, and social climbing, culminating in a judge’s furious rebuke of a laughing crowd.
- Death in the Ring at the People's Theater
A sparring match at a downtown variety hall turns fatal, sparking a city-wide crackdown on brutal 'glove contests'.
- The Desperate Flight from a Domestic Abductor
A mother fighting for custody of her child leaps from a steamer to escape her husband’s attempt to forcibly abduct their daughter.
- A Gold-Headed Cane for the Man Who Stayed on the Phone in a Burning Mine
Newcastle honored C.C. Anderson, who kept giving orders to trapped miners as the roof burned above him.
Also about this, in other words
- Explosion at the Stump
A teamster's narrow escape after a misfired blast in his land-clearing efforts.
- A Forty-Foot Leap From a Burning Lodging House
A predawn blaze in a Terrace Street rooming house forces immigrant laborers to jump from windows; one is likely fatally injured.
- A Heartbreaking Departure for Reform
A teenage girl thanked the judge who sentenced her to a reform school in Chehalis for stealing clothes.
- A Scantling Scuffle at the Boom
A simmering dispute over local timber booms erupts in violence at Chenoise Creek.
- The Death-Defying Leap at Madrona Park
A daredevil aerialist and a monkey perform a high-altitude parachute jump over Lake Washington, drawing a massive, cheering crowd.
- The Charity Bureau’s War on ‘Strawberry Jam’ Relief
A newly formed Associated Charities bureau boasts of cutting poor relief costs by policing the 'worthiness' of recipients and weeding out fraud.
- A Leap from the Window at 1718 Madison
Assistant city electrician E.C. Buckley barely escaped a brutal assault after his landlord, driven by baseless jealousy, armed himself and hunted him down.
- A Child’s Fall into a City Excavation
A young girl’s tumble into a construction pit sparks a damages lawsuit against an investment firm.