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59 stories matching coffin

  1. The Olympia Undertaker’s Strange Discovery

    A man’s beard reportedly continued to grow for twenty years inside his coffin, eventually filling the space.

    Feb 12, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOlympia, Thurston CountyStrange But True

  2. The Funeral Grifter of North Yakima

    An undertaker is conned out of five dollars by a man feigning the grief of a widower.

    Oct 9, 1903The Evening StatesmanYakima, Yakima CountyTrue Crime

  3. The Passing of Chief Tacanum

    A venerable Puyallup leader dies, prompting a debate between his modest final wishes and the elaborate plans of his community.

    Apr 13, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPuyallup Reservation, Tacoma, Pierce CountyExclusion & Resistance

  4. Steamer Pacific Wrecked on the Columbia

    A local steamer strikes a rock in the dead of night, leading to the loss of its cargo and livestock.

    Jul 27, 1861Washington StandardRainier, Thurston CountyDisasters

  5. Tragedy at the Monte Cristo Road

    A powder explosion near the Getchell supply depot has reportedly left three men dead, prompting an urgent request for coffins from Snohomish.

    Jun 8, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerGetchell, Snohomish CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

  6. The Living Burial: A Near-Tragedy in Seattle

    A young man, declared dead from fever, was found alive inside his coffin when family members prepared to move his remains to the cemetery.

    Jun 22, 1886Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

  7. The Final Journey Home: Chinese Funeral Customs in Early Seattle

    A detailed 1877 account reveals the elaborate mourning practices of Seattle's Chinese community, centering on the sacred duty to return the deceased to their ancestral land.

    Mar 2, 1877The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

  8. The 'Torture Box' of the Tacoma Jail

    A new, brutal method of disciplining tramps in the Tacoma city jail stirs up controversy among local officials.

    Dec 29, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall

  9. The Ghostly Exhumation on the Hill

    A grieving widow and a procession of mourners perform a mysterious, haunting ritual to rebury a man murdered in the streets of Seattle.

    Apr 13, 1878Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyExclusion & Resistance · Strange But True

  10. Isolation and High Water on the Humptulips

    Heavy winter rains and falling timber isolate a community, trapping a funeral party and challenging travel across the rugged Grays Harbor backcountry.

    Feb 4, 1892Aberdeen HeraldHumptulips, Grays Harbor CountyStrange But True

  11. 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.

    Aug 14, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerPomeroy, Garfield CountyTrue Crime

  12. The Tragedy of a Forgotten Soul

    After a man drowned at a Tacoma wharf, his body was left exposed among 'ravenous fishes' for a full day before a private citizen finally intervened to provide a burial.

    Dec 1, 1877Puget Sound DispatchTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall

  13. The Coffin Captain: A Father, a Son, and the Wreck of the Lily and Maud

    Ship carpenters warned Captain Robert Jack he was building his own coffin. Last Sunday night the frail schooner capsized in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the captain and his 23-year-old son went down with her.

    Jan 16, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerBallard, King CountyDisasters

  14. The Strawberry Shootout on the Sehome

    A minor dispute over stolen fruit on a Puget Sound excursion steamer escalates into a violent, multi-shot confrontation between crew members.

    Jun 26, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerDuwamish Head, Seattle, King CountyWork & Pay · True Crime

  15. Yakima Horses Marching to the Klondike — 150 Bought for the Ice

    A Seattle-led expedition buys up 275 horses and 100 oxen, 150 of them through Coffin Bros. in North Yakima, to freight supplies overland to the ice-bound Yukon this winter.

    Oct 7, 1897Ranche and RangeYakima, Yakima CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

  16. The Cattle Empire Changes Hands

    A massive 100,000-acre ranch sale reshapes Central Washington ownership.

    Jun 30, 1905The Kennewick CourierWenatchee, Chelan CountyFollow the Money

  17. The Kicked Coffin and the Girl With Two Names

    A reporter's accidental kick led Seattle authorities to a body first identified as Myrtle Cook, then as Emily Hall - an Englishwoman whose death at a private lying-in hospital ended with arrests and a Birmingham minister's letters.

    Apr 29, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime

  18. The Chinese Doctor’s Radical Revival

    A Seattle man, presumed dead after two weeks of typhoid fever, was brought back to life by a doctor’s unconventional intervention.

    Apr 11, 1872Puget Sound DispatchJackson Street, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

  19. The Ballard City Hall Meltdown

    A local council meeting descends into chaos as officials trade corruption accusations and threats of physical violence.

    Feb 19, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Scandal

  20. The Futility of Prohibition

    A skeptical legislator warns that strict alcohol bans in Washington Territory will lead only to evasion, black markets, and public distrust.

    May 13, 1854Pioneer and DemocratOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

  21. The 'Buy Local' Crusade of 1904

    Tacoma’s industrial boosters celebrate a year of lobbying, recruitment, and a rigid insistence on regional loyalty.

    Jul 8, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust

  22. The Tragedy of the Bark 'Kamehameha'

    A lone survivor of a shipwreck off Cape Flattery arrives in Steilacoom, providing harrowing details of a vessel lost with fifteen passengers aboard.

    Mar 25, 1854Pioneer and DemocratSteilacoom, Pierce CountyDisasters

  23. The Strange Desecration of Timmerman’s Grave

    After two years in the earth, the body of an executed murderer was dragged from its resting place and anchored in the river.

    Apr 17, 1890The Yakima HeraldGoldendale, Klickitat CountyTrue Crime

  24. The Clam Bake Diplomacy of Alki Point

    When Generals Logan and Sherman visited Seattle, the town rolled out the red carpet—and sixteen bushels of Puget Sound clams.

    Aug 27, 1886Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerAlki Point, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

  25. The Unfinished Railroad to Nowhere

    Construction on the Northern Pacific line stalls as contractors fire workers and shutter mess halls.

    Apr 13, 1884Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

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