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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 1 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1905 | 1 |
23 stories matching comprehend
- The Deaf Dodge
A local drunkard tries to outsmart a judge by faking deafness, only to be tripped up by the prospect of a free drink.
- A Diplomatic Dilemma at the Border
Hon. John Leary and his wife, returning from their honeymoon in Japan, found themselves stranded at the Victoria quarantine station, leading to a strange battle of bureaucracy.
- Selling the 'Magic City': Fairhaven’s 1890 Development Boom
Boosterism was at its peak in Fairhaven as the Fairhaven Land Company touted steel furnaces, electric lights, and an inexhaustible connection to Skagit coal.
- The Steel Giant That Will Double Seattle’s Population
An editorial analysis of the Moss Bay Iron and Steel Works in Kirkland, predicting how a single industrial site will transform King County into a manufacturing hub.
- Protecting the Valley's Orchard Future
Kennewick farmers push for an official county fruit inspector to stop the spread of pests and protect the local agricultural economy.
- Washington Territory’s 1854 Native Voting Rights Debate
In 1854, territorial lawmakers debated extending voting rights to Native Americans of mixed ancestry, exposing tensions over citizenship, race, and belonging.
- The Imperial Ambition: Seattle’s Role in a Nicaragua Canal Scheme
Military and political elites weigh the costs and grand strategies of controlling a trans-oceanic canal as the United States shifts toward a global power posture.
- The High Cost of Being a Farmer
A scathing breakdown of how protective tariffs inflate the daily expenses of Washington homesteaders.
- The $163 Bender: How a Saloon Owner Allegedly Drunk a Laborer Out of His Wages
Andrew Gilberg says Frank Lindquist, former owner of the Mint saloon, plied him with whisky for days until he signed away a $163 labor claim for $17—then put him on a train to Ballard.
- The First Scythes: Makah Men Arrive in Port Townsend Looking for Work
Five men from Neah Bay came to town in 1876 to hire themselves out as mowers. A local editor praised their tools—and exposed the era's patronizing ideas about 'civilizing' Native people.
- The Wealthy Tramp of the Waterfront
A disheveled rancher found sleeping on the Seattle waterfront was revealed to be carrying a small fortune, catching local police and confidence men by surprise.
- The Witch Doctor’s Bullet: A Love Triangle in Hoquiam
When a local Indian doctor claimed a young woman was bewitched to death, her grieving father took justice into his own hands, leaving a victim with a bullet in the shoulder and a story that captivated Aberdeen.
- The Butter Wars: Kittitas Dairymen Fight to Keep Their Good Name
Farmers near Ellensburg built a first-class creamery industry from scratch — and now they're objecting to their prize butter being sold in Seattle markets under the name 'Yakima' or 'Eastern Washington.'
- The Dog-Catchers of Old Seattle
A reporter spends a harrowing night in a wagon with the city's dog-catchers, witnessing the capture of pampered pets and the cold reality of the local pound.
- A Mother Jumped Into a Well to Save Her Baby
Near Green Lake, a toddler fell sixteen feet into a well. Her mother lowered a too-short ladder, dropped in after her, and revived the child before help arrived.
- Ballard's Tide Flats Belong to the Uplanders, State Board Rules
In a decision touching Shilshole Avenue and the Ballard waterfront, the state land commissioners gave upland owners the preferred right to buy tide lands—and warned cities not to become land speculators.
- A Six-Dollar Rent Debt and a Diamond Ring Nearly Drowned Her in Lake Washington
Ethel Perkins, a lodger at a Third-and-Union boarding house, tried to end her life when her rent fell behind and a barber demanded his ring back. A stranger on the Madison street car caught her at the wharf's edge.
- The Water Belongs to the People—Not the Syndicates
A.M. Stevens of Ellensburg warns that handing arid lands to the states is the first step toward private control—and argues the federal government must build the reservoirs.
- Five Masked Men, a $50,000 Payroll, and a Train Robbery That Fell Apart
A planned holdup of the Northern Pacific's No. 2 near Cle Elum unraveled when the train stopped 500 feet too far ahead, leaving two would-be robbers to run straight into a waiting posse.
- The Rose Thief of James Street
A Seattle gardener threatens to deploy a bulldog—or forty—after midnight raids carry off her prize roses, including the star-crossed Baron and Baroness.
- The Winter War Blueprint: An 1858 Campaign to Subdue the Tribes
A field letter from the Indian war in Oregon and Washington urges the Army to occupy the Colville Valley, cut off Indigenous trade, and expel missionaries and Hudson’s Bay Company employees.
- The Treasurer Who Vanished, Then Wrote Home From Puget Sound
An Iowa county official disappeared in the 1870s. After his death, his family gathered at the Olympia Hotel to settle an estate—and letters revealed a hidden life, a bank failure, and a real-estate boom he hoped would make restitution possible.
- The Last Word from the Dispatch: A Veteran Editor’s Farewell and a New Era Begins
In October 1876, the *Puget Sound Dispatch* underwent a significant leadership change. The outgoing editor, Bebia Brown, penned a reflective valedictory on his five-year tenure, while incoming editor Thomas B. Merry outlined his vision for Seattle’s future, pledging support for statehood and local industry.