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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 20 |
| 1877 | 22 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 6 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 14 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 13 |
| 1886 | 10 |
| 1887 | 8 |
| 1888 | 9 |
| 1889 | 19 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 15 |
| 1892 | 41 |
| 1893 | 41 |
| 1894 | 38 |
| 1895 | 46 |
| 1898 | 7 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 17 |
| 1904 | 14 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 3 |
| 1908 | 8 |
| 1909 | 31 |
| 1910 | 5 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 8 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1928 | 2 |
448 stories matching content
- A Farmhouse West of Newport Burns to the Ground
A defective flue is blamed after A. E. Tiss's Grandview Acres home and nearly all its contents were lost. Insurance covered the contents but not the building.
- Two Newport Homes Burn as Volunteers Fight Without Enough Hose
A lightning-sparked fire destroyed the Seeley house and spread to the Montzheimer home, exposing the town’s thin fire protection.
- The Yesler Will Case: A Dead Millionaire, a Missing Will, and a Widow on Trial
In a Seattle courtroom, prosecutors argue that Mrs. Yesler conspired to destroy her husband's will—while defense lawyers call the case a web of speculation and newspaper rumor.
- The Pastor, the Circular, and the Hung Jury
For three days a Seattle courtroom heard accusations of adultery, an illegitimate son, and a pastor’s libelous circular. At 12:35 a.m., the jury was still deadlocked.
- Midnight Fire Wipes Out Fall City's Store and Lodge Rooms
A blaze that began in D. N. Taylor's store destroyed three buildings, including the Masonic lodge room, with losses estimated at $7,000.
- Court Opens Salmon Bay to Harbor-Line Rules
The state Supreme Court reverses a lower-court writ and lets harbor line commissioners regulate Salmon Bay—even though the bay nearly drains at low tide—because Puget Sound freight boats still use it at high water.
- The Court Let Harbor Lines Reach Beyond the City Limits
Washington’s Supreme Court reversed a lower court and held that harbor-line commissioners had jurisdiction in front of incorporated towns like Ballard, not just cities—then sent the case back to be dismissed.
- The Valley Sixty Miles From a Railroad
In 1892, the Big Bottom settlers of Lewis County had no road, no sawmill and no rail line — just hand-hewn homes, packhorses, a tobacco-chewing cat, and a Fourth of July party for 160 neighbors.
- The City Can Tear It Down: The Supreme Court Backs Seattle's Fire Limits
Daniel K. Baxter put up a twenty-foot shell of wooden posts wrapped in corrugated iron inside Seattle's fire limits. The state Supreme Court said the city could knock it down without ever going to court — and municipal building codes came out of it stronger than before.
- 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 Miraculous Escape for Seattle
A waterfront fire threatens to consume the business district, but the volunteer fire department saves the day.
- Sewage Crisis Plagues Tacoma's East Side
The filling of tide flats has caused a sewer to back up, creating a public health nightmare for hundreds of factory workers.
- The $100,000 Estate and the Indian Marriage That Seattle Forgot
A daughter claiming the estate of pioneer Franklin Mathias says her parents were married by Indian custom in 1867. A federal judge must decide whether that marriage—and her legitimacy—counts.
- A Cannery, a Reef, and the Indians’ Right to Fish
A federal injunction stops the Point Roberts packing company from taking sockeye while the cannery argues the reef was never reserved to the Lummi—and that 130 jobs hang in the balance.
- The Sanitary Crisis of 1885
Dr. J. M. W. Hedges demands immediate action on open cesspools, raw sewage, and the 'lodging house' filth threatening the health of early Seattle.
- A Burglary and Arson on Tenth Street
A homeowner discovers her house filled with smoke after burglars ransack her residence and leave a lit match on the mantel.
- The 'Stall-Fed Lawyer' and the City's Vice
A local newspaper calls out a deputy sheriff for failing to raid gambling joints while posturing as a reformer in the city council.
- Hot Fish, an Iron Fork, and a Second Divorce
Olive and Thomas Rogerson remarried after a Minneapolis divorce. In Seattle, a judge heard dueling accounts of fists, a thrown dinner, and a $1,300 mortgage—and granted her a second divorce.
- The Ship That Smuggled Opium: How a Legal Loophole Freed a Vessel and $13,000 in Penalties
Judge Hanford rules that the steamer *Walla Walla* is not liable for contraband found in its cargo because the master lacked knowledge of the smuggling, setting a precedent for common carriers.
- A Two-Year Railroad Fight Ends with a $6,000 Check
After two years in court, H. M. Lund's property dispute with the Idaho & Washington Northern ends in a buyout; his hardware store will move to Washington Avenue and the old building will come down.
- A Fiery Protest Over Local Schooling
A schoolhouse in Lakenew was destroyed by an act of suspected arson, following heated community disputes over moving the building into town.
- A Deadly Toast in the Waterfront District
A young woman is found poisoned in a Seattle lodging house after a violent argument with a suitor over her refusal to live with him.
- A Walla Walla Pastor Defends the Prison's Sunday 'Boxing Bouts'
Rector W. Law writes to defend Warden Coblenz and the penitentiary's Sunday programs, insisting the glove contests that scandalized critics were gentler than a schoolyard game.
- The Clock That Kept Time in the Ruins
When the Oriental Hotel burned, a single clock was found ticking away on a charred wall amidst the wreckage.
- The Winnifred Burns: A Lake Washington Steamer Lost at the Dock
An early-morning fire at Leech's Dock destroyed the Newcastle-run steamer Winnifred, a wharf and a boardinghouse, exposing how much of Seattle still depended on borrowed hose and luck.
Also about this, in other words
- A Debt Paid in Full
A Kennewick church celebrates financial independence by burning their mortgage document in a ceremonial act.
- The Hustle Returns: Seattle’s Economic Pulse Picks Up
After weeks of talking 'hard times,' local merchants report a sudden shift toward optimism and consumer spending.
- The Ethics of Prohibition and the 'Beastly' Public
An editorial critique of a prohibitionist’s sermon that labels the common public as cowardly and corrupt.
- The Price of a Bible and a Grumpy Husband
A Preston man’s fiery reaction to his wife lending their only Bible captures the domestic tensions and religious rigidity of territorial life.
- The Art of Living Well in 1877 Seattle
While Seattle’s pioneer merchants touted their iron stoves and fine whiskies, the local press offered practical, timeless advice on navigating life’s demands.
- The Celebrity Circuit of 1876
Before podcasts and TED Talks, the American lecture circuit was the ultimate stage for the era’s 'influencers'—and the money was surprisingly high.
- Books for the Common Good
An anonymous businessman donates $100 in gold to expand the Y.M.C.A. reading room for the working men of Seattle.