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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 2 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 11 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 20 |
| 1893 | 26 |
| 1894 | 18 |
| 1895 | 11 |
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| 1903 | 5 |
| 1904 | 7 |
| 1909 | 7 |
| 1910 | 1 |
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| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 4 |
| 1917 | 3 |
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| 1924 | 1 |
172 stories matching counter
- Old Yank, the Sequim Inventor Who Rigged His Counter to Sting Thieves
A correspondent visits Professor Watkins of Sequim Prairie, an eccentric mechanic whose inventions ranged from a needle-spring burglar trap to a wooden mowing machine and a windmill made to grind the prairie's wheat.
- The Candy That Killed: A Postal Clerk’s Tragic Mistake in Seattle
In May 1904, Assistant Postmaster W. H. Metralfe died after eating candy given to him by a stranger at the Seattle station, sparking an investigation into motive and madness.
- A Saloon Brawl and the Logic of 'Reddy' Long
After wrecking a lunch counter and brandishing brass knuckles, a man offers the court a grim critique of Seattle's drinking culture.
- A Near Disaster on the Waterfront
A fire in a Front Street lunch counter nearly consumes the business district after city officials neglected to enforce fire safety ordinances.
- Work for a Meal: The Salvation Army’s ‘Elevator’ Opens in Seattle
The Salvation Army opened a combined shelter, soup kitchen and workshop near Third and South Second, offering hundreds of meals and 130 beds—provided able-bodied men earned their keep.
- The Man Who Bought His Own Death
In a Seattle saloon in 1877, a gambler named 'Hilly Hacker' was challenged by a stranger with a shotgun. Hacker’s response? He bet the man $50 that he could buy him 20,000 shares of stock at a higher price before the market opened—proving his nerve was stronger than any weapon.
- The Letter Lost in the Cracks
For twelve years, a village woman waited for a lover who never called, unaware that her promise to join him in China had been trapped behind a post office counter all along.
- Winter Fire Hazards Destroy Snohomish Block
A saloon lunch counter grease fire guts multiple buildings in the freezing cold, prompting calls for a permanent fire department.
- The Price of a Marital Settlement
A wife files a scathing counter-complaint alleging coercion, threats, and a secret financial pact in a high-stakes divorce suit.
- The Bold Counter-Heist
A shopgirl turns the tables on a bandit by outwitting him during a robbery.
- A Convicted Killer Gets a Second Trial on a Legal Technicality
James Murphy, convicted of shooting Philip Dawe across the counter of a Seattle saloon, won a new trial and was being brought back to face the charge again.
- The Prohibition Ploy: Licensing Soft Drinks to Stop Bootlegging
A new city ordinance requires soft drink counters to purchase a license, not for revenue, but as a lever to shut down businesses caught selling liquor.
- The Indestructible Old Depot
Staff at the Northern Pacific depot continued their work unbothered even as a small fire broke out in their lunch counter.
- The Siege of Seattle: Governor Squire’s Martial Law
A fiery defense of the 1886 imposition of martial law during the anti-Chinese riots, arguing that civil authority had collapsed under the pressure of the mob.
- Fifty Turns on the Shaft: A Foundry Apprentice's Miraculous Escape
Nineteen-year-old Charles Meydenbauer was caught in the shafting at Moran's foundry, spun fifty times twenty feet above the floor—and lived to describe it.
- The Chief's Daughter in the Shadow of the City Named for Her Father
A San Francisco Chronicle correspondent visits Princess Angeline in her Seattle shack and finds the city proudly carving her father's face on a new business block while his daughter lives on charity.
- The Great Elma Bank Heist: Fire as a Distraction
Seven masked bandits robbed the Elma bank of $3,500 on Saturday night, using a strategically timed arson attack on the local school gymnasium to draw police and citizens away from the scene.
- The Power Struggle for Seattle’s Future
As the city council investigates the Cedar River water rights dispute, a fierce corporate war erupts between the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company and the Union Electric Company, threatening to monopolize the region's energy supply.
- The Midnight Kidnapping of the 'Wasco' Deckhands
A bitter labor dispute on the Seattle waterfront spills into open water as union men board a steamer to abduct non-union workers.
- Five Armed Robbers Hit Roslyn Bank on Payday
Armed outlaws storm a Washington coal town, robbing a bank in broad daylight and shooting bystanders before disappearing into the mountains.
- The Divorce of the 'Pretty Little Cripple'
A husband’s suit for divorce against his wife, whom he accused of erratic behavior and opium use, reveals a harrowing counter-claim of domestic abuse in 1893 Seattle.
- Railroad Agent Hanged in Effigy
Public anger against the Northern Pacific Railroad boils over in Yakima County, leading to the symbolic execution of a company agent.
- Seattle's Fire Chief Vanished Before His Day in Court
A.B. Hunt disappeared after telling friends he was off to Tacoma for trial; the city removed him, named Alexander Allen Jr. chief, and left a mystery that only deepened when his father was summoned to prove his birth.
- A Deadly Encounter at the Pharmacy
A South Tacoma druggist is fighting for his life after a masked intruder opened fire during a robbery attempt.
- The Business Men's Counter-Rally
Proponents of industry and economic development rally at Occidental Square against the 'moral reformers.'
Also about this, in other words
- The Counterfeiters of 1877
An expert assayer at the U.S. Mint offers local shopkeepers a masterclass in detecting 'whitish brass' counterfeits circulating in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Mystery of the Counterfeit Dollar
A single bill makes its way through the local economy, settling debts until it hits the bank, a counterfeit, and finally, the collection plate.
- The Bank-Issued Currency of 1893
Facing a national economic panic, Seattle merchants and bankers agree to honor certified checks as local tender to keep the hop harvest moving.
- The Fight for the Ballot Box
A legislative attempt to curb 'professional petition pushers' aims to ensure only legal voters influence state law.
- The Counterfeiters of Front Street
A keen-eyed local expert foils a pair of dubious transactions in a Seattle saloon, exposing a suspected ring of master counterfeiters operating in the Pacific Northwest.
- The Clerk Who Pocketed the Change
A grocery clerk is caught red-handed by a private detective after being suspected of skimming from the till.
- The Power Struggle Over Pavement
Tacoma's city council faces internal deadlock as officials fight over who gets to countersign checks and which material should pave the city streets.
- The Auditor’s Scathing Reply
A war of words erupts between a Mason County auditor and the Adjutant-General over military duty records.