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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 10 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 6 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 6 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 2 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 20 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 5 |
| 1893 | 14 |
| 1894 | 16 |
| 1895 | 22 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1909 | 1 |
140 stories matching descript
- The Hunter and the Runaway
A determined civilian investigator tracks a suspect across the West, certain he’s bagged a notorious fugitive, while the target sits in a Seattle jail cell for the minor crime of selling liquor to Indians.
- The City’s Botched Annexation Plan
Seattle’s attempt to annex surrounding lands hits a legal wall after a drafting error excludes parts of Ballard by mistake.
- The Bricklayer Shortage of 1888
As Seattle began its rapid expansion, contractors scrambled to find enough skilled labor to keep pace with the building boom.
- The Tax Swindle: How Seattle’s Printer Defrauded His Neighbors
In 1872, the publisher of the *Puget Sound Dispatch* exposed a collusive scheme between local tax collectors and a rival newspaper to overcharge delinquent taxpayers for legal notices, sparking a bitter war of words in the territorial press.
- The Art of Boosting: How Early Seattle Built a Territory
In an era before mass media, Seattle’s newspaper editors viewed themselves as the primary architects of immigration, using booster journalism to lure settlers to the Pacific Northwest.
- A Bold Morning Assault
A Seattle police officer is waylaid and robbed by a highwayman in the early hours of the morning.
- The Tax Collector’s Secret: How Seattle Officials Hid Debts to Profit from Advertising
A local newspaper exposes a scheme where the School District collector withheld tax information, forcing taxpayers to pay exorbitant advertising fees to clear liens they didn't know existed.
- The Seattle Dream Home of 1872
A real estate listing offers a glimpse of modest, mid-19th-century frontier living near the original Seattle townsite.
- The Palace on the Hill: A Glimpse into Seattle’s Victorian Splendor
A rare 1885 look inside the 'stately' McNaught residence, a mansion built to impress at Third and Marion.
- The Forty-Five Day Fast of a Welsh Miner
Seeking a cure for chronic throat trouble, a local man attempts an extreme medical fast under the guidance of a physician.
- Sunday Sabbath Burglary on University Street
A resident returns home from church to find his house ransacked and sixty dollars missing.
- Who Owns the Shore? The Fight for Salmon Bay's Tide Flats
State land commissioners hear five contests over tide lands at Ballard, where railroads, mill companies and upland owners all claim the right to buy the waterfront.
- The Price of Early Seattle: A 60x120 Lot for Sale
Before the skyscrapers and the tech giants, a simple real estate listing in the 1876 press reveals the humble origins of land ownership in a budding Seattle.
- The Long Arm of the Law: Opium Smuggler Jack Ford Captured in Seattle
After months on the run, Jack Ford was arrested aboard the steamer Rosalie for smuggling opium, and will face charges in Tacoma.
- The Art of the Vanishing Embezzler
A Los Angeles mill employee absconds with funds, hides out in Seattle under an alias, and stays one step ahead of the detectives in a city-wide cat-and-mouse game.
- Late Night Assault at a Front Street Restaurant
A restaurant cook survives an assault after being struck with a revolver by a man who infiltrated the back of the establishment.
- The Fight Against Hired Guns
A proposal at the constitutional convention seeks to ban the use of private armed guards like the Pinkertons in Washington state.
- A House and Lot for Sale on Second Street (Dec 16, 1876)
A straightforward classified advertisement for a house and lot on 2nd Street offers a window into the rapid, transactional growth of 1870s Seattle.
- The Disappearing Waiter
A boarder at a Washington Street house reports her savings stolen, with a distinctively red-haired waiter named Willie as the prime suspect.
- A Crushed Finger Gave the Safecracker Away
A suspected Kent burglar was tracked to a Railroad Avenue cabin, where police found skeleton keys, drills and powder—then identified him by the crushed finger described in an old escape notice.
- The Struggle for Space: Seattle’s Overcrowded Schools in 1887
An 1887 inspection of Seattle's public schools reveals a city straining against its rapid growth, featuring dilapidated buildings, overcrowding, and a desperate search for adequate space for its pupils.
- Street Chase and Arrest of a Known Tough
A jeweler's clerk helps police apprehend a suspect following a daring daytime robbery on Front Street.
- The Barber and the Vanishing Man
A man disappears from a train under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a baffled barber and a trail of questions.
- The Strange Disappearance of Nellie McNeil
After a frantic police search, a woman reported missing is discovered living in a rooming house above a local saloon.
- An Embarrassing Resurrection
A logging partner walks into the coroner's office to find his own death certificate being prepared.