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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 6 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 27 |
| 1877 | 29 |
| 1878 | 11 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 7 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 27 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 22 |
| 1886 | 12 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 7 |
| 1889 | 31 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 25 |
| 1892 | 48 |
| 1893 | 38 |
| 1894 | 49 |
| 1895 | 67 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 7 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 16 |
| 1904 | 11 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 4 |
| 1908 | 6 |
| 1909 | 17 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 6 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1918 | 2 |
| 1922 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
532 stories matching difficulti
- A Financial Collapse on Front Street
The closure of Thomas Cleary’s long-established dry goods house shocks the local business community amidst economic uncertainty.
- State Labor Commissioner Intervenes in Renton Mine Dispute
William Blackman, the state labor commissioner, is mediating a wage dispute at the Renton coal mines, promising a statewide investigation to ensure fair pay.
- The Bank of Shelton Collapses
Creditors force closure of the Mason County institution following reports of bad management and dwindling public confidence.
- A Small-Town Wage Fight Goes to Arbitration—and Both Sides Pay Half
When a Richland nursery salesman disputed his pay, the town improvised a three-man board instead of a courtroom.
- The Price of Progress: Seattle's Tax Troubles
Property owners grapple with delinquent taxes and the city's aggressive attempts to collect on street grading assessments under the new charter.
- The Engineering Fever of 1876
As bridge-building projects skyrocket across the nation, Seattle looks toward the ambitious, iron-willed future of American infrastructure.
- The Struggle for Sidewalk Accessibility in 1877 Seattle
An early editorial plea highlights the difficulty of navigating the city’s unpaved streets where cows, not just people, claimed the right-of-way.
- The Log Jam in Lake Union
How an innovative timber operation cut a channel through the lake to reach salt water, forever changing the Seattle landscape.
- The Mud of Commercial Street
Seattle’s main commercial artery was once a treacherous gauntlet of 'semi-fluid mud' and rats, nearly impassable for the city's horse-drawn wagons.
- Students Brave the Deep Freeze
Oroville's school children endure a brutal winter, sacrificing comfort to keep their education on track.
- The Domestic Help Crisis of 1891
As the Pacific Northwest boomed, the P-I warned that a 'growing distaste' for housework among the working class threatened to turn the domestic service shortage into a bigger issue than currency reform.
- The Highlands Flagpole Vandals
A small-town mystery where a stolen rope prevents the local club from honoring Lincoln and Washington.
- The Street Improvement Fiasco
Workers left penniless and street projects stalled as city contractors vanish without pay.
- The Struggle for a Fire-Safe City
Early Seattleites grapple with the slow, expensive process of organizing a volunteer fire department to protect a rapidly growing town.
- The Perilous Path to Union Bay
A steamship pioneer makes a daring, experimental voyage to prove that a 'long-ignored' channel could transform the future of Seattle’s local trade.
- The Wild West of Seattle Grading
In the late 1880s, Seattle’s haphazard street construction and 'dirt-moving' contractors left the city a muddy, confusing, and financially murky landscape for residents and letter carriers alike.
- The Salvation Army Jailbreak
When Nooksack officials imprisoned Salvationists for the crime of 'obstructing the highway,' the town rose up to tear down the jail.
- Spokane National Bank Collapses
A financial contagion hits Eastern Washington as the failure of mining district branches forces the Spokane National Bank to close its doors.
- The Saw and the Jailer
A petty thief's daring attempt to escape the county jail ends in a swift, unsuccessful pursuit.
- Washington Territory's Missing Land Maps
Would-be settlers at Walla Walla say no one can show them the government tracts they came for—and railroad lands are not what they want.
- The Seattle Mill Revolt
When mill workers walked off the job in 1886 to protest the hiring of Chinese labor, the resulting confrontation revealed the era's deep-seated exclusionary labor politics.
- The Perilous Midnight Fall into the Seattle Dark
A yard master’s narrow brush with death on a rainy night highlights the hidden dangers of Seattle’s rapidly expanding rail infrastructure.
- The Struggle to Shore Up the Seattle Waterfront
Engineers face a daunting challenge as they fight back the rising tide in a race to reinforce the city's crumbling wharf foundations.
- The Boilers Came by Raft
A Spokane mining company sent heavy machinery 70 miles down the Pend Oreille on homemade rafts—and made Cusick by nightfall.
- The Nurseryman's Deception
A local farmer recounts the frustration of buying fruit trees that failed to grow true to their labels.