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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 15 |
| 1876 | 19 |
| 1877 | 25 |
| 1878 | 17 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 8 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 4 |
| 1889 | 16 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 6 |
| 1892 | 9 |
| 1893 | 8 |
| 1894 | 16 |
| 1895 | 13 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1910 | 1 |
185 stories matching dispatch
- The Unsparing Champion of Right
In 1878, the Weekly Puget Sound Dispatch positioned itself as the 'Fearless Champion' of the common citizen, promising to be the cheapest and most comprehensive source of news in the Washington Territory.
- The Great Seattle Printing Conspiracy
When the Dispatch editor exposed a 'plunder' scheme by rival newspapers to inflate public printing costs, he revealed the messy, graft-filled reality of 1878 municipal administration.
- The U.S. Navy’s Floating Picnic Basket
While Washington territory officials argued over naval procurement, one local paper questioned why the government was spending a fortune on a useless 'dispatch boat' better suited for parties than maritime defense.
- The Bottleneck at the Port of Tacoma
While Seattle’s docks are praised for their 'prompt' efficiency, the port of Tacoma is suffering from a two-month delay in cargo loading, frustrating ship masters and hurting the regional economy.
- The Battle for the Assessor’s Office
A Seattle taxpayer challenges the hiring of a deputy, sparking a tense public exchange in the press over bureaucratic authority and civic competence.
- The Lakeside House Fire at Hot Springs
A devastating midnight blaze destroys the A. T. & S. F. Railway-owned hotel, marking the second such disaster at the site in less than two years.
- A Fugitive's Christmas at the Palmer House
Gerald Kyre, a guest at a prominent Seattle hotel, finds his holiday season interrupted by a dispatch from New York and the arrival of warrants.
- Two Trains Met at McMillan Station. A Jury Blamed One Man at a Telegraph Key.
A coal train and a shingle train collided on the Northern Pacific near McMillan, killing trainman Louis Harmon. The coroner's jury ruled the death criminal negligence — charged not to the railroad's schedules, but to dispatcher F. S. Rawlins, who had been running a post-strike backlog.
- The Collapse of a Partisan Press
The editor of 'The Dispatch' announces the closure of the publication after a series of financial betrayals and political infighting.
- The Auditor’s Open Revolt
A defiant Seattle county official squares off against the city’s tax-paying elite, sparking a public war of words in the local press.
- A Dispatcher's 'Lap Order' Sent Two Freight Trains Head-On Near Orting
A single mistake on a foggy single-track line killed engineer Louis U. Harmon and critically injured fireman Edward F. Martin—and left the dispatcher waiting helplessly for the crash.
- The Skunk of the Press
A bitter 1877 public feud erupts in the Seattle Weekly Dispatch between an editor and a physician accused of editing a scandalous rival paper.
- The First Strike of Chinese Railroad Workers in Seattle
A brief dispatch from 1872 reports that Chinese laborers brought in by the California railroad contractors walked off the job to demand higher wages.
- The False Alarm at the Tacoma Regatta
Two young Seattle women return home from a weekend of festivities only to find themselves arrested and cleared in a bizarre case of mistaken identity.
- 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.
- The Tragedy of the Wandering Unitarian
A brilliant but troubled clergyman's search for peace in the Pacific Northwest ends in a lonely death far from home.
- Seattle’s Short-Lived Ambition to Become a Whaling Hub
A newly formed San Francisco company eyes Seattle as the base for its North Pacific whaling operations.
- The Perils of the Telegraph
A look at the chaotic and often hilarious errors produced by local telegraph operators.
- The Midnight Memory Lapse of a Seattle Husband
A husband’s errand to the druggist turns into a long, forgetful night at the local saloon, until a sudden telegraph dispatch snaps him back to reality.
- The Baker’s Strike: Twelve Hours for $12
In a bold move against grueling labor conditions, Seattle’s bakers are contemplating a strike to demand shorter hours and fair wages, challenging the era's standard of 18-hour workdays.
- The Last Great Salmon Run of 1876
While Seattle’s modern relationship with the Duwamish is defined by restoration, a century-old dispatch reveals the sheer industrial scale of the salmon harvest that once powered the region’s early economy.
- The City That Forgot Its Own Port: Seattle’s Fight for Military Logistics
In 1903, local officials and business leaders railed against the War Department’s decision to route troops bound for the Philippines through San Francisco instead of Puget Sound, arguing that geography and economic destiny were being ignored by distant bureaucrats.
- The Doctor’s Disappearing Act
A Sacramento physician abandons his wife, fakes his departure for Oregon, and is tracked to a Seattle hotel by the Chief of Police.
- The Actor, The Play, and the Lawsuit That Stopped the Show
A bitter legal battle over the rights to 'Old '49' erupts in Seattle as playwright Joaquin Miller and actor McKee Rankin spar over authorship and royalties.
- 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.