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1. The Union Man in the White Suit Walked Into Jail

   After the 1894 railroad strike, Northern Pacific committeeman Charles A. Barnes lost his bondsmen and surrendered in a canvas suit and straw hat, telling the marshal, 'Here is my body.'

   Sep 11, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPierce County Jail, TacomaWork & Pay

2. Hunger and the City Council

   Tacoma’s unemployed protesters storm City Hall, forcing local leaders to prioritize local families for municipal public works.

   Feb 4, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerA Street, Tacoma, Pierce CountyWork & Pay · City Hall

3. The Minister Who Called the A.P.A. a Political Machine—and Named Names

   Rev. William Carnes says he quit Seattle’s A.P.A. lodge after it was used to carry secret school-board charges and promote candidates for sheriff, commissioner and coroner.

   Sep 15, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Scandal

4. The Deadly Pest Hiding in Fruit Stands

   A local doctor warns Seattle citizens that hucksters are selling oranges infested with the destructive San Jose scale, prompting calls for a crackdown on imported produce.

   Mar 12, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

5. The 'Orting Bank Thief' Libel Case

   A political war of words between Populists and the establishment leads to a dramatic arrest for criminal libel in Tacoma.

   Jun 3, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall · Scandal

6. The Foundry That Rose From Seattle’s Ashes

   Burned out in the Great Seattle Fire, J. M. Frink’s iron works rebuilt on Grant Street and kept supplying the city’s machinery.

   Jan 1, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay · Gone Forever

7. The Wild West of Willapa Bay

   Tensions boil over as armed citizens and rival officials fight a desperate 'seat war' to determine the county capital.

   Feb 10, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSouth Bend, Pacific CountyCity Hall

8. Six Drowned and the Dead Looted: The Wreck of the Strathblane

   Eyewitnesses described a fearful scene off North Beach as the iron ship Strathblane broke apart—farmers rode into the surf to save survivors while others rifled the dead.

   Nov 11, 1891The Olympia TribuneNorth Beach, Long BeachDisasters

9. A Heartbreaking Winter in Cle Elum

   A Northern Pacific railroad worker's family struggles with extreme poverty and illness in Cle Elum.

   Feb 16, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerCle Elum, Kittitas CountyWork & Pay

10. Walla Walla Editor Shoots Brewery Owner

    A political leader and newspaper man fires on a local businessman after a dispute over a published critique of the brewery's beer.

    Sep 5, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyTrue Crime

11. The Oysterville Affair Remains Unpunished

    A prosecutor declines to pursue charges in a notorious Pacific County incident, admitting that a jury conviction would be impossible.

    Apr 30, 1891Aberdeen HeraldOysterville, Pacific CountyExclusion & Resistance · True Crime

12. The Mystery of the Sands

    A decomposed body found bound and weighted on the beach near Bay Center leaves investigators with a gruesome crime and no suspect.

    Aug 11, 1892Aberdeen HeraldEllen Sands, Bay Center, Pacific CountyTrue Crime

13. Bushwhackers in the Puyallup Woods: How the Pullman Strike Became a Criminal Manhunt

    A federal grand jury indicts a Northern Pacific clerk for threatening to draw locomotive fires, while Sheriff Matthews finds rifles and a shotgun used to ambush passenger trains near the Puyallup reservation.

    Jul 13, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPuyallup reservation, Tacoma, Pierce CountyWork & Pay · True Crime

14. Railroad Union Delegate Denied Pass

    A local railway mechanic is denied travel to a national summit, highlighting tensions in the American Railway Union.

    Dec 16, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyWork & Pay

15. The Mystery of the Man from Montesano

    A body found in Willapa Bay points to a potential crime that has the region asking questions.

    Jul 30, 1891Aberdeen HeraldBay Center, South Bend, Pacific CountyTrue Crime

16. The Sticker Rebellion at City Hall

    A last-minute write-in campaign by outgoing City Attorney C. B. Hamlet keeps the local municipal election close as new faces enter the council.

    Dec 9, 1915The Kennewick Courier-ReporterCity Hall, Kennewick, Benton CountyCity Hall

17. The Chamber of Commerce’s Grand Gesture: Seattle’s Business Elite Rally Behind Senator Squire

    Over 500 merchants, officials, and their ladies board the steamer Bailey Gate for a two-day excursion to Olympia, aiming to sway the state senate with a show of unified commercial support.

    Jan 20, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPike Street, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

18. The Constitutional Battle Over Fruit Inspection

    A Superior Court judge rules that Skagit County fruit inspectors cannot be appointed, effectively stalling the state’s ability to regulate the local orchard industry.

    Apr 28, 1905The Kennewick CourierMount Vernon, Skagit CountyCity Hall

19. The Monster of Tokeland

    A massive whale beaches itself in Pacific County, drawing crowds and sparking wild speculation about its age and history.

    Sep 2, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTokeland, Pacific CountyStrange But True

20. Establishing the Penitentiary's Pay

    Legislators grapple with the cost of housing inmates at the Steilacoom jail while the permanent penitentiary site remains a mystery.

    Feb 2, 1861Washington StandardSteilacoom, Pierce CountyCity Hall

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