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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 4 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 2 |
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| 1894 | 10 |
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49 stories matching freeman
- The Tragedy of an Abandoned Laborer
A laborer left to die alone by the roadside near Auburn serves as a grim reminder of the precarity of life for itinerant workers.
- An Orting Barn Burning Sparks Courtroom Insults
A defense attorney’s explosive courtroom conduct highlights a bitter family feud behind an arson charge in Orting.
- Showdown in the Bonaparte Country
A reported cabin robbery near the Canadian border spiraled into an armed standoff involving fugitives wanted for a cross-border heist.
- The Tattooed Robber’s Bloody Trail in Mount Vernon
A man known for the words 'true love' inked across his hands kills one logger and leaves another for dead after a failed robbery attempt.
- The Body in the Box: A Political Murder Haunts Spokane County
Charles F. Gloystein crossed the Freeman's Protective Silver Federation and disappeared. Now his neighbors are offering a $1,000 reward—not for a killer, but for the body.
- A Whaleboat Vanished in the Surf Off Grays Harbor
Lieut. Freeman H. Crosby and four seamen from the survey steamer McArthur were lost trying to land through the surf at Joe Creek, fifteen miles north of Grays Harbor.
- Tragedy at the Seattle Penitentiary
A desperate escape attempt by three prisoners at the Seattle jail ends in a bloody shootout, leaving one dead and others wounded.
- A Tie Vote Leaves Newport's Telephone Franchise Hanging
The old council adjourns sine die after deadlocking on a telephone ordinance; the new mayor and marshal take office amid a 154-name petition.
- The Effigy in the Pine Tree
Charles Gloystein crossed Spokane County's Populists and woke to find himself hanged in straw. Then he vanished.
- An Effigy, a Threat, and a Spokane Man Who Disappeared
When Charles F. Gloystein vanished, someone hung his effigy and nailed threatening placards near his home. Spokane's Republican Union blamed the Freeman's Silver Protective Federation—and demanded the criminals be caught.
- The Day Seattle Woke Up: A Traveler’s Rave Review of the 'Metropolitan' Future
In July 1870, a San Francisco correspondent returns from a voyage down the coast and is stunned by the rapid transformation of his hometown into a booming commercial hub.
- The Shadow Over Section Five
A contested land parcel near the city has become the center of a legal standoff, as heirs of the late J. M. Hopkins complicate the Northern Pacific Railroad's claims.
- The 'Folly' of Tacoma: A Steamboat Traveler’s Skeptical Report
An 1876 visitor finds the new city of Tacoma lacking and highlights the tragic loss of local boys at sea.
- Internal Strife Rips Apart Tacoma’s Democratic Party
A bitter feud between the party's 'kids' and established members over sheriff nominations and fusion schemes threatens to cost the Democrats the election.
- Newport Hauls a 142-Foot Cedar Out of the Woods for a Fourth of July Flagpole
A volunteer crew fells, floats and drags a giant cedar to the I.W.N. depot grounds, where it will fly Old Glory over town.
- 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 Piano Race
A local civic carnival sparks a high-stakes popularity contest between union members and social clubs to win a $350 piano.
- The Pioneer Variety Store: A Snapshot of Commerce in Early Seattle
Before the age of big-box retailers, local general stores like T. P. Freeman’s served as the essential hubs for hardware, furniture, and household needs on the frontier.
- The Second-Hand Sleep Economy
Before the age of big-box furniture, T.P. Freeman’s 'Variety Store' turned reclaimed bedding into a thriving trade in 1870s Seattle.
- The Dark Mystery of Alfred Hoyle
A body found in Snohomish County sparks a tense inquest revealing labor unrest, anti-Chinese sentiment, and unanswered questions on the Seattle waterfront.
- The Mugwump’s Ledger: How Seattle’s Territorial Secretary Gamed the Law Printing Contract
A fierce editorial exposes Secretary Owings for delaying the publication of territorial laws to favor a cronies’ printing bid, while padding the bill with 40 pages of his own party platform.
- The Delegate Who Sold Seattle’s Future for Five Thousand Dollars
A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch accuses Territorial Delegate George Freeman Willard of betraying Seattle’s interests—specifically the mud flats of Duwamish Bay—to secure his own political and financial gain, while simultaneously accepting bribes from rival railroad companies.
- The Floor Gives Way: Panic and Death at Seattle’s Morris Opera House
A grand opening night turns into a nightmare when the second-story floor of the newly converted theater collapses into the stables below, killing several and injuring dozens in one of the city's earliest major disasters.
- The Wig and the Wire: How a Tacoma Newspaper Owner Tried to Destroy a Judge
In the sensational Wickersham trial of 1889, prosecutor R.P. Radebaugh’s own past and his alleged conspiracy to frame Judge Wickersham for 'immorality' were laid bare in court.
- The Shadow Over Seattle's Early Growth
A vitriolic 1881 congressional speech from Thomas H. Brents reveals the dark, exclusionary labor politics that defined the foundations of the Pacific Northwest.
Also about this, in other words
- From Gilman Mines to the Japanese Consulate
Dr. Frank W. Harrell, a King County physician and former mayor of Gilman, secures a diplomatic post in Japan after a period of fervent local politicking.
- A Young Pioneer’s Tragic End
A promising life in the Seattle real estate trade is cut short by a workplace accident at the Vulcan Iron Works.
- A Street Fight Over a Package of Meat
A man attempted to steal a package of meat off the steps of the Golden Gate building, only to face a vigorous drubbing from his victim.
- The Fugitive Foreman of Franklin
A man working at the Oregon Improvement Company’s stables in Franklin is revealed as a wanted fugitive for a fatal land dispute in Indian Territory.
- The 'Stall-Fed Lawyer' and the City's Vice
A local newspaper calls out a deputy sheriff for failing to raid gambling joints while posturing as a reformer in the city council.
- The Royal Society of Good Fellows Throws a Party
Athletic contests, fireworks, and a topical song about 'Ta-ra-boom-de-ay' mark a lively celebration in the mining town of Gilman.
- Police Raid Pike Street Poker Room
Seattle authorities seize gambling paraphernalia from a cigar store, leading to a test case for local law enforcement.
- The 'Grafter' of Seattle
A man’s admission of his profession in court highlights the early Seattle obsession with the city’s burgeoning reputation for civic corruption.