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383 stories matching gray
- Spokane Falls Council Tackles Charter, Cash, and a Dead Horse
In August 1883, the Spokane Falls City Council met to discuss a new city charter, unpaid bills, street assessments, and the problem of a dead horse. The meeting offers a glimpse into the challenges of a growing frontier town.
- The Forgotten Navigator of the Pacific Northwest
A call to honor Captain Robert Gray, the man whose discovery of the Columbia River and Grays Harbor secured the region for the United States.
- Grays Harbor's Deadly Bar — and the Lighthouse It Still Lacks
Army engineers say a light at Gray's Harbor would only be "desirable," not "indispensable." The Tribune answers with a catalogue of wrecks, lost crews and a harbor the board apparently cannot locate on a map.
- A Century After Captain Gray: Grays Harbor Plans a Grand Celebration
Towns across Grays Harbor prepare a two-day centennial with a clam bake, steamer excursions, and railroad trips to mark the 1792 discovery of the harbor.
- Grays Harbor's Mill Workers Turn on the Sawdust Ring
A shingle weavers' strike has widened into a region-wide industrial war, drawing A.F. of L. craftsmen and I.W.W. laborers into a fight against the mill owners who ran Grays Harbor politics.
- The westernmost town in America bets its future on a telegraph wire
Ocosta-by-the-Sea, on Grays Harbor, is wired to the world and promoters promise a seaside metropolis — cottages, plank roads, a clam bake and a coming railroad.
- Thirty-Six Hours Rudderless: The J.C. Ford's Last Voyage
A lime cargo catches fire, a rudder snaps, and eight sailors are rescued off Grays Harbor moments before their ship goes down.
- The Northern Pacific's Ocosta Mistake
A critique of how railroad geography bypassed the thriving mill towns of Grays Harbor.
- A Centennial Fight for Recognition
Local leaders urge the state to honor Captain Robert Gray’s discovery of Grays Harbor, fearing the legislature has sidelined local history in favor of the Chicago World's Fair.
- A Vengeful Killing at the Freight Yards
An insurance solicitor was tracked down and murdered by a client following a bitter dispute over a lapsed policy, sparking a massive manhunt across Tacoma.
- Grays Harbor City Townsites Scheme Ends in 1891
How professional townsite boomers once built a 'city' of imagination that existed only on paper, leaving investors with nothing but worthless lithographs.
- 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.
- The $18,784 Express Package That Vanished—and the Sheriff Arrested for It
A grand jury charged a Northern Pacific agent, a Franklin County sheriff and another man in a January 1894 express theft. The sheriff’s Ainsworth neighbors posted his bond—and doubted the charge.
- The Terminal City That Died on Grays Harbor
A St. Paul syndicate graded streets, cleared forest and built a mile-long wharf for a railroad boomtown that never got its railroad. Only two families are left, living on clams.
- The Ghost Town of Gray's Harbor City
An abandoned boom-town remains standing in silence, a monument to the reckless real estate speculation of the era.
- The Boom of Chehalis County
A booster-style report on the rapid growth of the timber and agricultural sectors along Gray's Harbor, highlighting the proposed railroad to Seattle.
- How Our Towns Got Their Names
A historian chronicles the origins of Grays Harbor cities, uncovering the rivalries and local legends behind our map.
- The Brief, Chaotic Crime Spree of Elmer Gray
A Spokane man's attempt to flee town by stealing a motor launch ended in a bizarre river chase and a capture at a local farm.
- The First Bakers of Grays Harbor
The Reinboth brothers recall their arrival in Aberdeen when the town was in its 'primitive garb' and how they became the harbor's first commercial bakers.
- The Unlucky Fisherman of Seattle
A satirical poem from 1878 chronicles an angler who spends a week sitting by a local sawmill, only to become a living piece of landscape architecture for the local insect population.
- The Chief's Daughter in the Shadow of the City Named for Her Father
A San Francisco Chronicle correspondent visits Princess Angeline in her Seattle shack and finds the city proudly carving her father's face on a new business block while his daughter lives on charity.
- The Grays Harbor Sawmill Strike
The President of the State Federation of Labor details the brutal suppression of striking sawmill workers in Aberdeen and Hoquiam.
- The Lumber Town That Held Worker's Luggage Hostage
A Grays Harbor mill company is exposed for a predatory scheme that left hundreds of laborers stranded without their personal belongings.
- Grays Harbor Boom Town Stalls as Newspaper Folds
A speculative boom town faces extinction as rail lines bypass its empty streets.
- The Seattle Post-Intelligencer vs. Aberdeen: A War of Words Over the Chinese Eviction
In November 1890, a fierce public feud erupted between Aberdeen and Seattle when the Seattle paper defended the city's recent expulsion of its Chinese residents, accusing Aberdeen of violence that never happened.
Also about this, in other words
- The Forger in the Warehouse
A local farmer-turned-carpenter exploited casual access to grain elevators to swindle regional banks out of hundreds.
- Mapping the Gateway to the Chehalis
An official 1883 engineering survey reveals the natural promise of Gray's Harbor.
- Heavy Snows Collapse Buildings in Gray's Harbor City
A winter storm brings devastation to the new townsite, demolishing a two-story hotel that never saw a guest.
- Tragedy in Olympia Following Domestic Dispute
A young man takes his own life after his wife refuses to live with him due to his alcohol use.
- The Fight for Gray’s Harbor: Local Power vs. The Seattle Canal
An early battle over the Lake Washington ship canal reveals how local leaders viewed state resources and the influence of Seattle-based power.
- Major Moonshine Raid in Grays Harbor
Federal agents dismantle massive bootlegging operation, leading to a high-profile arrest.
- The Ghost Ship of Gray's Harbor
A schooner overdue by nine weeks is discovered wrecked on Peterson's Point, leaving no survivors from its five-man crew.
- Gray Wolves Ravage Starving Livestock on Reservation
As winter conditions persist, starving animals on the reservation are falling prey to gray wolves in large numbers.