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1. A Filthy Milk Trial, a Lenient Judge, and a Convention's Disgust

   The state dairy commissioner lost his Tacoma case against two milkmen whose cows were caked in manure — and the delegates wanted to know what kind of milk the judge kept on his own table.

   Jan 8, 1898Ranche and RangeTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall

2. Grand Jury Exposes Seattle Brothels and Liquor Sales to Native Americans

   In September 1876, a King County grand jury reported widespread lawlessness in Seattle, including indictments for selling liquor to Native Americans, running gambling houses, and maintaining public nuisances.

   Sep 9, 1876Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

3. Seattle's Schools Burst at the Seams as the City Booms

   In 1893 the school board scrambles for classrooms, defends high-school education, and counts the cost of keeping up with a fast-growing city.

   Apr 30, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

4. Keep Your Money at Home? In Kennewick, the Shoe-Leather Trail Led to Pasco

   A letter to the editor takes aim at buy-local boosterism, arguing that Kennewick shoppers already knew the real prices—and often crossed the river to Pasco or sent away for mail-order catalogs.

   Nov 9, 1916The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyBoom & Bust

5. The 'Easy' Job That Wasn't

   A classic tale of a hotel proprietor in Snohomish trying to hoodwink a miner into an impossible, unpaid-labor arrangement.

   Jun 19, 1878The Northern StarMain Street, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyWork & Pay · Strange But True

6. The Art of Keeping Clean Swine

   A century and a half ago, local hog farmers were advised on the strict management of breeding and hygiene to improve their stock.

   Apr 13, 1861Washington StandardOlympia, Thurston County

7. The Cow War of Brooklyn and Latona

   Seattle residents clash over the right to keep livestock in the city, pitting the 'backwoods' life against the sensibilities of the urban elite.

   Jun 17, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyHousing & Rent · City Hall

8. The $500 Fine for Keeping a 'Bad' House: Seattle's War on Vice and the Women of Yesler Way

   In the early days of Seattle, police didn't just arrest prostitutes; they targeted the property owners who housed them. A recent court case reveals the financial stakes of the city's moral crusade.

   Jun 9, 1888The Seattle Post-IntelligencerYesler Way, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

9. The Secret Bride of Fifteen Years

   A chance encounter in Seattle reveals a woman’s decades-long secret: a teenage marriage kept hidden from society and the law.

   Jan 30, 1887Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyScandal

10. Camp Kelpie: A Seattle Hunting Party in the Last Great Bear Country

    In 1895, Seattle sportsmen pitched camp on Hood Canal between the Duckabush and Hamma Hamma rivers and found a wilderness thick with black bear, salmon, and one very unlucky tenderfoot.

    Mar 3, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerBrinnon, Jefferson CountyStrange But True

11. Keeping the Pass Open in Winter

    A bold effort to keep the Snoqualmie Pass trail clear for cattle drivers sets a new precedent for Cascade mountain travel.

    Jan 13, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSnoqualmie Pass, Snoqualmie, King CountyBoom & Bust

12. The Unlikely Swimmer of the San Juans

    A stylish newcomer to the island society set shocks locals at the natatorium with a startling reveal about her supposed physical disability.

    Jul 17, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSan Juan Islands, San Juan CountyScandal

13. A Sanitary Sermon for Kennewick

    City Health Officer F.M. Crosby issues a biblical-style list of ten ordinances to combat filth and disease.

    Jun 11, 1914The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

14. A Jury Called the Franklin Mine Fire Arson. Thirty-Seven Miners Were Already Dead.

    A coroner's jury found that someone deliberately set the fire that suffocated 37 workers in the Franklin mine. The only survivor described how one opened door and one stopped fan turned the gangway into a death trap.

    Aug 26, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerBlack Diamond, King CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

15. The Missing Will That Would Have Given Seattle a Library

    Henry Yesler's widow and two doctors are arrested, accused of burning a will that left the pioneer's fortune—and his mansion—to the city.

    Jan 27, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money · True Crime

16. A Revolver at Her Ear: Mary Steel's Third Fight for a Divorce

    Mary Steel's third divorce suit against David H. Steel laid bare a bitter fight over $49,000 in Seattle and Montana property—and allegations of violence, control and intimidation.

    Jul 13, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerKing County Courthouse, SeattleScandal

17. Seattle’s 1895 Co-op Where 150 Unemployed Men Ate for 7 Cents a Day

    At a Belltown barracks, unemployed single men pooled their wages, submitted to military-style rules and fed an average of 150 people daily for about 7 cents each.

    Jan 25, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyHousing & Rent · Work & Pay

18. Thirty Grains of Morphine and a Baker’s Plea to Be Let Go

    Christian F. Gutheil, a Seattle bakery owner, survived an overdose after a long spree—then told a reporter he wished the doctors had not interfered.

    May 10, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

19. The 1888 Crusade Against '13-Hour Days' in Seattle

    When local shopkeepers refused to close their doors at 8 p.m., the Clerks' Union launched a public campaign to boycott the stores that kept their workers trapped in a cycle of exhausting, long-hour shifts.

    Jul 26, 1888The Seattle Post-IntelligencerFront Street, Seattle, King CountyWork & Pay

20. Two Red Boxes on Wheels: Olympia's Sorry Excuse for a Streetcar Line

    The street railway's president has told the council he can keep the city tied up in court for two years. The Tribune suggests the new council simply take his franchise away.

    Dec 2, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

21. The Governor's White Elephant and a Newspaper Deal

    A proposed $2,500 purchase of the Daily Olympian sets off talk of a King County power play, a governor's relief, and a political machine in the making.

    Nov 30, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

22. A Rockefeller Tells Seattle It Is Destined to Be the New York of the Pacific

    Visiting Cleveland iron magnate F. Rockefeller—brother of John D.—says the harbor beats New York's and the ore is right here, if only the city will manufacture instead of import and steer clear of the boomers who killed Wichita.

    Jun 1, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

23. The Railroad Barricade

    Tacoma citizens push to break the Northern Pacific’s chokehold on the city waterfront.

    May 11, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money

24. The Doctor Who Swam for His Life: Marcus Whitman’s Forgotten Struggle

    A newly published account reveals the physical toll and near-death experiences of the missionary whose name is etched into Pacific Northwest history.

    Apr 9, 1882Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla County

25. Land Speculation or Lifeline? The Fight Over Seattle’s Lake Washington Canal

    Senator Squire battles Southern committee members and rumors of a land grab to keep Seattle’s canal in the federal river and harbor bill.

    Jul 31, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerLake Washington Canal, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money

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