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1. The Judge Who Warned Seattle Not to Sell Its Waterfront to a Canal Company

   In 1894, Judge John J. McGilvra urged Congress to build the Lake Washington Ship Canal and warned that a private company's tideflat scheme would put tolls on the water and enrich speculators at public expense.

   Jul 15, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money

2. The Log Jam That Held Back the Skagit

   Settlers bet their savings on cutting a channel through a massive timber jam—and begged Sound steamboat captains to link the Skagit to Seattle.

   Dec 16, 1876The Northern StarConway, Skagit CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

3. The Paper Trail of Patronage

   A bold act of civic favoritism in King County sees the Board of Commissioners award a lucrative printing contract to a higher bidder, leaving taxpayers to foot the bill.

   May 7, 1887Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

4. The Great Skagit Jam: How Local Men Tried to Unplug the River

   In 1876, a massive logjam blocked the Skagit River for miles. While officials debated expensive dredging projects, local loggers took matters into their own hands with picks and dynamite.

   Apr 8, 1876The Northern StarBellingham, Whatcom CountyBoom & Bust · Strange But True

5. Olympia’s Booster Year: Brick, Bridges and a 50,000-Person Promise

   As 1891 closed, the capital city counted $3 million in new buildings, a record bridge, electric lights and new rail lines — and predicted 50,000 residents within a decade.

   Dec 31, 1891The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust · City Hall

6. The Engineer Who Tamed the Tides: Col. Wilson’s Blueprint for Snohomish’s Future

   A master engineer presents a radical plan to dredge the Columbia and Willamette rivers, promising to unlock Seattle's potential by reshaping the very geography of the Pacific Northwest.

   Feb 24, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

7. Walla Walla Devastated by Lower Main Street Blaze

   A massive fire wipes out a half-block of wooden buildings, revealing the city's total lack of adequate firefighting equipment.

   Jul 13, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyCity Hall · Disasters

8. They Climbed Rainier First—and Slept in a Sulphur-Scented Ice Cave

   In 1870, Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump reached Mount Rainier's summit after a brutal 10½-hour climb, then spent a freezing night beside volcanic steam vents.

   Jan 6, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

9. The Buckeye Went Down in a Gale—and One Passenger Almost Made It

   The steamer Buckeye broke up in the Salish Sea; a rescued stockman described how shifting cattle, a swamped lifeboat, and freezing water killed H. Kautzman within sight of help.

   Apr 4, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerBellingham, Whatcom CountyDisasters

10. The Hoodooed Ship That Left Three Dead

    At Port Townsend, sailors call the Linlithgowshire cursed after a third officer is killed—and the ship’s recent history makes the word stick.

    Mar 21, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPort Townsend, Jefferson CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

11. Fatal Plunge into the Tide

    A runaway team forces a Seattle teamster off the unguarded planks of Commercial Street to his death.

    Nov 18, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerWest Street, Seattle, King CountyWork & Pay · Disasters

12. How Everett Got Its Harbor Money—by Telegrams and Western Nerve

    A seven-month lobbying campaign, a reluctant War Department and a $10,000 dredging appropriation: inside the fight to make Everett a deep-water port.

    Aug 27, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPort Gardner, Everett, Snohomish CountyBoom & Bust

13. The Prospector Who Tried to Outsmart the Great Northern

    A local prospector claimed to know a secret, lower pass through the Cascades, sparking a high-stakes search by railroad engineers.

    Mar 25, 1892The Olympia TribuneStevens Pass, Skykomish, King CountyBoom & Bust

14. No Safety Net, No Ordinance: A Trapeze Act Falls in Seattle

    Two acrobats plunged from a Madison Street trapeze in 1895, exposing a gap in city safety rules and a very lucky escape.

    May 13, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Disasters

15. The Cost of Regrading Seattle

    Helen Scurry fights the city for $25,000, claiming the lowering of Third Street destroyed the value of her property.

    Feb 22, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

16. The Town That Rose from the Jam: Mount Vernon’s Wild Start

    A new settlement is sprouting along the Skagit River, fueled by loggers, surveyors, and a patriotic name change.

    Jun 9, 1877The Northern StarMount Vernon, Skagit CountyBoom & Bust

17. The Skokomish River's Fury

    A rapid rise and fall of water levels damages county roads and sweeps away mining camp infrastructure in Mason County.

    Nov 15, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerHoodsport, Mason CountyDisasters

18. The Forgotten Promise to Hover

    A simmering dispute between the Kennewick Commercial Club and the residents of the lower valley highlights a growing rift over infrastructure priorities and civic trust.

    May 4, 1916The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyCity Hall

19. The Struggle for Yakima Irrigation Rights

    Kennewick editors push back against accusations of land-grabbing, demanding only the water rights promised to the lower valley.

    Oct 28, 1915The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyFollow the Money

20. Two Miles Perched on the Lower Circle of a Rainbow

    A Shelton legislator's private letter describing a steamer passage up Hammersley's Inlet becomes the best prose in the paper — a circle of prismatic color, starfish, glaciers and one awestruck captain.

    Nov 9, 1891The Olympia TribuneHammersley Inlet, Shelton, Mason CountyStrange But True

21. Eastern Washington Lawmakers Want Cheaper Freight and a Break on Taxes

    Fresh from wheat country, representative-elect Moses Bull and Senator J. L. Roberts laid out their Olympia agenda: grain inspection, lower railroad rates, softer tax penalties, and leaner county government.

    Jan 5, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerButler Hotel, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

22. The Great Olympia Slot Machine Sting

    Gamblers tried to stage a test case to strike down anti-gambling laws, but were outmaneuvered by the prosecuting attorney.

    Sep 26, 1903The Evening StatesmanOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall · Nightlife

23. The Fight Against Railroad Extortion

    Business owners in Walla Walla face broken promises from rail monopolies, but the editor argues that federal and state regulation—not empty lobbying—is the only way to break the gridlock.

    Jan 13, 1904The Evening StatesmanWalla Walla, Walla Walla CountyFollow the Money

24. When the Ice Broke: Newport's Steamboats Reconnect the Pend Oreille

    With the river finally open to Box Canyon, two navigation companies coordinated schedules at Newport, linking trains, mail and lumber camps to the upper Pend Oreille.

    Feb 4, 1909The Newport Miner (Newport, WA) 1899-CurrentNewport, Pend Oreille CountyBoom & Bust

25. The Great Cedar Jam: How Settlers Cleared the Skagit River by Hand

    In September 1876, a group of determined farmers and loggers took on the massive timber jams blocking the Skagit River, hoping to unlock sixty miles of navigation for their struggling community.

    Sep 23, 1876The Daily IntelligencerSkagit River, Mount Vernon, Skagit CountyBoom & Bust

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