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385 stories matching mail
- The Postal War: How Snohomish’s Star Exposed Seattle’s Corrupt Postmaster
In June 1877, the editor of the *Snohomish Star* launched a blistering public attack on the Seattle post office, alleging that political cronyism and negligence were deliberately delaying his paper to protect local rivals.
- The Mail Comes to the Farm: White Bluffs Wins Rural Free Delivery
Washington's Post Office Department orders a tri-weekly carrier route out of White Bluffs to begin February 2, 1917 — provided every rancher on the line gets a box up in time.
- The Mail That Stopped Coming to Puget Sound
For more than ten days no mail arrived from California or the Atlantic states. Steilacoom’s editor blamed a federal order in San Francisco and wondered how long the town could keep publishing.
- The Great Northern's Mail-Tossing Problem
Mail clerks on the Great Northern train are repeatedly tossing sacks of mail into the wilderness near Scotia, leaving local postmasters to recover shredded, unidentifiable correspondence.
- An Outrage on the River: Snohomish Demands Reliable Mail
Local business leaders call for a boycott of congressional candidates until they pledge to fix the 'shameful' and intermittent mail delivery to Snohomish.
- The Great Northern's Christmas Mail Massacre
Local mail delivery fails again as the fast mail train shreds holiday parcels, leaving residents without their seasonal greetings.
- The Battle for Shelton's Mail
Shelton residents find themselves isolated as a local shipping sub-contractor abandons the mail route, leaving the town disconnected from Olympia.
- The Mail Carrier’s Drunken Folly
A mail carrier abandons his duties after getting intoxicated, leaving the territory's correspondence scattered in his wake.
- Drowning the Mail in a Dark Ditch
A lonely mail carrier survives a treacherous, midnight accident on a flooded road outside Mount Vernon, salvaging the soaking contents of his satchel.
- The Fake Postal Inspector Who Robbed the Great Northern — and Got Away With Less Than $5
A bogus federal inspector bound two mail clerks, rifled registered pouches, and slipped off the Oriental Limited at Spokane, leaving Newport authorities to piece together a brazen, almost profitless heist.
- The Mail is Broken in Seattle
Citizens and businesses are forced to pay for private clerks because the federal postal service cannot keep up with the city's explosive growth.
- The Mail Boat’s Erratic Schedule
Seattle residents and businesses are struggling with the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company's unreliable mail delivery, which has turned a one-day turnaround into a three-day ordeal.
- The Fastest Mail Train on Earth Passed Through Newport This Week
The Great Northern's new Chicago-to-Seattle mail train cut 12 hours off the coast run, and Newport got a front-row seat to the record.
- Steel on the Grade: Railroad Nears Ione, Newport Mail Speeds Up
The Idaho & Washington Northern pushes to within ten miles of Ione, moves its steamboat terminus to Jared's, and the Great Northern's fast mail cuts hours off Newport's eastern post.
- The Territory's Mismatched Mail
A collapse in mail delivery leaves residents in the dark as federal contracts fall into chaos.
- When the Water Came Up to the Post Office: Floods Cut Seattle’s Rail and Mail Lines
Spring freshets submerged low streets, stalled Great Northern and Northern Pacific trains, and left Seattle business houses waiting days for mail.
- The Mail Must Go Through: A Fatal Storm on the Coast
A dedicated mail carrier and his father lost their lives in a treacherous storm off the Washington coast while attempting to deliver the mail from Montesano to Chehalis Point.
- Federal Crackdown on Train Mail Security
Postal authorities issue strict new guidelines for railway employees to stop the 'frequent robberies' plaguing the Northern Pacific lines.
- The Mail System is Broken
In 1880, Seattle residents faced endless delays and 'willful neglect' from the postal service—an early grievance about failing public infrastructure.
- Rails, Mail and a New Depot: Newport's Railroad Week
Crews start the Idaho & Washington Northern depot while a new mail contract promises daily service and earlier Spokane mail.
- The Sound Goes Silent: Steamboat Crews Strike Over Wage Cuts
A coordinated walkout by skilled engineers and captains across Puget Sound brings mail service to a halt as operators face the reality of losing their irreplaceable workforce.
- The Mail Carriage Dispute
Citizens of Olympia clash with their local postmaster over a controversial contract, suspecting graft in the transport of official mail.
- Gold Fever Empties the Army Posts—and Leaves Steilacoom’s Mail in a Canoe
A steamer from the north brings word of rich surface diggings on the Fraser and Thompson rivers, soldiers deserting lower Puget Sound posts, and Steilacoom cut off from its mail.
- The Mail Carrier of Port Gardner Bay
A harrowing tale of survival in the winter of 1872 when the mail route between Mukilteo and Snohomish met a sudden, icy squall.
- The Mail Monopoly Hurting Washington’s Pioneers
Settlers in Snoqualmie and Fall City faced weeks of delays because a contractor prioritized convenience over the needs of isolated rural communities.
Also about this, in other words
- The Seattle Postmaster's Inbox Woes
A satirical poetic complaint from 1885 captures the frustration of a growing city struggling with mail delivery, box rent, and the perceived indifference of the local postal bureaucracy.
- The Battle for Mail Service in White Bluffs
Patrons of the former post office site face a bureaucratic maze as the Department offers three distinct, and potentially inadequate, solutions for mail delivery.
- The Battle of the Mail Carriers
A postal contractor hits back at critics who accused him of corruption and canoe-based mail delivery in the rough early days of the territory's infrastructure.
- The Trouble with the Mail Boat
Residents are fed up with the 'notoriously bad' mail service between Kennewick and Richland.
- The Mailroom Kerfuffle in New Tacoma
A secret telegram, a local feud, and a postmaster who chose 'higher law' over departmental secrecy.
- The Mail Service Sabotage in Olympia
Local merchants and citizens are suffering as a political feud between the Postmaster and steamboat owners paralyzes commerce on the Sound.
- Richland Demands Better Mail
After the river froze, stopping boat deliveries, Richland residents held a mass meeting to protest their isolation.
- The Lumberyard Letter Heist
A pile of discarded mail containing invoices and payments is discovered in a lumber yard, revealing the messy aftermath of a post office box theft.