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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
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| 1877 | 6 |
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| 1885 | 4 |
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60 stories matching mischief
- The Juvenile 'Junk' Gangs of Seattle
Local business owners report a wave of petty thefts by children as young as ten, raising alarms about the city's future.
- The Great Ensilage Experiment of 1887
When an experimental farm in King County opened its massive silo, it sparked a neighborhood sensation that smelled like 'the mischief' but promised a revolution in Washington agriculture.
- The New Life of a Seattle Street Kid
Once a fixture of the police courts, a young boy explains why he is trading in petty mischief for an honest job at the bowling alley.
- The Deepest Diver's Eviction Dispute
A local court hears a malicious mischief charge against those who cleared out the home of a world-famous diver.
- The Vandalism of Seattle’s Fences
An 1880 editorial decries the 'wanton vandalism' of men and boys who whittled, tore, and marked up the city’s decorative fences, signaling a growing urban friction between private pride and public mischief.
- The Stage as an Antidote to 'Society Scandals'
When asked why she continued working despite her wealth, the famed actress Lotta Crabtree warned that women who lacked professional 'outlets' were prone to depression and mischief.
- They Killed Poor Mac
A widow steps off the stage at Pomeroy's St. George Hotel with news of her husband's death in Dayton — and the town's sympathy stops short of the dead man.
- The Great Telephone Switchboard Fire
A tangled mess of high-voltage arc light wires sends fireworks cascading through the central telephone exchange, nearly incinerating the entire plant.
- The Brutalization of Young David Morrison
A desperate plea for intervention as a young ward is subjected to unrelenting abuse by his guardian in King County.
- The Peril of the Open Road
A hit-and-run driver on the Guide Meridian road destroys a buggy and attempts to hide their identity.
- Violence on the Sound: Northern Raids at Bellingham Bay
Settlers at Bellingham Bay describe a harrowing series of robberies and murders, fueling fear that northern tribes intended to systematically attack frontier settlements.
- A City Accused of Stealing Its Water by Night
A rancher with an injunction, a mayor at the end of his borrowing power, and a reservoir that empties at dusk and fills by dawn: Tacoma's fight over Clover Creek water becomes a standoff between the city and the man who owns the creek.
- The Boy Who Squirted Ammonia: A Spokane Youth’s Descent into Infamy
Officer Ike keeps a watchful eye on Tobias, the 'bad boy' of the Cineograph theater, after he becomes a fugitive from home and targets Japanese children with chemical pranks.
- The Unfinished Ditch That Could Have Remade Seattle
An 1877 proposal to carve a channel between Lake Washington and the Sound highlights the ambitious—and forgotten—infrastructure dreams that once defined the city’s early development.
- The Great Congressional Shutdown of 1876
A historic clash between the House and Senate left federal workers across the country—and the crew of a local Revenue Cutter—stranded without pay.
- The Struggle for the Northern Pacific Rails
As Congress debates extending the deadline for the Northern Pacific Railroad, local settlers face the double-edged sword of promised prosperity versus the loss of homestead land.
- The State Scraps Its National Guard
After reports of poor discipline and wasted funds, Washington state moves to completely dissolve and rebuild its military organization.
- The Revenge of the Clipped Horses
A neighborhood feud in O'Brien turns into a courtroom drama after a farmer's prize horses are spitefully shorn.
- The City Council’s Petty Snub of Seattle’s Founder
A scathing editorial exposes how local politicians, led by a councilman, used a mundane land plat filing to insult A.A. Denny, a pivotal figure in Seattle’s development.
- The Saloonkeeper’s Open Letter to Seattle’s 'Hounds of Malice'
A local business owner fires back at the city’s political elite, accusing them of using moral grandstanding and the threat of liquor laws to dismantle his livelihood.
- The River’s Toll on the Timber Trade
A sudden freshet on the White River washes away over 150,000 feet of logs, devastating local lumber operators and scattering timber as far as Smith’s Cove.
- The Midnight Treasure Hunt on Coffin Island
A fever for gold and Captain Kidd’s fabled riches sends Seattle-area prospectors into a frenzy of night-time digging.
- The Hoodlums of Snohomish: A Night of Guerilla Warfare
In August 1877, a 'protective force' and the police clashed with gangs of young men in downtown Snohomish, destroying saloons and quelling what officials called 'riotous conduct.'
- The Gossips of Old Seattle: A Dispute Over a Deathbed
A local man defends his reputation after neighbors spread rumors regarding his care for a sick houseguest.
- Baseball Squabbles and a Rainy Sunday
A wet, cantankerous ball game between Lynden and Everson highlights the fierce and often humorous sporting rivalries of the Nooksack Valley.
Also about this, in other words
- The Mischief of a Shadowy Valentine
A parlor game of 'choosing' romantic partners via silhouette backfires when a young man masquerading in his sister's gown is mistakenly selected.
- Halloween Mischief Causes Chaos in North Yakima
A night of Hallowe'en pranks spiraled into dangerous territory, leaving residents missing carriage wheels and a local man injured after a run-in with a wire trap.
- The Mischief Makers of Second Street
Seattle's fire department gets a workout from phantom alarms in the Boston Block.
- The Schoolhouse Mutiny
When an empty Seattle schoolhouse became a playground for neighborhood boys, a mild prank turned into a local spectacle of adolescent mischief.
- The Great Mill Street Wagon Prank
A local hotel runner learns the hard way that the boys of Mill Street have a penchant for mechanical mischief.
- The Day the Boardwalk Burned: Seattle’s Most Audacious Arson Attempt
On a quiet April afternoon in 1900, an arsonist tried to torch the home of Judge E. H. Scott on Yesler Way. A brave housekeeper fought back with a poker, saving her employer and thwarting the fire.
- The Deadly Consequences of 'Just for Fun'
A sobering editorial on how boys' thoughtless pranks—like stretching ropes across sidewalks or lighting dogs on fire—result in lifelong tragedy.
- The Unwanted Guest of Providence Hospital
A 'harmless crank' in 1885 Seattle exposes the gaps in the city's social safety net.