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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1858 | 4 |
| 1859 | 4 |
| 1861 | 6 |
| 1862 | 5 |
| 1863 | 3 |
| 1864 | 4 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 26 |
| 1876 | 132 |
| 1877 | 96 |
| 1878 | 69 |
| 1879 | 6 |
| 1880 | 33 |
| 1882 | 21 |
| 1883 | 95 |
| 1884 | 39 |
| 1885 | 106 |
| 1886 | 61 |
| 1887 | 74 |
| 1888 | 60 |
| 1889 | 169 |
| 1890 | 36 |
| 1891 | 156 |
| 1892 | 346 |
| 1893 | 300 |
| 1894 | 315 |
| 1895 | 81 |
| 1896 | 1 |
| 1897 | 4 |
| 1898 | 10 |
| 1899 | 67 |
| 1900 | 23 |
| 1902 | 6 |
| 1903 | 137 |
| 1904 | 117 |
| 1905 | 12 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 10 |
| 1909 | 147 |
| 1910 | 11 |
| 1911 | 12 |
| 1912 | 3 |
| 1914 | 18 |
| 1915 | 30 |
| 1916 | 55 |
| 1917 | 42 |
| 1918 | 4 |
| 1922 | 4 |
| 1923 | 15 |
| 1924 | 16 |
| 1925 | 10 |
3,007 stories matching old
- The Snake in the Parlor: How Two Con Artists Drained an Elderly Man Dry
In May 1877, John Dowd and his accomplice targeted a respected Seattle citizen with a fake land deal, winning his trust before stealing his watch, cash, and dignity at a local saloon.
- The Man Who Wouldn't Die: The Last Survivor of the Alamo Walks Among Us
A heroic frontiersman named Jimmy Kennon has resurfaced in Washington Territory, proving false reports of his death. He claims to be the sole survivor of the Battle of the Alamo and a legendary scout who once rescued a captive from Sioux hands.
- The 50-Year Marriage That Defied Poverty: A Spokane Woman’s Quest for Work
When a rural Washington couple faced ruin from debt and injury, the wife took a train to Spokane with nothing but her satchel and a fierce determination to earn her keep.
- The Father Who Stopped a Play to Steal His Daughter
A wealthy Indianapolis patriarch tracks his romantic daughter to Seattle in 1876, only to find she has eloped with a lawyer and vanished into the West.
- The Engineer’s Ash-Box Ghost: A Tale of New Year’s Eve Peril
In a column dated October 1870, the Seattle Daily Intelligencer reprints a harrowing tale from an old engineer about surviving a wreck by hiding under his locomotive's ash pan during a blizzard.
- The Old Settlers' Legislative Fantasy
In an 1871 satirical 'Act,' a Seattle newspaper mocked the arrival of ambitious newcomers by proposing that long-time residents receive supreme, legally mandated authority.
- 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.
- The Old Union Flag
A group of Seattle schoolboys preparing for a dance discovered a historic, weather-beaten Union flag—triggering a local effort to preserve the banner that once flew over the Civil War-era Union League.
- The 'Damn the Old Soldiers' Scandal of 1886
A political rumor, a fiery public denial, and the high-stakes battle for the soul of Washington Territory.
- The Integrity Test of 1876
A young dressmaker, struggling against the poverty of pioneer-era Seattle, faces a life-changing moral dilemma when she discovers a hidden fortune in an old waistcoat.
- The Old Man’s Last Stand: A Father’s Flight from Greedy Heirs Ends in a Sheriff’s Chase
P.V. Thorpe, an elderly pioneer fleeing false rape accusations and property theft by his son and son-in-law, was arrested for carrying a revolver in Seattle—only to be vindicated when the truth about his family’s blackmail scheme came to light.
- The Vigilantes' Ghost: Seattle's Dark Secret in Two Maple Trees
A poem published in the *Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer* reveals the city’s foundational myth: that its current 'peaceable' order was bought with the blood of six men hanged by a secret committee when the law failed to act.
- The Hidden Hoard of Seattle's Recluse
When two elderly men were found dead in a filthy, squalid room, a subsequent search revealed a small fortune stashed in bedposts and rags.
- The Actor, The Play, and the Lawsuit That Stopped the Show
A bitter legal battle over the rights to 'Old '49' erupts in Seattle as playwright Joaquin Miller and actor McKee Rankin spar over authorship and royalties.
- Old Bill Davis, Bare-Knuckle Champion, Arrives to Open Seattle Gym
A 63-year-old former world champion shares a life spanning the Mexican War, the California Gold Rush, and consular posts in Japan and China—and picks the winners for the Sullivan-Corbett fight.
- The Circus Crooks Meet Chief Rogers' Shadow
Seattle police pair a detective with every known short-change and gim-flam man at the circus, but not before an old islander is nearly taken for $60.
- The Pioneer Grumble: A Call to Organize
A longtime resident complains that 'tenderfeet' arriving on luxury trains have no idea what it actually cost to build the state.
- The Widow, the Missing Will, and the Yesler Homestead
Mary Booth lived nineteen years at Sixth and Jefferson before Henry Yesler's promised bequest vanished and the house passed into his estate.
- The Warden Stole His Son’s Fiancée—Then Got Fired Over Eggs
A federal prison appointment at McNeil’s Island unearths a family romance gone wrong and an expense account full of phantom eggs.
- The First Wedding in Seattle, Celebrated Forty-Two Years Later
David and Louisa Denny gather four generations of pioneers at their Temperance Street home, where relics of the 1850s—and the certificate from Seattle’s first marriage—turn an anniversary into a founding story.
- A Former County Commissioner's Despair Ends in an Old Tacoma Room
Charles T. Fay, a well-known Steilacoom settler and ex-county commissioner, shot himself after financial worries and an election defeat.
- The Ferryman of the Dark River
An encounter on the waterfront reveals the quiet, lingering melancholy of a man reflecting on the 'old timey days' and the hard reality of post-slavery life.
- The Great Cat Heist: How 'Old Tom' Became Seattle's Most Wanted Feline
A market cat’s affection for stolen kittens turns a quiet afternoon into a scandal of the highest order.
- The Professional Vagrant Who Could Not Stay Away
A habitual traveler of the rails, George P. Small, is caught once again in Oregon, highlighting the desperate, recurring struggle of the era's displaced poor.
- The Struggle for Dignity in Old Age
An editorial reflection on the cruelty of industrial labor and the call for systemic justice for elderly workers.