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1. Transforming Van Horn Lake

   Benton County officials hatch a plan to drain, clean, and restock a local lake for recreational fishing.

   Sep 14, 1916The Kennewick Courier-ReporterRichland, Benton CountyFollow the Money · Strange But True

2. The Unlikely Companions of the Dairy Farm

   A persistent hen and a reluctant cow form an inseparable, if highly annoying, bond in rural Washington.

   Apr 26, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerUnknown, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

3. The Iron Horse Comes to Tacoma

   Thousands gather at the waterfront in 1887 to witness the arrival of the first direct Northern Pacific train from the East, marking a new era of connectivity for the Pacific Northwest.

   Jul 5, 1887Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust

4. An Exile at the Edge of Home

   While the town celebrated the completion of the new irrigation ditch, a man watched from the hills, barred from the home he once built.

   Mar 31, 1892The Yakima HeraldYakima, Yakima CountyLocal Legends

5. A Boy’s Near-Fatal Caprice

   A 14-year-old boy who accidentally hanged himself while experimenting was saved by doctors using artificial respiration.

   Apr 13, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerThird Avenue, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

6. The Curse of Engine 671

   Northern Pacific railroad workers avoid a locomotive they believe is possessed by evil spirits.

   Jan 28, 1892The Yakima HeraldYakima, Yakima CountyWork & Pay · True Crime

7. The Bering Sea Bounty of 1889

   A schooner arrives in Seattle with 50,000 pounds of fresh halibut, marking a rare high point in a market otherwise starved for salmon and halibut.

   Apr 17, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King County

8. The Perils of a Fishing Trip in Snohomish County

   A recreational fishing outing takes a turn for the dramatic when a rampaging bull sends a local man into the trees.

   Aug 31, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSkykomish River, Monroe, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

9. The Peril of Backyard Marksmanship

   A Deep Creek Falls woman’s attempt to shoot a hawk ends in a gruesome accident that serves as a cautionary tale about home gun safety.

   Sep 23, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerDeep Creek, Spokane, Spokane CountyDisasters

10. A Model Mansion on the Hill: Dr. Minor's Modern Estate

    A look at the most elegant and technically advanced residence in late 1884 Seattle, perched with a commanding view of the bay.

    Jan 1, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyHousing & Rent · Gone Forever

11. 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

12. The Wild Ride Home

    A boastful passenger learns the hard way not to challenge a driver on the rough, uneven roads of the lower valley.

    Mar 30, 1916The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyStrange But True

13. The Art of the 'Living Picture'

    Behind the scenes at the Calhoun Opera Company, where stagecraft and quick-change artistry bring classical paintings to life.

    Feb 11, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyNightlife

14. The Perilous Afternoon of a Seattle Homeowner

    A classic tale of a homeowner's frustration with construction progress takes a literal turn when he gets stranded on his own scaffolding, sparking a tense negotiation with a neighborhood boy.

    Aug 27, 1878The Daily IntelligencerSecond Street, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

15. The War on Tacoma's Knothole Gang

    When the local baseball management deployed a park keeper with a sharp stick to drive away children watching from a fence, the crowd turned on the club.

    Aug 10, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyNightlife

16. The Great Pigeon Whiskey Heist

    A Seattle police officer's bungled attempt to intoxicate local church pigeons ends in his own humiliation.

    Jul 17, 1899The Seattle StarFirst Methodist Church, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

17. The Seneca Street Prankster

    A pet parrot in Seattle develops a sophisticated and cruel sense of humor, terrorizing a local dog with fake emergency cries.

    Aug 2, 1880Puget Sound DispatchSeneca Street, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

18. The Unladylike Triumph of a Determined Angler

    A fishing trip turns into a chaotic, close-quarters wrestling match when a persistent angler finally secures her catch in an unconventional way.

    Aug 4, 1905The Kennewick CourierWashington, Clark CountyStrange But True

19. The Unlucky Fisherman of Seattle

    A satirical poem from 1878 chronicles an angler who spends a week sitting by a local sawmill, only to become a living piece of landscape architecture for the local insect population.

    Aug 19, 1878The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

20. The Tin-Can Alarm Clock Prank That Sent a Spokane Sleeper Racing Downtown at 1:30 A.M.

    A prominent citizen rigged a string-and-tin-can wake-up call with the night watchman. Local pranksters pulled the string first—and he dressed and ran for a train that wasn't leaving.

    Aug 4, 1883Spokane Falls ReviewSpokane, Spokane CountyStrange But True

21. The Man Who Bought His Own Death

    In a Seattle saloon in 1877, a gambler named 'Hilly Hacker' was challenged by a stranger with a shotgun. Hacker’s response? He bet the man $50 that he could buy him 20,000 shares of stock at a higher price before the market opened—proving his nerve was stronger than any weapon.

    Apr 4, 1877The Daily IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyLocal Legends

22. The Newspaper War Between Spokane Falls and Cheney

    Spokane's Review savages the county seat of Cheney as a mud-bound, half-deserted village of one brick building — and admits the whole feud is over which town will boom.

    Feb 2, 1884Spokane Falls ReviewCheney, Spokane CountyBoom & Bust · City Hall

23. Sixteen Seattleites Climb Rainier, With Carrier Pigeons and a Night on the Crater

    Two members of a Seattle climbing party return from Mount Rainier after the rest push on to the summit, where they plan to camp amid volcanic steam and signal the city with bonfires.

    Jul 21, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

24. John Wiley's Whiskers Steal a 25–15 Ballgame

    A comedian's two-base hit, a 1,000-person crowd, and a disastrous first inning turned a grudge match between the Jacobites and Philistines into Seattle's strangest sporting spectacle of 1894.

    Aug 2, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyNightlife

25. The Night They Slept in Rainier's Ice Caves

    A Seattle climbing party returns from Mount Rainier after a storm-bound night in the summit ice caves—and Tacoma greets them like a circus.

    Jul 25, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

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