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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 1 |
| 1895 | 4 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
25 stories matching phenomen
- The Moose Lodge Takes Over Downtown Everett
One thousand members of the Loyal Order of Moose paraded down Hewitt Avenue to mark the rapid growth of the fraternal order in the city.
- The Yakima River’s Winter Rampage
Ice jams cause the Yakima River to rise eight feet in hours, devastating local sheep flocks and prompting emergency concern.
- The Apple Tree That Defied Botany
A single apple graft near Dayton produced fruit in its first season, defying agricultural norms.
- Luther Burbank's Berry Finds a Home in Lynden
Local gardener V. S. Steinhauer cultivates a hybrid berry developed by the famous botanist Luther Burbank.
- Cooperative Selling Finds Its Feet
North Pacific Fruit Distributors report over $3 million in sales, standardizing the regional fruit trade.
- A Tug-of-War Over Local Pride
The South Bend Journal faced a humbling lesson in geography and maritime reality after prematurely bragging about a local shipping milestone.
- A Salmon Glut Hits the Seattle Waterfront
Fishermen brought 22,000 salmon to the cannery in a single day, but the processor has run out of tins.
- A New Bank Opens on East Main
Local business leader J.L. Elam expands his empire with a new private banking institution.
- The Wild Rise of Fairhaven
How a 'Dirty Dan' ranch transformed into a bustling, debt-free boomtown in just eighteen months.
- The Pioneer of Kennewick’s Grape Juice Empire
How M.H. Church turned a home kitchen experiment into a national award-winning industry for Washington.
- The End of the Frontier Boom
An 1886 dispatch from the San Francisco Chronicle assesses the cooling of Washington Territory's economy, marking the transition from feverish speculation to steady growth.
- The Rise of Seattle Football
Three months ago the game was unknown; today, the city is a powerhouse on the Pacific Coast.
- The Ice That Wasn't: A Steamship Captain’s Tale of Frozen Lake Chelan
In the mild winter of 1907, a steamboat captain on Lake Chelan reported sailing through sheets of ice that shouldn't have existed. His account, initially met with skepticism, offers a rare glimpse into the unpredictable microclimates of the Washington interior.
- The Sudden End of a Colorful Pioneer Judge
Isaac M. Hall, a celebrated attorney and former probate judge, collapses in a saloon after a long night of reciting poetry and debate.
- A Remarkably Low Death Rate—and Nowhere to Put the Fever Cases
Seattle's health officer reports 467 deaths in 1894, credits sewers for cutting typhoid, and asks for a small hospital for diphtheria and scarlet fever.
- The Boomtown Fever: Seattle and Tacoma in 1888
A visiting statesman details the rapid, frantic rise of two Puget Sound rivals, noting the soaring land values and the arrival of Eastern capital as workers flock to the territory.
- The Bear That Wasn't: Seattle’s War Department Scandal
A federal court of inquiry clears the city of corruption but exposes a bizarre military blunder involving refrigerated beef and embalmed meat during the Spanish-American War.
- Standing Room Only: Seattle's Amateur Thespians Surprise Their Director
The Athletic Club's comic travesty packs Cordary's Theater to the rafters, and a floral tribute turns the second act into an ambush for director Bray.
- The First Lacrosse Game Ever Played in Seattle
Five hundred spectators packed Madison Street Park as picked teams from Victoria introduced the city to lacrosse — and a stocky second-home nicknamed 'Billy' ran away with the show.
- The Man from Mexico Comes to Town: Wenatchee’s New Theater Opens with Star-Studded Fanfare
As the city celebrates its new cultural landmark, the Watson Stock Company arrives to perform 'The Man from Mexico,' promising a week of high drama and comedy that rivals Seattle's biggest hits.
- The Condemned Murderer Who Ran the Jailhouse Court
Thomas Blanck, awaiting execution for murder, was unanimously elected to preside over the county jail's prisoner-run tribunal—complete with fines, lashes, and a Bible in his cell.
- A 1.5-Million-Acre Taking: The Colville Reservation Was About to Be Thrown Open
Federal officials and land agents anticipated a rush of white homesteaders into the southern half of the Colville Indian Reservation, framing Indigenous land as 'closed' and state growth as its natural destiny.
- The Day the Republic Won: Whitman County’s Political Earthquake
In the wake of Benjamin Harrison’s narrow presidential victory, Whitman County voters delivered a landslide for the GOP, sweeping county offices and signaling a new era for Pullman and the Palouse.
- The Palouse Wheat Boom Was a Gold Mine—Until the Debt Came Due
An agricultural professor traces the Palouse’s speculative wheat economy: inflated land purchases, the rain-ruined crop of 1893, the panic that followed, and the sudden recovery by 1897.
- Wild Goose Bill: The Frontier Ferryman Who Kept a Free Boat for the Poor
A Washington paper remembers W. H. Condon, a 68-year-old pioneer whose free Columbia River ferry, homemade roads and violent past made him a local legend.