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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1877 | 4 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1883 | 4 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 4 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 7 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 15 |
| 1893 | 21 |
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| 1895 | 14 |
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| 1904 | 12 |
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| 1909 | 9 |
| 1910 | 2 |
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| 1916 | 5 |
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| 1928 | 1 |
160 stories matching pit
- The Pit and the Claw: A Tacoma Man’s Terrifying Tale of Surviving a Bear Attack
Larsen describes the agony of being pinned in a bear trap, his arm crushed by the beast's jaws, and his desperate fight for survival in the woods near Schomaker.
- The Great Cow-Rescue of Finley
A local farmer’s silo mishap turns into an absurdist tall tale involving a swimming cow and a bucket of milk.
- Worker Killed in Tacoma Gravel Pit Slide
A young laborer was buried beneath a wall of sand at a North End worksite.
- The Great Puma Panic: How a Loose Cat and a Lucky Dog Sparked Chaos at Leschi Park
In the early days of Seattle's municipal parks, a puma escaped its cage, chased a terrier into a bear pit, and nearly cost the zookeeper his bones in a brawl that read like a cartoon.
- Is a Public Street Being Sold as Gravel?
Neighbors watched with growing concern as contractors allegedly dug away the public street to sell the dirt for profit.
- A Streetcar Cathedral Rises at Chestnut and Fifth
Olympia Light and Power plans a three-story headquarters with repair pits, a supply store and dormitory rooms for single employees — if City Council approves the route it wants.
- Great Northern Promises Newport a $20,000 Brick Depot
The railroad superintendent says work will soon begin on a new brick station on the old depot site, part of a wider burst of passing tracks and ballast work.
- Thirty-Seven Dead at Franklin: Seattle Rallies for the Widows of a Mine Disaster
A day after an explosion killed thirty-seven coal miners in the Franklin pit, the Post-Intelligencer opens a relief fund for the widows and orphans left behind — pleading with readers that the miners' own generosity cannot stretch far enough.
- The Miracle of the Giant Powder Blast
A laborer describes his harrowing journey through the air after a catastrophic industrial explosion near Puyallup.
- The Ax in the Brick Yard
A convict who had waited years for the man who testified against him finally gets his chance at Walla Walla — and takes it with an ax.
- The Mine That Stood Still: How One Man’s Leave Sparked a Labor War in Newcastle
A dispute over a fired miner named Kenny Ramsay has shut down the Newcastle coal mines, pitting the Knights of Labor against the company and threatening to flood the pits if arbitration fails.
- A Deadly Christmas Eve Dispute in Willapa
A drunken argument over railroad work ended in a shooting at a gravel pit, leaving a respected foreman dead and his killer in jail.
- Sidewalk Perils: A Nightly Hazard in Early Seattle
A pedestrian’s nasty fall into an open eight-foot pit sparks a public call for the city to fix dangerous, unmaintained infrastructure.
- The Deadly Sidewalks of Old Seattle
A local minister’s tumble into a 'horrible pit' sparks public outrage over the city’s treacherous, poorly lit, and uneven walkways.
- The Canal That Was Going to Bring the Farm Into Seattle
In 1895, boosters promised the Lake Washington Ship Canal would cut freight transfers for farmers, float logs from Sammamish, and let Newcastle coal load almost at the pit mouth.
- From the 'Brink of the Pit' to the Pulpit
An immigrant's harrowing reflection on poverty, addiction, and spiritual rebirth in Port Manson, 1877.
- The Great Northern Stays: Hillyard's Railroad Shops to Grow, Quashing Talk of a Move to Newport
Great Northern surveyors lay out a quarter-million dollars' worth of new locomotive and coach shops at Hillyard — and in doing so, put to rest the rumor that the railway might pull up stakes and relocate its repair yard to Newport.
- Fatal Industrial Accident at the Gravel Pit
A young worker dies after a mechanical failure at a local railway site.
- Ancient Remains Unearthed Near Pullman
A gravel pit excavation on the Moscow-Pullman road has revealed the skeletal remains and tools of an Indigenous person, sparking local efforts to preserve the site's history.
- The Poor Man's Stump Burner: Newport Farmers Pack Kelly's Hall
In 1909, 150 farmers crowded a Newport hall to hear a state expert explain how to clear land by charring stumps—a low-cost method that promised to open Pend Oreille County fields.
- A Jury Called the Franklin Mine Fire Arson. Thirty-Seven Miners Were Already Dead.
A coroner's jury found that someone deliberately set the fire that suffocated 37 workers in the Franklin mine. The only survivor described how one opened door and one stopped fan turned the gangway into a death trap.
- The Struggle for the Puyallup Reservation
A legal war unfolds over railroad rights-of-way through the Puyallup Reservation, pitting federal troops against private developers as Indigenous residents face displacement.
- The Sunday Saloon War: When Seattle’s Business Elite Fought for the Right to Rest
In January 1885, a heated civic battle erupted over the enforcement of Sunday closing laws, pitting the city’s liquor trade against a coalition of reformers and weary laborers.
- The Forgotten Heir of Everett
A legal battle pits an Indigenous heir against local titans in the fight for the heart of a burgeoning city.
- The Tragedy at the Soap Factory
A local businessman meets a horrific end after falling into a vat of boiling grease.
Also about this, in other words
- An Indignant Patron
A Chinese man refuses a segregated ticket policy at a local circus.
- A Vicious Visitor in Town
An unknown local poisoner is targeting the town's dogs, causing alarm among residents.
- The Bottomless Pit of Rainier Street
A fed-up resident petitions the city to fix a dangerous, muddy depression that has become a local hazard.
- The Discovery in the Post-Hole
While digging for a fence on the Puyallup Reservation, an unexpected find pulls a prehistoric giant from the earth.
- A Warning Ignored, a Blast That Broke Four Ribs
A Great Northern worker was badly injured near Newport when a heavy blast threw a rock into his chest, despite warnings to move.
- The Empathetic Pup of Idol Hill
A local carpenter finds comfort in a loyal companion who mirrors his own physical struggle.
- Four Men Spend the Night in a Boiling Crater: An 1883 Assault on Mount Rainier
A climbing party from Olympia reaches the summit of Mount Rainier and bivouacs inside the crater, where the ground itself is too hot to touch.
- Dog Poisoner Terrifies Everett Neighborhood
Local pets are dying after a series of cruel attacks in the south end of Everett, prompting a police investigation.