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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 7 |
| 1858 | 5 |
| 1859 | 8 |
| 1860 | 2 |
| 1861 | 16 |
| 1862 | 13 |
| 1863 | 5 |
| 1864 | 3 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 30 |
| 1876 | 135 |
| 1877 | 100 |
| 1878 | 78 |
| 1879 | 8 |
| 1880 | 19 |
| 1882 | 11 |
| 1883 | 121 |
| 1884 | 58 |
| 1885 | 116 |
| 1886 | 52 |
| 1887 | 59 |
| 1888 | 64 |
| 1889 | 198 |
| 1890 | 31 |
| 1891 | 184 |
| 1892 | 319 |
| 1893 | 269 |
| 1894 | 335 |
| 1895 | 437 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 9 |
| 1898 | 37 |
| 1899 | 92 |
| 1900 | 10 |
| 1902 | 6 |
| 1903 | 140 |
| 1904 | 134 |
| 1905 | 18 |
| 1907 | 15 |
| 1908 | 82 |
| 1909 | 205 |
| 1910 | 29 |
| 1911 | 22 |
| 1912 | 9 |
| 1914 | 30 |
| 1915 | 18 |
| 1916 | 69 |
| 1917 | 26 |
| 1918 | 6 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1922 | 2 |
| 1923 | 13 |
| 1924 | 10 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 7 |
| 1929 | 1 |
3,679 stories matching present
- City Hall Showdown: Council and Reformers Clash Over Charter Revision
A heated joint meeting of the city council and civic organizations debates whether to call a special election for a new city charter, with accusations of bullying and claims of wasted taxpayer money.
- A Gavel, a Roar, and a Populist Ticket Born in Chaos
King County's People's Party convention at Turner Hall turned into a shouting, proxy-fighting, faction-splitting marathon—and buried Dr. J. Eugene Jordan and Jack McDonald on the way to nominating a ticket.
- A Packed Council Chamber, a Railroad Franchise, and a Fight Over Public Streets
Newport's city council meeting drew a standing-room crowd as aldermen tangled over an Idaho Washington Northern street-vacation request, a conflict-of-interest accusation, saloon licenses, and an electric-light contract.
- Newport's Street Grades Come With a Bill—and a Fight Over Rock
The town council settles with a Spokane contractor, approves extras for five streets, and tables a property owner's damage claim.
- A House of Prayer for All the Nations
In 1892, Seattle's Congregation Ohaveth Sholom dedicated the first Jewish synagogue in Washington, filling the new sanctuary at Seventh and Seneca with Jews and Gentiles and with sermons that insisted the building must be more than stone and gold.
- The Warden Fights Back: Prison Labor, Jute Sacks and a Seattle Newspaper Scandal
Accused of selling prison-made sacks to middlemen and brutalizing convicts, Walla Walla’s warden answers his critics with a detailed defense—and a challenge to inspect the prison.
- The Town Where Horses Wore Wooden Shoes
La Conner grew slowly on a rocky knoll in the Skagit delta, diked its tidal flats, and shipped out hay by the ton—while its horses clumped through spring mud in wooden moccasins.
- The Forger Who Ordered Champagne to the Mansion of J. M. Colman
For two weeks a smooth-talking stranger worked Front Street with forged order slips and a taste for the good stuff — until six bottles of champagne went to the wrong address.
- Washington's Public Lands Were Run by a Patchwork. Reformers Wanted One Powerful Board.
A joint legislative committee concludes that county tide-land boards, roving land cruisers and district attorneys have wasted public money, and recommends a three-member state land board to manage school and tide lands.
- Spokane Falls Council Tackles Charter, Cash, and a Dead Horse
In August 1883, the Spokane Falls City Council met to discuss a new city charter, unpaid bills, street assessments, and the problem of a dead horse. The meeting offers a glimpse into the challenges of a growing frontier town.
- A Mountain of Coffins: Franklin Buries Its Miners
After a mine fire killed 37 men, the coal town of Franklin held a day of funerals—five graves at Black Diamond, three Italian miners on a hillside, and widows whose grief doctors feared would kill them.
- The Party Says Not Guilty—and Cheers the Man It Removed
Seattle Democrats put their scandal-scarred administration on trial at Haake's Hall, buried a First Ward delegate fight, and sent David E. Durie into the mayor's race while J.M. Wolfe got the ovation.
- Seattle's 1895 Warning: Secure Cedar River Water Before Private Speculators Do
City Engineer R. H. Thomson says Seattle's overworked pumps cannot survive another summer and urges the city to buy the Cedar River watershed, dams and reservoir sites while it still can.
- A Gold-Headed Cane for the Man Who Stayed on the Phone in a Burning Mine
Newcastle honored C.C. Anderson, who kept giving orders to trapped miners as the roof burned above him.
- Washington's Fourth Legislature Adjourns After a Marathon Final Day
Lawmakers pass 53 bills, defeat a school-book trust, kill a Seattle-Tacoma bridewell, and bury woman suffrage for at least two years.
- Seattle's $100,000 Night: The Armory Meeting That Sold the Ship Canal
Boosters packed the Armory in 1895 and pledged a fortune for locks and bridges on a Lake Washington canal—payable only after a ship made the passage from Elliott Bay.
- The 83-Ballot Deadlock: 'Either Allen or No One'
In Olympia, John B. Allen’s Republican caucus held the line while Judge Humes and Levi Ankeny saw their candidacies frostbitten—and the ballots kept piling up.
- A Frontier Political Vendetta Over Voting Rights
A decade-old shooting incident in Oregon returns to haunt a Seattle man, sparking an unusual legal battle over his right to cast a ballot.
- One Man, Five Badges, One Dollar a Month
Seattle's house of delegates votes to fold the plumbing inspector, sanitary officer, fire marshal, oil inspector and market inspector into a single job — then argues for two hours about whether the city is saving money or just hiding the work.
- The $750,000 Question Tacoma's Park Board Couldn't Answer
Days before a citywide bond vote, an editorial demanded specifics on parks, playgrounds and boulevards—while a Twelfth Street improvement club secretary insisted the plan had backers.
- A Legislature in the Homestretch: Saloons, Gambling and a Fight Over Pledges
With days left in Olympia, Washington lawmakers weigh local option, an anti-racetrack law, a sweeping criminal code and a bill aimed at unions and suffragists.
- Fire Limits, Flying Switches and a Fifty-Year Franchise: One Evening at Newport's City Hall
In a single session the council moved to outlaw frame buildings downtown, chased street grades on three avenues, turned back a second telephone exchange, and heard that trains were nearly killing people at the Fourth Street crossing — three times in one day.
- The County Seat Crowd Had Already Picked Its Winners
Colville's paper publishes the Republican slate for 1908, and Newport notices that the west side of Stevens County is once again after everything in sight.
- The Great Cow Standoff: When Seattle’s Streets Were Held Hostage by Livestock
In September 1878, a herd of cattle and horses blocked the wharf district, forcing pedestrians to halt in their tracks. The city council was forced to intervene as commerce ground to a standstill.
- Seattle’s Post-Panic Pep Talk: Canals, Steel and Paved Streets
On New Year’s Day 1895, Seattle’s mayor and aldermen promised economy, railroad terminals and a Lake Washington canal—and insisted the Panic of 1893 was finally fading.
Also about this, in other words
- The Weight of the Future in 1916
Rev. C.E. Miller challenges Kennewick graduates to tackle the corruption and industrial oppression of their era.
- The Justice, the Teen Bride, and the Proof of Adulthood
When a young couple arrived in 1876 Seattle seeking to re-validate their wedding, a skeptical judge found himself out-argued by the bride’s most persuasive piece of evidence.
- A Birthday Gift for the Future
When pupils at the Denny School wanted to honor their principal's birthday, they didn't buy him a trinket—they built a library.
- A Father’s Hardship and the Telegram That Changed Everything
An overworked, weary business man contemplates his supposed failures until a birthday message from his daughter provides a new perspective on success.
- The Art of Living Well in 1877 Seattle
While Seattle’s pioneer merchants touted their iron stoves and fine whiskies, the local press offered practical, timeless advice on navigating life’s demands.
- The Vulgarity of Legislative Gratuities
An editorial critique argues that tipping public officials during legislative sessions undermines the dignity of the state.
- A Frontier Promise Kept
In an era of rugged isolation, an anonymous immigrant couple reflects on twenty years of marriage, the silence of their home, and the sudden joy of a child arriving on Christmas Day.
- The Weight of Responsibility: A Victorian Lesson for Snohomish Parents
In an 1877 editorial, a Snohomish observer argued that character was a hereditary and domestic inheritance, placing the burden of societal progress squarely on the shoulders of the home.