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1. The Inspector Who Rode Free: Seattle's Steamboat Watchdog on Trial

   Local steamboat inspector W. J. Bryant stands accused of favoritism in granting licenses, of padding his travel accounts while riding free, and of owing his office to his sidelines selling life-preservers and marine insurance.

   Mar 1, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

2. The Doctors Declare War: Seattle's Health Board Orders the Schools Shut as Scarlet Fever Spreads

   Backed by a city attorney's opinion, the board of health gives the school board an ultimatum — close the Rainier and South schools by nine o'clock Friday morning or the police will do it for them.

   May 17, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

3. The War on 'Embalmed' Milk

   State Dairy and Food Commissioner E. A. McDonald reflects on the rise of Washington's dairy industry and his crusade against chemical preservatives in the food supply.

   Sep 15, 1903The RanchVancouver, Clark CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

4. The Vigilantes’ Bones: Seattle Dug Up Its Most Notorious Lynching

   Thirteen years after a mob hanged three men on James Street, a county doctor exhumed their skeletons for anatomy students— ropes, necktie and all.

   Mar 4, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime · Gone Forever

5. The Deadly Cost of Preserving Milk

   A local doctor's experiment on a kitten reveals the dangerous effects of formaldehyde as a milk preservative, sparking a public health investigation.

   Nov 5, 1903The Evening StatesmanChamber of Commerce, Walla Walla, Walla Walla CountyFollow the Money

6. The City Health Board Closed Two Schools. The School Board Asked Who Gave It the Power.

   When scarlet fever fears shut Rainier and South schools, Seattle's school board dug in—not against quarantine, but against what its lawyers called an 'arbitrary' order that skipped the City Council.

   May 15, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

7. The Milk Inspector's Surprise

   A state food inspector goes undercover at Seattle restaurants to find that almost no one is serving actual milk—and that some are using embalming fluid to keep it 'fresh'.

   Jun 10, 1903The Evening StatesmanSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

8. The State's War on 'Doped' Food

   Washington's food commissioner launches an aggressive campaign against the use of poisonous preservatives in local meat, fish, and oyster supplies.

   Oct 16, 1903The Evening StatesmanOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall

9. The Standard’s Call to Arms

   An editorial lays out a definitive Unionist platform on the eve of civil war, arguing that the Republic must be preserved at any cost.

   Jun 29, 1861Washington StandardOlympia, Thurston County

10. The Women of Olympia Organize for the State

    Local women form a society to promote the interests of the new state and preserve its history.

    Feb 4, 1892The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyCity Hall

11. The Birth of Mount Rainier National Park

    Federal officials move to secure the mountain's forests and glaciers for public preservation, setting the stage for a new national treasure.

    Jan 27, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Ashford, Pierce CountyFollow the Money

12. The Invisible Killer in Your Milk: Seattle’s Health Officer Warns of Tuberculosis Cows

    With consumption rates soaring and no dedicated veterinary inspector on staff, local officials admit the city is dangerously unprepared to stop diseased cattle from entering the food supply.

    Jun 28, 1899The Seattle StarCity Hall, Seattle, King CountyCity Hall

13. The Shadow of the Anti-Chinese Movement in Puyallup

    A local meeting of citizens and the Sheriff turns into a mass swearing-in of deputy sheriffs as anti-Chinese agitation reaches a fever pitch.

    Oct 22, 1885Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerPuyallup Town Hall, Puyallup, Pierce CountyExclusion & Resistance

14. The Sheriff Deputized a Killer to Keep the Peace at a Seattle Primary

    A Republican primary in Seattle's First Ward turned into a street fight between the sheriff's men and city police—and the Post-Intelligencer laid the blame squarely on Sheriff Woolery.

    Sep 3, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyCity Hall · Scandal

15. Eight Hundred Armed Men, Two Dead: The Coal War the Guard Rode All Night to Stop

    In the summer of 1891 the Green River coal towns of Franklin and Gilman armed themselves into rival companies. When the shooting started, a deputy sheriff wired Seattle for troops — and the colonel marched before he had orders.

    Dec 22, 1891The Olympia TribuneBlack Diamond, King CountyWork & Pay · City Hall

16. Seattle's Railroad Strike Goes Quiet—but the Unions Keep Fighting

    As the national railroad boycott convulses the country, Seattle's yards stay quiet under troops and deputies while local unions back Debs, condemn violence, and negotiate food and livestock passage through boycotted lines.

    Jul 12, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay

17. The State Chemist Finds Formaldehyde in Canned Meats

    Washington's State Food Commissioner moves to curb the use of dangerous preservatives in industrial food production.

    Oct 10, 1903The Evening StatesmanPullman, Whitman CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

18. The War on Rot: Kennewick's Fruit Crisis

    As WWI labor shortages threaten the local harvest, an editorial demands federal intervention to preserve the region's fruit.

    May 17, 1917The Kennewick Courier-ReporterKennewick, Benton CountyWork & Pay

19. The Inspector on Trial

    Local steamboat captains revolt against a federal inspector accused of corruption, bullying, and selling life preservers for profit.

    Feb 27, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay · City Hall

20. The Captain's Last Farewell: Five Drowned in the Grays Harbor Surf

    Lieut. Crosby and four crewmen were lost when their survey whaleboat capsized off Westport; only one body has been recovered.

    Aug 25, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerGrays Harbor bar, WestportDisasters

21. The Judge, the County, and the $2,000 Court Record

    A Yakima County land case with 128 parties reaches Olympia's Supreme Court over who must pay for a transcript that could decide the value of every farm acre.

    Mar 4, 1892The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyFollow the Money · City Hall

22. The Temple of Thought: Snohomish Builds Its Own Athenaeum

    A visiting orator declares the new Snohomish Athenaeum a 'temple of science, literature, and art,' rising from the wilderness to preserve the intellectual legacy of the Pacific Northwest.

    Jun 10, 1876The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyGone Forever

23. The Fresh Water Fortress: Why Seattle Was Built to Save Ships from the Sea

    Captain U.H. Hall returns from Washington D.C. with a bold proposal for a Navy Yard in Lake Washington, arguing that fresh water is the only defense against the 'Teredo' worm and foreign invasion.

    Feb 7, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

24. The Ink Bottle Defense: A Wenatchee Judge Rules That a Well-Aimed Throw Can Keep the Peace

    A hotel owner who hit a Seattle man for cursing in front of women was cleared—the court decided he was preserving public order, not disturbing it.

    Feb 29, 1924White Bluffs SpokesmanWenatchee, Chelan CountyCity Hall · Strange But True

25. The War on Milk Adulteration

    An editorial demanding harsh punishment for milk vendors using formaldehyde as a 'preservative' to prevent spoilage.

    Apr 11, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyCity Hall

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