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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 2 |
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 3 |
| 1892 | 4 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1895 | 3 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 1 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
25 stories matching prolif
- The Local Harness Heist
A string of barn burglaries in Walla Walla leads police to suspect a prolific thief is targeting local agricultural equipment.
- The Swindler Who Stole More Than Just Cash
A prolific con artist wreaking havoc across the Pacific Coast has taken a final, strange step: assuming the identity of the very man he swindled.
- Railroad Promises Renewed for Yakima
After months of doubt, telegrams confirm the construction of the Portland to North Yakima line, sparking hope for an economic boom.
- The Burglar Who Hid Evidence in His Shoes
Detectives tracking a prolific Seattle house-breaker finally cornered him in a Second Avenue drug store, discovering a curious stash of keys hidden in his footwear.
- The Waterfront Heist and the Chief’s Clever Ruse
A notorious 'beach-comber' terrorized Beacon Hill and Fremont, hiding stolen silverware in the mud under a dock until a detective’s staged ruse cracked the case.
- The New Crop Bringing Hope to the Valley
Agricultural experts test a hearty, drought-resistant forage grass that could transform local ranching.
- The Perils of 'Fantastic' Street Engineering
Complaints emerge regarding city contractors creating basins and trenches that trap water, creating eyesores and potential health hazards.
- The Confidence Man of the Colonial Hotel
A prolific hotel thief, captured in Minneapolis with $12,000 in diamonds, claims he offloaded stolen jewels in Tacoma, Seattle, and Spokane.
- Transforming the Arid Yakima Valley
A progress report from the Department of Agriculture on the potential to irrigate 200,000 acres of land in Washington.
- The Hidden Gold of the Swamps
While pioneers once clung to the sandy prairies, Seattle's growing interest in 'tule lands'—the rich, reclaimed marshes of the Sound—reveals a new frontier for agricultural wealth.
- The Rising Cost of Living Hits Washington Workers
As inflation outpaces wage growth, labor organizers argue that true relief for the worker can only be found in shorter hours and better conditions.
- Turning Sawdust into Stone
An innovative German industrial method promises to transform Aberdeen's abundant sawmill waste into fireproof, durable building bricks.
- The Con Man Who Could Never Stay Caught
A prolific swindler known for daring escapes and impersonations finally meets his match, leading to a three-year sentence at the state penitentiary.
- The Con Man Who Taught the City a Lesson
A prolific swindler who posed as a businessman and senator-associate leaves a trail of bounced checks and broken promises across Seattle, Tacoma, and Fairhaven.
- The Price of Reckless Fire in the Forest
A searing editorial from 1886 lambasts the 'gross and inexcusable carelessness' of campers and railroads that leave Washington’s timberlands in ashes.
- After the West Street Fire, Seattle Asked for a Fire Marshal
A fire commission report found hotels and lodging houses full of traps and urged a marshal with real power to inspect, enforce and investigate.
- The Ghost of the Street: Seattle’s Most Prolific Teenage Con Artist
Before the age of identity theft, a nameless youth wandered the streets of 1892 Seattle, forging heartbreaking letters of loss to bilk the city's compassionate elite.
- Outside Capital Plans a Log Hotel at Sullivan Lake
A new $10,000 resort company wants to turn the lake into a base for fishermen, hunters and tourists — with a 20-room hotel, tent camps and a trail to the Metaline caves.
- The Swamp That Was: How a Drainage Project Threatened to Reclaim King County’s Wetlands
In 1876, local farmers petitioned the county to drain the marshes between White and Black rivers, arguing that reclamation would boost public health and add millions to the region's wealth.
- The Canal That Could Freeze England: A Climate Warning from the Isthmus of Panama
In 1877, Seattle’s press warned that digging a canal through Central America might divert the Gulf Stream, plunging Europe into an ice age—a bizarre but prescient look at early environmental anxiety.
- The Prune Booster's Return: 140 Acres Sold to Twenty Michigan Families
J. R. Chaplin came home from Michigan with buyers for Westside land and a plan to sell Olympia to the East.
- A Fortune in Strawberries: The Grower Who Says Thurston County Is Sleeping on Its Own Soil
Olympia closed the fruit season with its biggest shipments yet, but veteran orchardman George B. Hartman says the county's trees are thriving on forty years of neglect — and that proper cultivation could out-earn Oregon and California combined.
- When Eggs Became Legal Tender: How the Palouse Survived the Panic of 1893
After the rains wrecked the 1893 wheat crop and merchants slammed shut the credit system, Palouse farmers discovered that the hen — and then the hog — could save them.
- An Engineer Bets Newport Could Rival Spokane
A Spokane mining engineer reports on the Bead Lake and Conquest claims, arguing that capital, a concentrator and a five-mile rail spur could turn a dormant district into Newport’s future.
- Camp Kelpie: A Seattle Hunting Party in the Last Great Bear Country
In 1895, Seattle sportsmen pitched camp on Hood Canal between the Duckabush and Hamma Hamma rivers and found a wilderness thick with black bear, salmon, and one very unlucky tenderfoot.