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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 4 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 5 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 6 |
| 1876 | 35 |
| 1877 | 27 |
| 1878 | 10 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 10 |
| 1882 | 7 |
| 1883 | 22 |
| 1884 | 9 |
| 1885 | 15 |
| 1886 | 9 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 8 |
| 1889 | 28 |
| 1890 | 7 |
| 1891 | 33 |
| 1892 | 40 |
| 1893 | 22 |
| 1894 | 28 |
| 1895 | 47 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 6 |
| 1899 | 12 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1902 | 3 |
| 1903 | 14 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 12 |
| 1909 | 15 |
| 1910 | 2 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 6 |
| 1916 | 4 |
| 1917 | 4 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1929 | 1 |
482 stories matching rich
- Snohomish, 1898: A Ferry Claim Becomes a Booster's Dream City
A promotional tour of the inland Puget Sound town traces its founding by I.C. Ferguson, its lumber and fishing wages, and the railroad that turned a river landing into a self-described city of homes.
- The $100-Acre Garden: How Puyallup’s ‘Rich Farming’ Made Landlords Rich and Farmers Poor
In the fertile valleys of Tacoma County, land speculators from Philadelphia are buying up prime soil for $150 an acre, turning subsistence farming into a high-stakes real estate game.
- The Gold Bonanza Beneath the Palouse
On the headwaters of the North Palouse, two Farmington brothers struck a quartz ledge they say assays at more than $6,000 a ton — and they swear not one inch of it is for sale.
- The Vigilantes' Ghost: Seattle's Dark Secret in Two Maple Trees
A poem published in the *Seattle Daily Post-Intelligencer* reveals the city’s foundational myth: that its current 'peaceable' order was bought with the blood of six men hanged by a secret committee when the law failed to act.
- The Tacoma Land Grab: How Rich Men Tried to Steal Washington’s Senate Seat
In January 1891, Seattle’s press rallied behind incumbent Senator Watson Squire against a rival backed by Tacoma’s wealthy elite, exposing a bitter battle over whether the state would be ruled by its people or its land barons.
- A Violent Storm Strikes the Yakima Valley
High winds leveled buildings and tore heavy equipment from foundations in a storm that locals described as a true tornado.
- The Unawakened Giant: Why Washington Territory Is the Next California
A sweeping editorial in the *Diligent Intelligencer* argues that railroads are about to unlock the 'inland basin' of Eastern Washington, transforming it from a feared desert into an agricultural empire rivaling the Golden State.
- The Day the Silver Rush Hit Snohomish
Local merchants and miners report a 'considerable excitement' as rich silver ore is discovered near Mud Springs, promising a new boom for the region.
- Gold Fever on the Wenatchee: Steilacoom Miners Strike It Rich
A party of miners returns with rich specimens from Rock Creek, touching off a run on provisions, passengers—and town lots.
- The False Promises of the Arctic Gold Rush
An 1877 dispatch from Seattle warns local laborers that chasing get-rich-quick mining dreams in the North leads only to bankruptcy, while those who commit to farming the region’s soil build actual wealth.
- The Man Who Found Gold on the McMillan
C.P. Osborne returns from the Yukon with tales of rich placer deposits and starving travelers, predicting a new gold rush rivaling Klondike.
- The Road to Riches: Seattle’s $33,000 Gamble on the Snoqualmie Pass
In March 1877, local editors urged citizens to fund a toll road through the mountains, arguing that the vast grain fields east of the Cascades were Seattle's only true economic future.
- The Snow That Stole the Gold: Snohomish County’s Mining Boom Hits a Wall
Arthur Hank, a prominent local investor, returns from Snohomish County with news of rich ore deposits—but warns that an unprecedented winter is halting development just as the region stands on the brink of becoming a major mining center.
- "You're Stealing Every Day": A Redmond Dairyman's Anonymous Cry
Writing to Seattle's dairy journal under a pen name, a Redmond farmer accuses the creameries of skimming pounds off every can of cream and getting rich on other men's cows — and the editor answers with a demand for a name he can prosecute.
- The Gilded Union: A Chorus Girl and a Chinese Actor Defy Convention in Seattle's Chinatown
In a scandalous departure from social norms, Jessie Kitchie and Ah Bock exchanged vows in the opium-scented apartments of Jackson Alley, marking a rare public union across racial lines in 1889.
- The Settler's Hunger for the Moses Reservation
An 1891 report from Colville showcases the era's aggressive push to seize Indigenous land for white settlement, detailing the minerals and rich soil the state's residents felt belonged to them rather than the tribes.
- A City Turned Out to Bury George Heilbron
In 1895, Seattle’s governor, mayor, judges, businessmen and laborers filled the First Unitarian Church for the funeral of a civic leader who had helped build the young city.
- Gold in the Wenatchee, but the Miners Were Told to Leave
Pearson's party returns to Steilacoom after Indians warn them off the new gold fields; a handful of dirt shows a dollar's worth of gold.
- How Seattle Raised $50,000 for Its Canal — Bootblacks Included
A San Francisco paper marveled that Seattle's Lake Washington canal fund came in small donations from rich and poor alike, a civic-spirit story with a Puget Sound lesson.
- The Lost Ledge That Paid in Quicksilver
A remote mining claim north of Snohomish has turned out to be a bonanza for silver and mercury, drawing capital from across the state.
- The Skagit Gold Rush Mirage
When the promise of easy riches on the Skagit River sparked a frantic, ill-fated mining boom, Seattle’s local press faced accusations of peddling a dangerous myth.
- The Gold Rush That Was Coming for the Colville Reservation
A Spokane prospector returns from the northern mineral belt with news of rich rock—and a prediction that the Indians will not long keep their land.
- The Myth of the 'Hardened' Justice System
An 1892 editorial in the Post-Intelligencer argues against the notion that courts favor the wealthy, using the lengthy murder trial of Albert Friederich as proof that the poor received 'full protection' from the law.
- Why Do We Pity the Rich Criminal?
An editorial questioning the double standard applied to wealthy fraudster C. D. Hillman compared to the swift punishment of the poor.
- A Double-Billing Scandal at the Prosser Bridge
The Yakima County commissioners discover that two contractors billed the county for the exact same materials, leading to an immediate demand for repayment.
Also about this, in other words
- Labor Editors Take Aim at Corporate Influence in the Senate
An influential labor paper rejects the idea that wealth equals character, backing a populist judge for the U.S. Senate.
- The Short, Lavish Reign of a Newsboy King
After finding a purse filled with gold and bills on a Seattle street, a young newsboy went on a spending spree that briefly transformed him into the wealthiest, most generous kid in the neighborhood.
- The 'Rich Deed' That Wasn't: Snohomish’s Wild Gold Rush Hoax and the Community’s Reality Check
A sensational tale of a legendary gold mine in Snohomish captivated locals, but the paper quickly pivots to a sobering assessment of the lumber industry's financial struggles and the region's agricultural potential.
- The Bishop and the Golden Calf
A fiery editorial critique of Bishop Newman’s defense of vast wealth accumulation and its impact on the laboring classes.
- The Wealthy Tramp of the Waterfront
A disheveled rancher found sleeping on the Seattle waterfront was revealed to be carrying a small fortune, catching local police and confidence men by surprise.
- The Wealthy Thief of Cheney
A wealthy woman from Cheney, Washington, is arrested in Spokane for shoplifting, revealing a hidden life of compulsive theft.
- The Wealth Gap and the 'Prince' of Industry
A biting editorial critiques the concentration of inherited wealth and the limitations of modern tax policies.
- Wealthy Miner Found Stupor-Struck in Seattle Lodging
After arriving from the North with $10,000, a miner is found penniless and in a stupor; his hosts are arrested for robbery.