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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1876 | 17 |
| 1877 | 17 |
| 1878 | 11 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 5 |
| 1883 | 11 |
| 1884 | 6 |
| 1885 | 13 |
| 1886 | 10 |
| 1887 | 9 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 51 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 21 |
| 1892 | 49 |
| 1893 | 25 |
| 1894 | 39 |
| 1895 | 26 |
| 1897 | 4 |
| 1898 | 6 |
| 1899 | 8 |
| 1902 | 4 |
| 1903 | 9 |
| 1904 | 18 |
| 1905 | 3 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 16 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 1 |
429 stories matching ruin
- Scavenging in the Ashes
While Seattle recovers from the Great Fire of 1889, opportunists sift through the debris of the burned post office in search of mail—and valuables.
- Street Grading Blunder Ruins Home
A Seattle property owner sues for $10,000 after city street work triggers landslides.
- A Ghastly Find in the Ruins of the Spokane Mill
Construction debris yields the remains of a man presumed to be a victim of a fire from months prior.
- The Sudden Loss of Kiona
A devastating fire in the nearby town of Kiona leaves a general store, hotel, and post office in ruins.
- Firefighters battle blaze in the ruins of the old McMaster mill
A fire sparked by a passing engine ignited the long-abandoned McMaster's mill wharf, forcing firefighters to wade through shallow mud flats to save the structure.
- The Ruins on the Hilltop
Tacoma’s newspaper calls for a new high school, suggesting the city convert a blighted hotel site into a centerpiece for civic growth.
- A Cabin Burned, a Man Vanished Near Enumclaw
George Eigensteller disappeared from his cabin near Enumclaw; the next morning the cabin burned, and no remains were found in the ruins.
- The Dangerous Burden of Judging a Seattle Baby Show
Five of Seattle’s leading citizens face social catastrophe and financial ruin after being unwillingly drafted as judges for a high-stakes baby competition.
- Seattle's Central Market Burns in the City's Largest Fire
A night blaze destroys the Central Market building, kills a lineman, and leaves hundreds of commission merchants and market gardeners ruined.
- Ballard Fights the Tide Land Fill
The Ballard City Council moves to block a private contract to fill in Salmon Bay, fearing it will ruin the harbor and burden local commerce.
- The Unfortunate Case of the Boiled Sock Coffee
A culinary disaster on the Columbia River ruins a cook's reputation forever.
- The Laundry Wars of Tacoma
A bitter legal battle breaks out as former employees poach customers from their old firm.
- A Close Call at the Teachout Residence
When smoke began to fill the bedroom walls, a quick-thinking resident saved her home from total ruin.
- Seattle's Public Ball Grounds Ruined by Grading
Young athletes find their field, cleared and maintained at their own expense, rendered useless by city infrastructure work.
- The Price of Friendship in the Melon Patch
A local farmer laments the 'friends' who think helping themselves to his crop is all in good fun, pushing his farm toward financial ruin.
- The Tragedy of the Main Street Inferno
A catastrophic fire destroys a block of historic Walla Walla, leaving two men dead in the ruins.
- The Ruins of the Tourist Hotel
Architect F. H. Heath makes the case for converting the fire-ravaged Tourist Hotel into a modern high school, arguing it is a smarter investment than building from scratch.
- Seattle Rebuilds After Fire, Clearing Ruins and Sheltering Residents
Following the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, the city grapples with the logistics of debris clearance, housing relief, and the return of labor.
- A Father’s Gun, A Mother’s Heart, and a Daughter’s Paralysis: The White River Tragedy
When a father tried to stop his daughter's elopement with a shotgun, the resulting chaos killed her mother and left the bride paralyzed. A local paper reports on the 'terrible tragedy' that ruined an entire family in moments.
- The High Cost of Paving Progress
A warning to the city that the frenetic pace of street regrading is pushing homeowners toward financial ruin.
- A Mother on the Dock: Four Shots for the Man Who Ruined Her Daughter
Mrs. Gertrude Robb waited at Seattle's Coleman Dock for the steamer Telegraph, called her daughter's seducer by name, and emptied a revolver into him. Then she handed the gun to a bystander and waited for the police.
- The Phoenix City: Seattle's Rapid Rebirth After the Great Fire
Just 18 months after the 1889 fire leveled the downtown, Seattle transformed from charred ruins into a modern metropolis of stone, steel, and electric streetcars.
- The Tragedy at the Red Front
A late-night fiddler perishes in an Everett lodging house fire that leaves downtown businesses in ruins.
- She Followed Him West, and Then She Followed Him With a Revolver
Nine years after a New Hampshire lumberman's wife ran off with the hired nurse, the truth of a killing in Centralia came out — along with a note saying there was nothing left but to kill the man who ruined her life, and then herself.
- The Political Deadlock at Olympia
Legislative gridlock over the re-election of U.S. Senator John B. Allen reveals deep factional divides and personal vendettas in Washington state politics.