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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1877 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 19 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 1 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 2 |
| 1894 | 3 |
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42 stories matching somber
- Three Chinese Men Murdered in Squak Valley, 1885
A brutal anti-Chinese attack in the Washington Territory ends in murder and injury, prompting a somber funeral in Seattle.
- 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.
- Steamboat Clallam Sinks Near Victoria in 1904
A new passenger steamer sinks in the mist of Puget Sound near Victoria, adding a somber chapter to a recent string of local disasters.
- A Neighborhood Under Siege: The Fatal Feud of Fourth Street
A quiet funeral for Fred M. Hall masks a violent, month-long dispute between neighbors that ended in a fatal shooting and a town paralyzed by fear.
- The Abandoned Infant on Third Street
An April Fool's Day prank turns somber when a prominent Seattle real estate developer finds a newborn left on his doorstep.
- The Trial of Ursula Unfug
The woman accused of murdering Olympia editor Thomas Henderson Boyd is bound over for trial in a scene of somber gravity.
- The Tragic Death of Edith E. Ewing
A young woman’s suicide note is made public by her grieving father, sparking a somber reflection on the pressures of life in 1884 Seattle.
- The Largest Train Ever Leaves Walla Walla
A historic troop deployment brings the grim realities of the Great War to the Inland Northwest.
- The High Stakes 'Sing-Gamble' of the Cedar River
For over 130 hours, tribes from the Black, Cedar, and Puyallup rivers engaged in an ancient, rhythmic gambling ritual near Renton, staking their entire winter's livelihood on the outcome.
- The Tragedy of a Lonely Soul
A local eccentric is found dead in Mill Creek, sparking a somber realization about his hidden struggles and poverty.
- The Tragedy at White Ash Mine
Ten miners are trapped in a flooded colliery with little hope of rescue, sparking a somber realization for local families.
- The Tragedy at the Stetson-Post Mill
A three-week-old boy was discovered floating in Seattle’s waters, a stark and somber reminder of the hidden precarity and desperation in the city’s frontier industrial era.
- The National Guard’s Growing Pains at Camp Murray
A critical inspector's report details the state militia's encampment struggles, the sudden death of a beloved officer, and the push for a permanent home for Washington’s citizen soldiers.
- Homesteader Investigates Wailing at Lake Washington's Haunted Spring
An early Seattle settler recounts a terrifying, night-long vigil at a 'haunted' spring that kept his dog trembling and the local Indigenous community at bay.
- A Tragic Afternoon at Whatcom Creek
A seven-year-old boy drowns while playing on log booms, sparking a somber community funeral.
- Two Men Drown in River Tragedy
A search is underway for two men swept away by the river, marking a somber loss for the Kennewick Valley community.
- The Sentencing of James McPherson
A somber day in court as a defendant is sentenced to death despite his final protestations of innocence.
- The Haunted Spring Mystery
A lonely Lake Washington homesteader risks his life to find the source of an uncanny, mournful wailing in the woods, only to discover a bizarre piece of litter at the center of the phenomenon.
- The Ghost in the Willow at Lake Washington
A lonely homesteader’s terrifying encounter with an 'uncanny wailing' near the shores of Lake Washington ends in a discovery that speaks more to the era’s aggressive patent medicine marketing than the supernatural.
- The Tragic Fourth of July Death of a Local Policeman
A Seattle officer lost his life in a freak horseback accident during the city's holiday celebrations, marking a somber end to the 1885 festivities.
- The Rose Queen of Tacoma
A grand lawn fete at the Cochran estate features a rose-themed pageant and a battle of the flowers.
- A Local Grocer Succumbs to the Great Depression
After two years of economic stagnation, a prominent merchant is forced to assign his property to creditors, marking a somber milestone for Aberdeen's business district.
- Kennewick Bids Farewell to Battery B
A town marks the somber, patriotic departure of local men heading to the front lines of the Great War.
- The Man Who Bet His Wardrobe on the Ballot
A cautionary tale of a local gambler who wagered his suits, boots, and even his vest on the outcome of the 1876 presidential election—and lost it all to the political currents.
- A Homesteader Tracks Wailing to Haunted Spring
A terrified settler stalks a supernatural wailing in the woods near Lake Washington, only to find the culprit is far more mundane.
Also about this, in other words
- Tragedy on 14th Avenue
A quiet domestic life ends in despair as a Seattle man takes his own life following a long struggle with illness.
- The Funeral Faux Pas
A daughter’s confusion during a somber Seattle funeral creates a moment of awkward levity in the midst of mourning.
- The Orphan’s Plea: A Poem That Moved Seattle to Tears on Decoration Day
As the city honored Civil War dead with solemn processions and speeches, a young girl’s grief over her father’s unmarked grave brought the Grand Marshal to tears.
- The Tragic Burial of a Mining Camp
A massive snow slide crashes through the Vallejo mining camp, claiming multiple lives and leaving a community to dig through the frozen rubble.
- A Frontier Farewell: The Seattle Pioneers Mourn Hannah Horton
A quiet moment of communal grief in early Seattle as the Pioneers' Association honors the life of a 'noble woman' in 1872.
- The Sad Procession of the Snohomish Bachelors
A local scene captures the quiet, threadbare dignity of three men moving house, offering a rare, human glimpse into the isolation of frontier bachelorhood.
- A Heartbreak by the Snohomish River
A lonely local man is caught in a 'melancholy case' of unrequited love, spending his days watering a hitching post in a lovestruck daze.
- The Tragedy of an Eccentric Father
A son in Los Angeles reflects on his father's final days in North Seattle following a tragic suicide.