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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1872 | 2 |
| 1876 | 6 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 2 |
| 1888 | 7 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1891 | 4 |
| 1892 | 6 |
| 1893 | 5 |
| 1894 | 4 |
| 1895 | 2 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1909 | 1 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 2 |
83 stories matching stark
- Tragedy at a Remote Tie Camp
Two children perished in a flash fire at a logging camp near Snoqualmie.
- Tragedy on Lake Washington
A young boy drowns while ferrying household goods across the lake.
- A Wedding Feast and a Racehorse Victory
A matrimonial celebration in the Baird country concludes with a high-stakes horse race featuring a mare named Pantages.
- The Refugee from Sweden
After the Great Seattle Fire, a young woman arrives from Sweden to find her only contact in America—her brother—committed to an asylum.
- The Empty City: A Housing Crisis Before the Term Existed
In a Seattle where every single available house is spoken for, residents are forced to compete for shelter in a market that defies modern understanding of supply and demand.
- Vigilante Violence on the Tacoma Waterfront
A man is tarred and feathered by a mob of 'beachcombers' in a brutal display of frontier lawlessness.
- The Heat That Broke the Girls: A Seattle Summer of Hysteria
In June 1902, a sweltering afternoon in downtown Seattle turned a garment factory into a scene of mass panic as workers collapsed from heat prostration.
- The Price of Growth in Early Snohomish
While town elites built elegant homes and secured university futures for their sons, a diphtheria outbreak devastated the river settlements, revealing the stark human cost of frontier expansion.
- A Monopoly Grabs the Tap
When the irrigation company took control of the water company's annual meeting, local farmers realized their rights to the water were being held hostage.
- The Judge Who Refused to Break a Strike
While other courts rushed to silence workers, Judge Henry Caldwell of the U.S. Circuit Court set a radical precedent: railroad workers had the right to strike and the right to be heard.
- The City That Refused to Drink: Seattle’s Water War of 1876
When the local water company demanded a quarter-century monopoly and the power to seize private springs, Seattle’s leaders said no. Now, with fire risks mounting and growth accelerating, the city faces a stark choice: build its own system or wait for disaster.
- The Business of Governing
A crowded rally at the Armory showcases the 'Citizens' Municipal League' attempting to wrestle control of Seattle from the grip of party machines.
- The Hard-Won Fight for the Eight-Hour Day
While union machinists in Northern California celebrate a hard-won victory, their counterparts in the Pacific Northwest face strike-breakers and police intimidation.
- The Mother Who Walked into the County Jail
A young mother arriving in Seattle from San Francisco faced with a stark ultimatum from the county commission: give up her child or face the poorhouse.
- The City That Wasn't: Seattle’s First Real Estate Scam
In April 1876, a man named Charles Smith claimed to own the entire town of Seattle and tried to sell it to investors. The local press exposed him as a fraud, but his audacity reveals how fragile the young city's land titles were.
- The Tragic End of Peter Legray
A quiet life on the Seattle waterfront ended in a lonely, tide-swept death, highlighting the stark invisibility of the city's vulnerable in 1887.
- The Tragedy of Trixey Leighton
A gambling house faro dealer and his mistress are found in a grizzly scene in Spokane, leading to a murder investigation that revealed the stark, hidden vulnerabilities of women living on the social margins of the 1890s.
- The City’s Forgotten Protectors
While Everett boasted the best fire record in Washington, its firefighters were the worst-paid in the state and lived nearly as slaves under a grueling 21-hour-a-day duty cycle.
- A Night of Terror on Seventh Street
A tragic lamp accident leaves a young woman severely burned and sparks a botched emergency response from the city's fire department.
- The Fiery Wreck of the Enterprise
When the steamer Enterprise collided and burned on the Sound, panic ensued as passengers faced a desperate struggle for life, revealing the stark racial tensions of the era's emergency protocols.
- The Brutal Assault on a Chinese Laborer in Dayton
A local editor denounces the cowardly beating of a Chinese worker by his employer, highlighting the stark racial injustice and lack of protection for Asian laborers in 1892 Washington.
- The Battle for the Yesler Fortune
Legal teams spar in the high-stakes probate battle over the estate of Seattle pioneer Henry Yesler.
- Tacoma’s 'Pig in a Poke' Water Deal
Taxpayers revolt against a dubious multi-million dollar municipal purchase of water and electric assets.
- The Coin Toss That Named Portland — and the Man Who Founded Port Townsend
A.M. Pettygrove comes back to the town he laid out in 1851, and the Argus retells how a flipped coin gave Portland its name, how a claim was sold for $5,000 in cash and leather, and how a Puget Sound bluff became a city.
- The $5,000 Price of a Farmer’s Freedom
In January 1891, Seattle Judge Humes upheld an excessive bail for George Watkins, sparking a legal debate over whether justice should be measured by wealth rather than guilt.
Also about this, in other words
- The Unbroken Line of Everett Machinists
Striking workers at the Sumner Iron Works receive community support as union solidarity continues to hold.
- The Detective, the Forger, and the Silverton Fiancée
Detective Sam Sumner captures a smooth-talking con man who posed as a Northern Pacific railroad official and nearly married into a Silverton family.
- A Laborer's Suit for Damages
A Great Northern Railway worker files suit after a negligent blast left him permanently injured.
- A Deadly Encounter in a Roslyn Coal Camp
A miner returns home to find an intruder in his bed, resulting in a violent stabbing that leaves his wife at death's door.
- A Newspaper Manager, a Black Eye, and a Drawn Revolver
The business manager of the Seattle Mercury said a reader angry over an article attacked him in his office, then followed him outside—so he pulled a gun.
- The Black Engineer Who Guarded Franklin Mine—and Was Cleared of Assault
After the mine disaster, Oscar Martin stopped a trespassing engineer with a gun. A justice ruled he was doing his job.
- The Brutal Assault at the Brunswick Hotel
A woman details a violent confrontation after refusing a bribe to perjure herself in a scandal involving a local man.
- Fatal Clash Breaks Out on Tacoma Docks
A violent confrontation between union longshoremen and strikebreakers leaves one dead and another critically wounded.