Research the archive

• “success” ×

1. Seattle Tried to Garden Its Way Out of Unemployment

   At a Chamber of Commerce meeting, civic leaders pledged vacant land, tools and seed so jobless families could grow vegetables through the winter, borrowing a relief plan from Detroit.

   Apr 10, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay

2. The Banker Who Steered Newport Through the Panic of 1907

   G. S. Thomas founded Newport's first bank, helped bring the city its water system, and died after guiding the institution through the financial stringency of November 1907.

   Apr 23, 1908The Newport Miner (Newport, WA) 1899-CurrentNewport, Pend Oreille CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust · City Hall

3. The Night the Chickens Sang Backup: Spokane’s Poultry Show

   Spokane’s annual poultry exhibition drew hundreds of birds, a towering silver trophy, and an orchestra the chickens refused to let finish alone.

   Jan 22, 1898Ranche and RangeSpokane, Spokane CountyStrange But True

4. The Preacher, the Actress, and the Seattle Theatre Feud

   Mrs. Potter and Kyrle Bellew packed the Seattle Theater—then found themselves denounced from a Portland pulpit by a preacher they insisted they had never gone to hear.

   Aug 13, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyNightlife

5. They Climbed Rainier First—and Slept in a Sulphur-Scented Ice Cave

   In 1870, Hazard Stevens and P. B. Van Trump reached Mount Rainier's summit after a brutal 10½-hour climb, then spent a freezing night beside volcanic steam vents.

   Jan 6, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

6. A Montana Millionaire's Secret Seattle Wedding

   Hugh F. Galen, a wealthy Helena mine owner and politician, secretly married schoolteacher Laura B. Tague at a Seattle church, then slipped away to California—leaving friends in Montana to plan a reception.

   Mar 3, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyScandal

7. Seattle’s Ladies Plan a Royal Welcome for the Boys of Manila

   As the First Washington Volunteers prepare to return from the Philippines, prominent women and Mayor Humes unite to organize a massive civic celebration, turning grief into gratitude.

   May 3, 1899The Seattle StarSeattle, King CountyCity Hall

8. Sixteen Seattleites Climb Rainier, With Carrier Pigeons and a Night on the Crater

   Two members of a Seattle climbing party return from Mount Rainier after the rest push on to the summit, where they plan to camp amid volcanic steam and signal the city with bonfires.

   Jul 21, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

9. Three Hundred Olympians Pack Columbia Hall to See Who Takes the Cake

   A novelty dance craze two weeks in the gossiping arrives at last: one hundred couples, a flag, a pair of clashing cymbals, and a ten-cent ticket for every march — all to raise money for the YMCA's women's auxiliary.

   Mar 2, 1892The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyNightlife · Strange But True

10. Orchardists Want Thurston County to Stop Betting on Town Lots

    A new horticultural society forms in Olympia, promising experiments in fruit, flowers and prunes—and a future beyond real-estate speculation.

    Apr 7, 1892The Olympia TribuneOlympia, Thurston CountyBoom & Bust

11. The Germ War on Washington’s Wheat-Field Squirrels

    A state bacteriologist in Seattle tested whether a contagious germ could turn Eastern Washington’s crop-destroying ground squirrels into agents of their own destruction.

    May 27, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

12. The Lead Plate on Rainier's North Peak

    A letter from Yelm corrects the record: five people had already stood atop Mount Rainier's north peak, and two had left a lead plate and tin reflector on the rock.

    Jul 24, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerMount Rainier, Pierce CountyStrange But True

13. The Delegate Who Sold Seattle’s Future for Five Thousand Dollars

    A scathing editorial in the Puget Sound Dispatch accuses Territorial Delegate George Freeman Willard of betraying Seattle’s interests—specifically the mud flats of Duwamish Bay—to secure his own political and financial gain, while simultaneously accepting bribes from rival railroad companies.

    Oct 31, 1872Puget Sound DispatchDuwamish Bay, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money

14. The $37,500 Handshake: How Benton County's Tax Crusaders Blessed a Courthouse Deal

    Prosser's anti-tax league swore it would guard the public purse to the last janitor's salary. Then its own man changed his mind on Monday, and the Kennewick editor noticed where the $37,500 went.

    Dec 7, 1916The Kennewick Courier-ReporterBenton County Courthouse, ProsserFollow the Money · City Hall

15. The Seattle Grocer Who Died Chasing Central American Trade

    J. E. Chilberg clawed back from a fire, a failed corporation and a panic to build a Puget Sound steamship trade with Guatemala — then went down with the foundering Colima on the voyage that was supposed to secure it.

    May 30, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust · Disasters

16. The Waterfall That Would Light Seattle

    In 1895, promoters promised to harness Snoqualmie Falls—taller than Niagara and only 23 miles from Seattle—and send thousands of horsepower over copper wire.

    Feb 4, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSnoqualmie Falls, Snoqualmie, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

17. Seattle's $100,000 Night: The Armory Meeting That Sold the Ship Canal

    Boosters packed the Armory in 1895 and pledged a fortune for locks and bridges on a Lake Washington canal—payable only after a ship made the passage from Elliott Bay.

    Mar 29, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerArmory, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

18. The Struggle to Open Snoqualmie Pass

    A pioneer successfully demonstrates the feasibility of winter transit, igniting hope for a direct route between Eastern and Western Washington.

    Mar 17, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

19. Water Discovered in the Horse Heaven Hills

    A successful well-drilling operation in the arid hills promises a new era for dry-land farmers in the Horse Heaven country.

    May 6, 1915The Kennewick Courier-ReporterHorse Heaven Hills, Kennewick, Benton CountyBoom & Bust

20. The Fatal Dance of Washington's Ground Squirrels

    Scientists at the state agricultural college tried to wipe out crop-destroying rodents with bacteria—and found a native plague that sent infected squirrels spinning until they dropped.

    Sep 15, 1898Ranche and RangeWashington State University, Pullman, Whitman CountyStrange But True

21. Tacoma Bets Its Future on a Giant Interstate Fair

    In August 1891, Governor McGraw urged every county to send exhibits as Tacoma raced to open a fair that promised to fill hotels, showcase the Northwest, and put the city on the map.

    Aug 9, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyBoom & Bust

22. The Touchet Farmers’ Revolt Against Water Monopolies

    Tired of paying exorbitant fees to private irrigation companies, local farmers are going rogue—and going underground.

    Jun 30, 1903The Evening StatesmanTouchet, Walla Walla CountyFollow the Money

23. The Goldendale Airship Nobody Saw Coming

    A secretive inventor reports a successful flight in an aluminum airship—eight years before Kitty Hawk.

    Apr 9, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerGoldendale, Klickitat CountySnake Oil · Strange But True

24. Boosters Pass the Hat for the Ship Canal

    Tacoma coal money, St. Louis money and Vancouver money swell Seattle's canal subsidy fund — even as promoters insist the waterway is 'a Seattle affair.'

    Apr 17, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

25. A Canal, a Land Subsidy, and a Former Governor’s Check

    Seattle’s push to dig the Lake Washington canal got a $1,000 pledge from ex-Gov. Ferry and an offer of 160 acres near Bothell from a landowner betting on the ship canal.

    Apr 14, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerLake Washington Ship Canal, Seattle, King CountyFollow the Money · Boom & Bust

Download all 1,513 as a spreadsheet (CSV)