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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 2 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1876 | 12 |
| 1877 | 17 |
| 1878 | 19 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 8 |
| 1884 | 6 |
| 1885 | 8 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 17 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 25 |
| 1893 | 26 |
| 1894 | 31 |
| 1895 | 15 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 8 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1909 | 6 |
| 1910 | 6 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 2 |
253 stories matching tool
- The Shady Labor Contract
Workers in Seattle grow suspicious of an unusual labor solicitation demanding payment for tools.
- An Inside Job at the County Jail
Two prisoners, a clerk accused of theft and an embezzling stevedore, escaped the King County jail by cutting their way out with tools smuggled from the outside.
- A Crushed Finger Gave the Safecracker Away
A suspected Kent burglar was tracked to a Railroad Avenue cabin, where police found skeleton keys, drills and powder—then identified him by the crushed finger described in an old escape notice.
- The Tool Chest Heist
Three young men are caught after stealing tool chests from a construction site and selling them to fund a getaway to Victoria.
- The Political Immolation of C.G. Heifner
When an out-of-town appointee snatched a local land office position, a Seattle official was burned in effigy by angry crowds in Skagit County.
- The Midnight Raid on Seattle's Gambling Halls
A surprise police sweep through Seattle's gaming dens sends hundreds of players scrambling into the rainy streets, leaving gambling tools and jail cells in their wake.
- Seattle's Silver Crusaders Packed the Armory and Demanded a Free-Silver Senator
Populists, Democrats and Republicans found one thing to agree on in 1895: unlimited silver coinage—and a Legislature that would send a silver man to Washington.
- The Homesteaders Who Couldn’t Own Their Land
A delayed federal survey left settlers near Sedro unable to prove title, borrow money or improve their farms—red tape with real human cost.
- The 1885 Fight to Protect the Workingman’s Tools and Bedding
A proposed territorial law sought to expand property exemptions from debt, shielding everything from a mechanic's tools to a family's bedding from creditors.
- A Hostile Arrival at the Land Office
Local Democrats express outrage as a new federal land office register assumes power, fearing his appointment signals a partisan strike against the city.
- The Silent Delegate: Why Washington Territory Is Falling Behind
While Montana’s representative aggressively lobbies for statehood and investment, Washington’s Delegate Voorhees remains inexplicably quiet, missing crucial opportunities for federal patronage and political clout.
- Smuggling Scandal at Mary Island
A customs official is dismissed for allegedly allowing small craft to run illegal liquor shipments to Indigenous populations, sparking a debate on enforcement limits.
- A Treasure Hunt Gone Underwater
While digging for a water source on Shaw Island, a local man struck a geyser that swallowed his tools and promised a new lake.
- The Beggar’s Plea: How an Old Man’s Tears Won a Judge’s Mercy
In a touching scene at the Snohomish County Courthouse, John Burner, a destitute laborer of 73 years, pleaded guilty to grand larceny not for greed, but because his starving family had no other way to eat.
- Tensions Rise in the San Juan Islands
A dangerous standoff between American officials and Hudson's Bay Company agents threatens to ignite an international incident.
- The Unsung Pioneers Clearing the Skagit River
While the territory hailed the opening of the Skagit Valley to navigation, the men bankrolling the arduous labor of clearing the massive log jam were left bankrupt.
- An Undocumented Arrival in Whatcom
A Chinese man found hiding in a tool box on a rail car bound for Seattle illustrates the brutal reality of the Exclusion era.
- Embezzlement Charges Target Candidate for Supreme Bench
A political scandal erupts as accusations of financial impropriety in Arizona shadow a candidate's judicial run in Washington.
- The Price of Pioneer Street
A suspected incendiary blaze tears through a grocery and saloon, narrowly missing the Kink Opera House.
- The Trusted Watchman’s Secret Life
After 16 years of loyal service, a Hoquiam mill watchman is caught red-handed with a secret kit of burglary tools.
- The Wood Yard That Taught the City How to Care
In the winter of 1892, a group of Seattle residents turned a South Seattle timber tract into a 'work camp' to provide dignity and bread for the unemployed.
- The Kent Burglary Manhunt
A hardware store robbery leads to a tense, armed pursuit through the thickets of the Green River valley.
- The Minor Land Grabbers of Port Angeles
Federal authorities rule that underage settlers may claim townsite lots, sparking a unique legal experiment.
- Brutal Attack Near Camas Leaves Worker for Dead
A plumber was waylaid on a bridge near the Washougal River, robbed of his tools and savings, and thrown from the span by assailants who remain at large.
- The Yesler Will Case: A Dead Millionaire, a Missing Will, and a Widow on Trial
In a Seattle courtroom, prosecutors argue that Mrs. Yesler conspired to destroy her husband's will—while defense lawyers call the case a web of speculation and newspaper rumor.
Also about this, in other words
- Tools of the Trade: Equipping the Snohomish Valley
A look at the essential machinery and blacksmithing services that powered the growth of Snohomish's logging and agricultural industries in the late 19th century.
- The Toolmaker of Snohomish
A local blacksmith offers specialized equipment for the logging camps and farms that powered the territory’s early economy.
- A Saw Blade, a Slipped Foot, and a Surgeon's Race to Save a Worker's Arm
A worker's foot slipped against a circular saw, severing the artery and nerve in his right arm; doctors ligated the artery and stitched the nerve.
- Tools Found, Thief Caught
A young man is arrested months after a suspected larceny involving building materials in the aftermath of a fire.
- A Cable Car Gripmans's Violent Run-In
A cable car operator faces legal trouble after a collision with a child results in a serious infection.
- The Jailbreak Tools Hidden in the Steel
A search of the county jail reveals two hack saws and a DIY heating lamp hidden in the structural pipework, intended for a prisoner's escape.
- Forging the Frontier in Snohomish
A local blacksmith offers specialized tools for the logging industry, reflecting the raw industrial ambition of the Snohomish River valley in the late 19th century.
- The Sudden Assault in the Carpenter's Shop
A South Tacoma teamster reports a mysterious and violent attack while visiting a friend's workspace.