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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1883 | 1 |
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26 stories matching trench
- The Boy Who Vanished Into the Dirt
A contractor’s chilling account of a six-year-old who fell into an open trench and was buried alive—only to be dug out just in time.
- The Trench That Became a Grave
Two workmen narrowly survive a catastrophic sewer trench collapse on Eighth and Marion, saved only by the quick, heroic actions of their fellow laborers.
- A Life Lost in the Sewer Trenches
A laborer was crushed by falling rock in a Whatcom sewer trench while his comrades helplessly watched.
- The Perils of 'Fantastic' Street Engineering
Complaints emerge regarding city contractors creating basins and trenches that trap water, creating eyesores and potential health hazards.
- The Narrow Escape of Peter Oleson
A sewer trench collapse on Queen Anne leaves a laborer buried beneath two feet of earth while his coworkers frantically dig for his life.
- The Midnight Hazard on Front Street
A pedestrian falls into an open trench, highlighting the lack of basic safety measures in a growing, construction-heavy Seattle.
- Seattle's Sewers Were Cracking All Over Town — and the City Engineer Blamed the Dirt
A furious letter writer insists the pipes broke not from 'percussion' but from the very worst kind of trench work — and points the finger straight at the man in charge.
- The Kennewick Red Cross Mobilizes for War
Local women open new headquarters at the Commercial Club to begin a massive knitting effort to support troops in the trenches.
- The Battle for Madison Street
A dormant railway company suddenly awakens to block a new transit line, sparking a fierce clash at City Hall.
- Tragedy in the Trenches: A Fatal Seattle Construction Collapse
Two laborers were killed instantly when a sewer excavation on 25th Street succumbed to shifting earth and rock.
- The Sewerage Brawl
City officials and railroad employees clash in the streets during a standoff over municipal infrastructure.
- The Political Sewer Job
City Hall prioritizes patronage and Democratic party loyalty over infrastructure, resulting in a disastrous street collapse.
- A Sewer Scheme Built on Incompetence
Citizens and taxpayers are calling out the city's reckless mismanagement of sewer construction projects downtown.
- Seattle’s Sewer Scandal and the Mayor’s Failed Purge
Mayor J.T. Ronald’s attempt to remove members of the Board of Public Works over allegations of mismanagement and cronyism is blocked by an injunction.
- The Sewer Scandal: A Whistleblower’s Warning
City Engineer Thomson testified that he repeatedly warned officials against using sub-standard, 'rotten' brick in Seattle’s sewer construction, only to be ignored as the project fell into corruption and mismanagement.
- The Tragic Collapse at the Hardware Store
A routine day at a Seattle business turned into a scene of horror when a deep, shifting excavation buried a worker alive.
- The Balloon-Powered Park Plan
A satirical interview with a Seattle developer reveals the absurd lengths civic boosters would go to inflate the value of local land.
- The Open Sewer at the Center of Town
A pedestrian’s fall into an unguarded sewer trench in front of the Odd Fellows Hall sparks a legal battle over municipal negligence in Seattle.
- The Great Aberdeen Salary Grab
A contentious city council meeting devolves into public accusations of graft and infighting over municipal salaries.
- The High Price of Labor
A former city officer turned laborer is critically injured in a sewer trench collapse near the downtown core.
- The Peril of the Open Sewer
A pedestrian’s fall into an unlit excavation leads to a three-way courtroom battle between the injured man, the city, and a railway company.
- Tapping Lake Padden for Fairhaven's Future
Engineers break ground on a massive water infrastructure project designed to support a city of 30,000.
- Seattle's Broken Sewers Were Shoveled to Pieces, Engineer Says
City Engineer Thomson rejects the explosion theory and blames wet clay clods and soft-burned pipe for fractures under Kenny Street.
- The Human Cost of the Great War
A local Y.M.C.A. representative shares harrowing reports from the trenches of France to rally Kennewick residents for an upcoming fundraising drive.
- The Community-Funded Battery
Kennewick rallies to outfit its local volunteer artillery unit with a 'mess fund' as they prepare for the trenches of Europe.