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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 6 |
| 1861 | 6 |
| 1862 | 6 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 45 |
| 1877 | 32 |
| 1878 | 18 |
| 1880 | 7 |
| 1882 | 7 |
| 1883 | 26 |
| 1884 | 13 |
| 1885 | 49 |
| 1886 | 11 |
| 1887 | 22 |
| 1888 | 14 |
| 1889 | 49 |
| 1890 | 5 |
| 1891 | 34 |
| 1892 | 75 |
| 1893 | 51 |
| 1894 | 80 |
| 1895 | 96 |
| 1897 | 6 |
| 1898 | 7 |
| 1899 | 10 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 8 |
| 1903 | 27 |
| 1904 | 15 |
| 1905 | 5 |
| 1908 | 10 |
| 1909 | 23 |
| 1910 | 10 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1912 | 5 |
| 1914 | 11 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 18 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1918 | 2 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1925 | 2 |
| 1928 | 4 |
| 1929 | 3 |
845 stories matching true
- The Unlucky Lothario of Walla Walla
A serial deserter and bigamist finds his romantic escapades lead him from the barracks to the Seattle police station.
- The Judge Who Was Drunk on the Bench and Threatened to Fill a Man with Lead
A legislative committee in Olympia substantiates charges that Chehalis Judge W.W. Langhorne dismissed cases unread, threatened a man with a revolver, and traded court favors for political help.
- The Mining Promoter Who Told Would-Be Miners to Stay Home
Col. W. Thomas Hart has bonded claims and cut a trail in the new Slate Creek district, but he begs the press not to inflate the strike: there is no work, no mill, and too much snow for prospecting.
- The Pastor, the Circular, and the Hung Jury
For three days a Seattle courtroom heard accusations of adultery, an illegitimate son, and a pastor’s libelous circular. At 12:35 a.m., the jury was still deadlocked.
- The Shadow Over Squak Valley
In the autumn of 1885, a series of indictments revealed a brutal campaign of violence against Chinese laborers in the Snoqualmie Valley.
- The Winter War Blueprint: An 1858 Campaign to Subdue the Tribes
A field letter from the Indian war in Oregon and Washington urges the Army to occupy the Colville Valley, cut off Indigenous trade, and expel missionaries and Hudson’s Bay Company employees.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Scandal of the County Treasury
After years of whispers regarding the administration of the former county treasurer, a grand jury finally returns a true bill of indictment for forgery.
- The Taxpayers' League vs. The Railroads: A Battle for Fair Valuation in Columbia County
In May 1903, local citizens and tax experts challenged the massive capitalization of the Oregon Railway Navigation Company, arguing that its true value warranted a higher tax assessment to fund public services.
- The Workingman's Mayor: A 1892 Look at Labor Relations
As Seattle geared up for its 1892 mayoral election, political operatives and newspapers sparred over whether candidate John Leary was a true friend to the labor movement or just a businessman courting votes.
- Seattle Pastor Warns of Anarchy and Labor Unrest in 1893 Sermon
Rev. Dr. D. C. Garrett told St. Mark's Episcopal congregation that labor troubles stem from a failure to render unto God and Caesar.
- The Tacoma Republicans Who Refused to Knife John McGraw
A Pierce County party committee tried to block the state ticket. A rival Harrison Club fired back with a mule-team metaphor and demanded candidates pledge loyalty.
- Ballard Wins a Round in Its Water War—But the Fight Isn't Over
A judge refused to permanently stop Ballard's council from buying the West Coast Improvement Company's waterworks, finding the city could use the pipe in its new plant. Inspector Shields immediately appealed.
- The Dairy Commissioner’s War on Adulterated Food
A Washington dairy official warns that fake honey, poisoned candy, oleomargarine and brewers’ grain are cheating farmers — and demands stronger pure-food laws.
- A Seattle Sermon Asks Capital and Labor to Read Scripture Together
At St. Mark's Church, Rev. D. C. Garrett blames class friction on a Christianity forgotten by rich and poor alike—and imagines employers and grievance committees studying Paul side by side.
- The Political Cost of War
A wounded veteran discovers that his war stories are ironically costing him votes in his run for Congress.
- The River vs. The Rails: Walla Walla’s Plea for a Seattle Link
In 1877, Eastern Washington leaders warned that relying on the Columbia River was a fatal mistake, urging the federal government to subsidize a railroad connecting their region directly to Seattle.
- The Phantom Friends of Spokane: A Temperance Warning
An editorial in The Spokane Press warns that friendships forged over liquor are hollow illusions, citing William Makepeace Thackeray to argue that alcohol destroys genuine human connection.
- The Vanity Trap: Seattle’s 1876 Warning on Materialism
While the city scrambled to build its future, one observer warned that an 'aristocracy of display' was hollowing out the pioneer soul.
- The Race War in Roslyn: How Seattle’s Coal Mines Became a Battleground for Labor and Lynching
As strikers hold the line, the company imports Black miners from Illinois to break them. The result is not just a labor dispute, but a violent racial confrontation that exposes the dark underbelly of Washington's industrial boom.
- The Jesuit Who Shot an Archbishop: A Murderer’s Cold Confession on the Way to Prison
Frank Fuller, convicted of killing Catholic Archbishop Seghers in the Alaskan wilderness, speaks to reporters as he is transported by steamship from Port Townsend to McNeil Island.
- Fifteen Minutes to Confess: The Morphine Trial of Port Townsend's Captain De Lion
A former mayor, Chilean consul and dry-dock promoter worth half a million dollars sits in superior court while his emaciated wife describes a year of morphine, delusion and a pocket watch set on the table between them.
- The Mayor Fires Two Police Commissioners to Keep Blackchapel Shut
In a single day, Mayor Phelps removed two police commissioners, accused them of conspiring to protect a red-light district and oust Chief Rogers, and installed replacements before the House of Delegates could slow him down.
- The Women Who Stormed the Police Chief’s Office
In 1885, a group of Seattle women, frustrated by official corruption and the unchecked influence of saloons and gambling dens, launched a moral crusade to demand a new Chief of Police.
Also about this, in other words
- The True Cost of a Store Tab in 1872 Seattle
A young couple's struggle with 'monthly accounts' reveals how merchant credit traps were the predatory debt cycles of the 19th century.
- Whatcom's 'Honest Phil' Found Guilty of Embezzling City Funds
A Whatcom County jury rejects Philip Isensee's claim that missing public money was a mystery, convicting the official known as 'Honest Phil' after a hard-fought trial.
- The Price of Falsehood in the Anti-Chinese Movement
As tensions boiled over in 1886, a Seattle newspaper called out local rabble-rousers for using blatant lies to incite hostility against Chinese residents.
- A Frontier Promise Kept
In an era of rugged isolation, an anonymous immigrant couple reflects on twenty years of marriage, the silence of their home, and the sudden joy of a child arriving on Christmas Day.
- The False 'Reporter' and the Seduction Case
A young man posing as a writer for the 'Post-Intelligencer' is arrested for seduction after a bizarre paper trail of fake confessions and suicide notes is uncovered in court.
- False Leprosy Rumors in Chinatown
A local rival paper attempted to stir up panic in North Yakima's Chinese quarter, but the local Marshal found the reports to be entirely fabricated.
- The False Hope of Soap Lake
A local resident returns home after a futile journey seeking a miracle cure for his ailment.
- The Truth Behind the 'Elopement' Rumors
A miner speaks out to clear his name after being falsely accused of eloping with a woman who was actually escaping an abusive marriage.