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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1876 | 9 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 1 |
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| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 3 |
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| 1889 | 5 |
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109 stories matching vain
- The Last Voyage of Arthur Phinney: A Fleet of Steamers Bids Farewell to a Pioneer
In June 1877, the death of Port Ludlow founder Arthur Phinney triggered an unprecedented maritime funeral procession on Puget Sound, uniting rival steamship lines and hundreds of mourners in a tribute to a man who championed labor and community.
- A Mountain of Coffins: Franklin Buries Its Miners
After a mine fire killed 37 men, the coal town of Franklin held a day of funerals—five graves at Black Diamond, three Italian miners on a hillside, and widows whose grief doctors feared would kill them.
- The Judge’s Double Life: Seduction, Abortion, and the Cover-Up That Shook Tacoma
In 1889, a young canvasser named Sadie Brantner took the stand to accuse Pierce County Probate Judge James Wickersham of luring her into a trap in Seattle, forcing an illegal abortion, and paying her off to silence. The trial revealed a web of deceit involving fake names, land fraud, and medical conspiracies.
- The Detective and the Sheriff
A brutal confrontation in a Tacoma hotel lobby leaves a well-known detective dead from a heart failure.
- Inferno Consumes Roslyn Mining Town
A devastating fire tore through the canyon-bound town of Roslyn, destroying over 100 buildings and leaving the mining community in ruins.
- The Six Who Vanished: Tacoma’s Senatorial Scandal and the Art of Political Silence
In the wake of a bitter Washington State Senate race, the six key allies of defeated candidate Judge Calkins have disappeared from public view, leaving behind a trail of bribery allegations and a furious debate over whether the election was stolen or won by superior strategy.
- The Judge Who Warned Seattle Not to Sell Its Waterfront to a Canal Company
In 1894, Judge John J. McGilvra urged Congress to build the Lake Washington Ship Canal and warned that a private company's tideflat scheme would put tolls on the water and enrich speculators at public expense.
- The Northern Pacific Railroad Monopoly
Critics argue that the railroad company's selection of Stampede Pass is a calculated power grab over Washington's coal wealth.
- Celia Levy's Street Fight for Justice
A woman who lost her savings to a fraudulent brokerage firm tracks down the disgraced partner in a Seattle restaurant to exact a public—and physical—retribution.
- The Tacoma Gold Rush That Was Salted With Quicksilver
A mining journal exposes how placer claims on Tacoma school land turned a public trust into a speculative jackpot—complete with imported gold, alleged bribery, and a land office that kept saying yes.
- The Wooden Revolver That Sprung Tom Blanck
A murderer awaiting appeal in the King County jail used a hand-carved fake gun to force his way past the night jailer, then vanished into the Black River woods as a sheriff's posse rushed south by special train.
- Firefighters Helpless as Hydrant Fails
A major blaze destroys a local mattress factory and blacksmith shop as faulty infrastructure prevents emergency response.
- A Shoemaker's Carefully Planned Farewell at the Grand Hotel
Carl Eggert, despondent over his wife's death and his son's suicide, shot himself in a Tacoma hotel after leaving detailed notes, money for the cleanup, and instructions to wait until morning.
- Three Years to Bring Maggie Home
After three years of court fights, Kate Lovell walked out of a Seattle institution with the daughter it had refused to release.
- James J. Hill's Railroad Ultimatum to Seattle
The Great Northern president tells Seattle's council he will build freight and passenger terminals 'right away'—if the city grants the track franchises he wants across the tide flats and South Third.
- The Wife Asked Three Times: 'Henry, Where Were You Monday Night?'
Already charged with a double murder in South Seattle, Henry Craemer now stands suspected of a second killing after a cheap silver watch and a pillow-rigged fire surface as evidence.
- Ida May Love Went to Sea as 'Dan McArdle'
A Whatcom newlywed walked out on her husband, her skirts and her name to serve seven weeks aboard the warship Monterey — and the Post-Intelligencer tracked her to a Leavenworth dance hall, where she was still talking about 'us boys.'
- The Women Taking Over the Anti-Japanese Boycott in Mukilteo
After years of failed agitation by men to remove Japanese workers from the local lumber mill, the Seaview Improvement Club has launched a new campaign of petitions and pressure.
- The Capital Crisis of 1861
A fiery letter to the editor captures the volatile politics of Washington Territory, as Pierce County residents accused the legislature of a 'corrupt bargain' over the location of the capital.
- Eight Hundred Armed Men, Two Dead: The Coal War the Guard Rode All Night to Stop
In the summer of 1891 the Green River coal towns of Franklin and Gilman armed themselves into rival companies. When the shooting started, a deputy sheriff wired Seattle for troops — and the colonel marched before he had orders.
- A Judge Calls the County-Seat Law ‘Nefarious’
Judge Ballinger dismisses Snohomish’s appeal over moving the county seat to Everett, blasting officials for defiance and the legislature for a law that leaves the court powerless.
- The Father Who Stopped a Play to Steal His Daughter
A wealthy Indianapolis patriarch tracks his romantic daughter to Seattle in 1876, only to find she has eloped with a lawyer and vanished into the West.
- Arson Attack at Snohomish Mercantile
An incendiary device was discovered burning in the floorboards of a Chinese-owned store, nearly igniting the heart of the business district.
- The Soapbox Fury of Pioneer Place
On a shivering evening in 1892, disgruntled citizens and Populist agitators took to the streets of Seattle to decry 'subsidized editors,' crooked bond issues, and the 'damnable state of things.'
- A Judge Reverses Himself and Lets the Gamblers Walk
A raid on Moy Lung's Washington Street gambling house netted twenty-two Chinese men. Then Municipal Judge Glasgow dismissed the cases, reversed a guilty verdict, and remitted the one fine he had already imposed.
Also about this, in other words
- A Theft of Clothes Leads to Jail Time
A woman recently arrived from Victoria is sentenced to thirty days in jail after stealing clothes from a fellow resident at the Commercial House.
- The Jury's Defiant Verdict
A Port Townsend courtroom is stunned when a jury ignores the judge's instructions and acquits a defendant, leading to an immediate judicial rebuke.
- A Blind Elder's Suit to Undo a Land Fraud
In 1889, Washington O-dit went to court to void a deed for 160 acres on the Ahtanum, saying it had been taken from him without his knowledge or consent.
- The Great Impersonator: Vivian Takes Seattle by Storm
In August 1872, the 'Grammatical Comic Impersonator' Chas. Vivian captivated the Pacific Northwest with his vocal mimicry and costume changes, performing alongside a dancer from the Paris Opera.
- Police Chief Declares War on Women
A sweeping raid by Tacoma's Chief of Police forcibly targets Black women, marking the start of a local purge.
- A Heartfelt Seattle Send-Off
Friends and local musicians stage a surprise gathering to honor a departing resident with a diamond tribute.
- The Con Man and the Widow
A crafty imposter poses as a weary veteran to swindle a charitable widow out of her supplies.
- Vashon College Students Threaten Mass Walkout After Student Assaulted
A campus engineer is accused of violently attacking a student; the student body now demands the employee's immediate termination.