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1. The Great Puget Sound Whale Hunt

   An unexpected visitor in the waters between Olympia and Shelton leads to a high-pressure pursuit by a local steamer.

   Nov 2, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerOlympia, Thurston CountyStrange But True

2. A Whale Surfaces in Commencement Bay and Soaks a Tacoma Couple's Launch

   Mr. and Mrs. M. Sutter were ten feet from a spouting whale while crossing the bay in their launch Comet — and came ashore soaked.

   Jul 19, 1904The Tacoma TimesTacoma, Pierce CountyStrange But True

3. The Great Whale Migration Through Elliott Bay

   Passengers on a Puget Sound steamer were stunned to encounter a massive school of whales near Alki Point, marking a rare and wonder-filled moment of natural spectacle in the heart of Seattle.

   May 22, 1889The Seattle Post-IntelligencerAlki Point, Seattle, King CountyStrange But True

4. Seattle’s Short-Lived Ambition to Become a Whaling Hub

   A newly formed San Francisco company eyes Seattle as the base for its North Pacific whaling operations.

   Jan 15, 1872Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

5. The Snohomish River’s New Monster: A Whale That Could End the Town

   A massive whale has lodged itself in the Snohomish River, threatening to become a permanent local landmark—or a disaster—if it isn't moved.

   Jan 6, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish River, Snohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

6. A Whale Hunt off Cape Flattery

   Captain Gavin of the steamer Thornton reports a vivid, bloody encounter between Indigenous hunters and a whale.

   Sep 4, 1883Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerCape Flattery, Neah Bay, Clallam CountyStrange But True

7. The Monster of Tokeland

   A massive whale beaches itself in Pacific County, drawing crowds and sparking wild speculation about its age and history.

   Sep 2, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTokeland, Pacific CountyStrange But True

8. The Great Whale Hunt at Neah Bay

   Seventeen canoes descend on a leviathan, turning a tribal bounty into a winter food supply.

   Jul 20, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerCape Flattery, Neah Bay, Clallam CountyStrange But True

9. Customs House vs. Biology

   A Seattle customs broker enters a bizarre legal debate over whether whale meat should be taxed as fish or meat.

   Dec 15, 1893The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyStrange But True

10. A Monster in the Mud

    An unusually large sulphur bottom whale ends up stranded on the Olympia mudflats.

    Jun 21, 1862Washington StandardOlympia, Thurston CountyStrange But True

11. The Great Stink of 1882

    When Makah schoolgirls in Neah Bay proved to their matron that rotting whale blubber smelled better than imported Limburger cheese.

    May 14, 1882Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerCape Flattery, Neah Bay, Clallam CountyStrange But True

12. The Unsinkable Cigar Barges of the Sound

    Innovation in the Washington coal trade: will unique, cigar-shaped steel barges soon conquer the rough waters of the Pacific?

    Feb 25, 1891The Seattle Post-IntelligencerTacoma, Pierce CountyFollow the Money · Strange But True

13. The Great Snohomish River Canoe Disaster: A Tale of Terror, Whales, and Pluck

    Four prominent local businessmen nearly lost their lives when a massive whale capsized their boat in the dark, but one man’s calm courage saved them all.

    Jan 27, 1877The Northern StarSnohomish, Snohomish CountyStrange But True

14. The Whaler That Never Was: A Yankee Betrayal of Puget Sound

    In 1877, a local newspaper exposed how Boston shipbuilders stole a lucrative contract from Seattle’s own yards, ignoring the region's superior timber and strategic advantage for whaling.

    Feb 17, 1877Puget Sound DispatchSeattle, King CountyBoom & Bust

15. Expelled for a Poem About Jonah: A Davenport Boy Takes On His School Board

    Henry Selde recited a comic verse hinting the whale never swallowed Jonah. His teacher cut him off mid-recitation, the board backed her, and a secular union carried the case all the way to the state superintendent — who said he had no authority to act.

    Mar 14, 1892The Olympia TribuneDavenport, Lincoln CountyCity Hall

16. Life on the Edge of the World: A Dispatch from Tatoosh Island

    A rare 1861 account of the desolate, storm-battered lives of lighthouse keepers and their interactions with the Makah people at the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

    Jul 20, 1861Washington StandardNeah Bay, Clallam CountyStrange But True

17. 1861 Treaty Sets Aside Quinault and Quileute Reservation

    Federal authorities announce the formal setting aside of lands for the Quinault and Quileute tribes, imposing new restrictions on settlers.

    Sep 21, 1861Washington StandardTaholah, Grays Harbor CountyExclusion & Resistance

18. The Seattle Star’s Local Beat: A Robber’s $20, a Funeral, and the Yellow Peril Panic

    While New York burns in wire copy, Seattle deals with petty theft, local funerals, and a debunked rumor of an Alaskan battle.

    Mar 18, 1899The Seattle StarSeattle, King CountyTrue Crime

19. The Hop Lice Crisis in Puyallup

    As hop lice decimate the region's vines, farmers scramble for a solution to salvage the failing harvest.

    Jun 27, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPuyallup, Pierce County

20. The Hop Louse War on the Green River

    Farmers in the Puyallup and Green River valleys battle an infestation of hop aphids using new horse-powered sprayers.

    Jun 19, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPuyallup, Pierce County

21. The War on Lice in the Hop Fields

    A local hop merchant reveals the specific, labor-intensive chemical formula needed to save the crop from blight.

    Jul 19, 1892The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King County

22. An Ancient Secret Emerges from the Wishkah River

    While gardening on the banks of the Wishkah, a local couple unearthed a human skull and a mysterious stone tool, reigniting local legends about the 'Stinking Waters.'

    May 25, 1893Aberdeen HeraldWishkah River, Aberdeen, Grays Harbor CountyStrange But True

23. The Hardened Life of Alaska Scout Jack Dalton

    The storied frontiersman, known for guiding famous explorers and surviving bloody business feuds, reflects on his violent history in the North.

    Jan 11, 1894The Seattle Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyLocal Legends

24. The Fishhook Baited With Human Flesh

    In a Port Townsend hotel, a sailor displays the improvised wire hook that kept survivors of the wrecked whaler James Allen alive after the disaster in Bering Sea.

    Jan 11, 1895The Seattle Post-IntelligencerPort Townsend, Jefferson CountyDisasters · Strange But True

25. The Cod Fishing Fleet of the North

    A look inside the grueling, monotonous, and dangerous lives of the men hauling cod from the icy waters of the Okhotsk and Bering seas.

    Apr 18, 1884Seattle Daily Post-IntelligencerSeattle, King CountyWork & Pay

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