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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1883 | 2 |
| 1884 | 1 |
| 1885 | 1 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1891 | 2 |
| 1892 | 2 |
| 1893 | 3 |
| 1894 | 13 |
| 1895 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1910 | 1 |
32 stories matching wrecker
- Seattle's 1894 Election: Corruption, Fraud, and the Fight for City Hall
As voters head to the polls, the Post-Intelligencer unleashes a blistering attack on the Democratic administration, alleging graft, forgery, and a machine determined to hold power at any cost.
- Sabotage on the Tracks: The Napavine Train-Wrecking Plot
A suspicious man is arrested near a trestle after wreckers attempt to derail a Northern Pacific train by pulling spikes and loosening rail plates.
- Northern Pacific Declares War on Train Wreckers
After rail saboteurs derailed an overland train near Buckley, the railroad management has authorized a massive reward to hunt down the culprits.
- City Engineer Fired Amidst Political Pressure
A storm of public indignation follows the board of public works' decision to remove the city engineer at the behest of shadowy political 'wreckers.'
- Seattle’s 1891 Election-Eve Alarm: ‘Watch Until the Vote Is Counted’
On the eve of municipal elections, the Post-Intelligencer accuses the Democratic administration of protected gambling, a looted treasury and stacked election boards—and warns Republicans that the only danger left is the count.
- The Last Stand of the David Haley: Wreckers Burn a Tacoma Landmark for Scrap
Seattle wreckers traveled to Puget Sound to strip the iron and copper from the historic shipwreck of the David Haley, destroying a local landmark in the process.
- The Bank Wrecker’s Failed Empire
After swindling depositors to fund a coast-wide banking trust, H. St. John Dix faces ten years in the penitentiary.
- The Bank Wrecker’s Last Stand
Convicted financier St. John Dix vows to fight his imprisonment for the Whatcom bank looting scandal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- The Salvage of the Mississippi
After four months of struggle, wreckers are forced to dismantle the sunken collier piece by piece.
- A Landslide Buries the Great Northern’s Steam Shovel at the Falls
A sudden slide knocks the big iron machine out of commission; a wrecker from Hillyard hauls it free for repairs.
- The Party Says Not Guilty—and Cheers the Man It Removed
Seattle Democrats put their scandal-scarred administration on trial at Haake's Hall, buried a First Ward delegate fight, and sent David E. Durie into the mayor's race while J.M. Wolfe got the ovation.
- Terror on the Rails
Saboteurs remove a rail from the Northern Pacific track near Buckley, nearly killing hundreds in a deliberate act of destruction.
- City Hall Wreckers Under Fire
Corruption charges against the Board of Public Works spark panic among local politicians as investigators dig for the truth.
- Three Thousand Pack the Armory to Cheer Debs and Denounce Pullman
Seattle workingmen and their allies fill Armory Hall to hear the strikers' side of the fight — a night of fiery speeches, white ribbons of peace, and one heckler hustled out the door.
- They Robbed the Dead as the Surf Came In
A Pacific County newspaper condemned beach scavengers who stripped bodies and trunks after a shipwreck—and recalled the shame of the Grace Roberts disaster.
- Disaster on the Seattle Waterfront
A wharf collapses under the weight of cargo, sparking a bitter dispute over liability and salvage rights.
- The Buckley Bank Swindler Found
A fugitive banker who vanished with $30,000 in depositor funds is captured in his hometown after a cross-country manhunt.
- City Hall's Patronage Scandal
Seattle taxpayers express alarm as the Board of Public Works removes the city engineer to replace him with a political loyalist.
- The Failed 'Colony' Scheme to Rig the Ninth Ward
Local political operatives attempted to pack the Ninth Ward with manufactured voters by dangling sewer-digging jobs and boarding house deals, but the plan collapsed under the weight of its own incompetence.
- City Hall Under Siege for Corruption
Calls for the impeachment of two public works commissioners trigger fears of a city hall whitewash.
- Seattle Voters Topple the 'Tammany' Machine in a Republican Landslide
A sweeping 1894 municipal election repudiates a corrupt city government, a boss named John Collins, and a looted treasury — with Democrats joining the revolt.
- The Fugitive Banker of Buckley
After wrecking a bank and fleeing to Maryland, local officials are still waiting for word on whether the disgraced financier will face justice.
- Rescuing 2,500 Tons of Steel from the Sea
A massive engineering project is underway to salvage thousands of tons of steel rails from the wreck of the Abercorn.
- The Salvage Ship That Came to Raise Puget Sound’s Sunken Wrecks
A new wrecking schooner arrived in Seattle with a rubber-suited diver, hydraulic jacks and a plan to lift the sunken Mississippi and Warhawk from the Sound.
- The Great Northern's Bad-Luck Stop: Freight Wreck at Elk
A through eastbound freight slammed into the caboose of a local train at Elk, smashing six cars and tying up traffic for hours—just the latest wreck at a town with a reputation.
Also about this, in other words
- Drunken Brakeman Crushed on Northern Pacific Line
A railroad worker is killed near Meeker after falling between cars while intoxicated.
- The 'Crusher' Strikes Again
The steam collier San Pedro continues its destructive streak on Puget Sound.
- Streetcar Smash-up on the Spur
A motorman is seriously injured in a collision at a local woodyard after a switch fails to be reset properly.
- The Iron Wreck: A Train’s Deadly Plunge Near Tacoma
Conductor Stroud and passengers suffer grave injuries when a tender axle fails at 25 mph, sending cars tumbling down an embankment in one of the region's most serious rail accidents to date.
- Teredo Worms Cut a Seattle Wharf Adrift
A shipworm-weakened pier at the foot of Dearborn Street collapsed into Elliott Bay, sending a warehouse down with a crash and leaving the wreckmaster to haul a floating dock back to shore.
- The Automatic Suitor-Smacker
A fed-up father builds a booby-trapped gate to drive away his daughters' persistent suitors, turning a domestic headache into a mechanical triumph.
- A Costly Slip at the City Dock
Thousands of dollars in railroad spikes plunged into the bay after a dock stringer gave way under the massive weight of materials.
- Heavy Machinery Mishap at the Rail Yards
A massive harvester meant for the wheat fields takes a spill while being unloaded in Walla Walla.