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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1890 | 24 |
24 stories
- State Legislature Grants Cities Local Control
A landmark bill passes in Olympia, allowing smaller towns to incorporate and manage their own debts, fueling the boom of the 1890s.
- A Gift for a Growing City
Prominent developer Nelson Bennett pledges a steam fire engine to Fairhaven, sparking a massive community fundraising effort.
- The Capitulation of Captain Stone
A domestic dispute over custody ends with an arrest and a forced surrender of a child in Fairhaven.
- Fairhaven Pushes for City Status
Citizens rally to establish a formal municipal government to manage growth, improve infrastructure, and address the presence of transients.
- The Con Artist of Fairhaven
A smooth-talking accountant gambles away his reputation and his wife's dignity with a string of bad checks and a faked suicide attempt.
- The Lonely Death on Harris Street
A worker for the Fairhaven Land Company is found dead after a final, downward spiral triggered by isolation and heavy drinking.
- A Port on the Bay
Fairhaven positions itself as the primary maritime gateway for Bellingham Bay to bypass shipping delays in Seattle and Tacoma.
- Cruelty on the Puget Sound: A Call to Fix the Mail Boats
Passengers describe the Tacoma-Fairhaven steamers as ‘tubs’ that are unseaworthy, unreliable, and an insult to the traveling public.
- The Lights Turn On in Fairhaven
After months of construction, the Fairhaven Electric Light Company successfully powers the city's streets and businesses for the first time.
- Steamboat Monopoly Sparks Outrage on the Sound
A passenger fare hike between Fairhaven and Seattle has riders and business leaders accusing steamboat companies of price-fixing.
- The Birth of Fairhaven
A landmark petition to the Whatcom County Commissioners officially outlines the boundaries for the incorporation of the City of Fairhaven.
- The Grand Arrival of a Hudson River Steamer
After a perilous journey around Cape Horn, the City of Kingston makes her debut in Bellingham Bay.
- The Absurdity of Local Mail Service
A scathing editorial laments the bureaucratic inefficiency of sending mail across Puget Sound only to have it return to a destination a half-mile away.
- A Team of Horses Rescued from Quicksand
A teamster faces disaster when his horses become trapped in treacherous, shifting sands on the Fairhaven waterfront.
- The Reluctant Candidate
E. A. Turner accepts the mayoral nomination for the newly incorporated Fairhaven, promising a progressive administration.
- The Census as an Intrusion of Privacy
A scathing editorial critique of the 1890 Census, calling government inquiries into property and health a 'meddling' breach of private life.
- A Deputy Sheriff's Home Ransacked
Amid a crime wave and an influx of transient workers, a local deputy falls victim to a daylight home robbery, sparking frustration over the town's inability to police itself.
- The Ghost of the Battlefield
An old veteran mistakes the sound of land clearing for the roar of cannon fire.
- The Kitchen Brawl at the Cookhouse
Tensions between two cooks at a Tenth Street boarding house boiled over into a full-blown street fight.
- Fairhaven's Secret Society Debut
The local Knights of Pythias chapter officially forms as the largest lodge of its kind in Washington state, complete with an all-night induction ceremony.
- Wild Runaway Wagon Tears Through Fairhaven
A team of horses, startled by a passing train, smashed through Fairhaven’s crowded streets before ending up on the waterfront.
- The Promised Land of the Skagit Valley
A booster’s vision of Fairhaven as the essential gateway for the vast mineral and agricultural wealth of the Skagit Valley.
- A St. Patrick's Day Scuffle in the Bay Cities
Two men celebrated the holiday with a bit too much spirit, resulting in a public brawl that ended as quickly as it began.
- Fairhaven Calls for Incorporation
The Whatcom County Commissioners issue a formal notice for the upcoming election to establish the city as an incorporated municipality.
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