On July 1, 1893, the City of Tacoma buys the drinking water and electrical power properties of Tacoma Light and Water Co. from Charles B. Wright (1822-1898) for $1.75 million. The deal is not a good o...
On August 14, 1893, the steamer Annie Faxon explodes on the Snake River as she comes in for a landing at Wade's Bar in Garfield County. Eight people are killed and at least another 11 are injured.
On September 12, 1893, the day after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer alleges problems with City finances, Seattle City Treasurer Adolph Krug (1856-1904) is discovered missing along with approximately $...
On October 16, 1893, long-distance telephone service is inaugurated between Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, and Spokane. This is the second longest telephone connection in the world. Seattle Mayor James T....
On October 18, 1893, at a Tacoma meeting of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, an offshoot of the Grand Army of the Republic (Union veterans of the Civil War), General Rossell G. O'Brien (1846-19...
On October 28, 1893, citizens from across Pierce County gather on the fourth floor of the new county courthouse in Tacoma to celebrate the opening of the Ferry Museum. The art museum is a collaboratio...
In November 1893, the Federal Marine Quarantine Station for Puget Sound opens at Diamond Point, located at the northeastern tip of Clallam County across Discovery Bay from Port Townsend. The Quaranti...
On December 1, 1893, the Island County Bank of Coupeville closes its doors to depositors after just 19 months in operation. The cashier, T. S. Beals leaves behind promissory notes from his brother and...
On February 17, 1894, Mrs. Rees Daniels and 27 friends found the Seattle branch of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). Within 10 months, the organization has 100 members. By 1896, the grou...
On February 18, 1894, Mount Zion Baptist Church formally organizes in Seattle.
On Thursday evening, February 22, 1894, the Puyallup Reservation Band performs at a banquet/dance and then later for the editors and staff of the Tacoma Daily Ledger at their offices. The band consist...
On March 12, 1894, voters elect Republican Byron Phelps as Mayor of the City of Seattle.
On March 17, 1894, 18 Dutch colonists, including a cheesemaker, arrive at Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island.
On April 25, 1894, some 650 unemployed persons calling themselves the Northwestern Industrial Army march out of Seattle in military formation, heading toward Washington, D.C., to urge Congress to reli...
The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. On May 3, 1894, the Dunlap Post Office opens. Platt A. Smith serves as the first postmaster. Dunlap is located six ...
In May 1894, African American Horace Cayton begins publishing the Republican. He is assisted in this enterprise by his wife, the writer Susan Revels Cayton.
On May 27, 1894, a flash flood on the north fork of Salmon Creek inundates Conconully, the seat of Okanogan County. One woman is killed and 42 buildings are destroyed for a loss estimated at $95,000.
On June 27, 1894, the Vincent Post Office opens. The opening of a post office is an important marker of the beginning of a community. Frank M. Seagus is appointed postmaster. Vincent is located about ...
On August 20, 1894, a freight train hits a cow at Latona, killing the fireman and brakeman. The cow is also killed, but other members of the crew escape serious injury. Latona (in Seattle on the borde...
On August 24, 1894, 37 miners die fighting a fire in the Oregon Improvement Co. coal mine at Franklin. This is the worst coalmine disaster to occur (as of 2000) in King County. The following day, a co...
In September 1894, August E. "Ed" Timmerman, a rancher, completes a cable ferry at the future Columbia point, near Richland. Realizing the place would be an ideal place to build a cable ferry, he buys...
In 1894, Professor W. J. Spillman arrives on the campus of the future Washington State University in Pullman, which is called the Agricultural College, Experiment Station and School of Science of the ...
On September 24, 1894, the first annual Washington State Agricultural Fair opens in Yakima. Politicians, local residents, and Indians from across the region gather together to participate in the fest...
On October 2, 1894, Stephen B. L. Penrose (1864-1947) arrives in Walla Walla, Washington, and begins a 40-year tenure as the third president of Whitman College. Penrose had first come to Washington st...