Research the archive
Narrow 27,002 newspaper stories by words, years, place, newspaper and subject. See when and where they ran, then download what you find.
Put a phrase in quotes ("rent strike") or leave a word out with a minus (strike -baseball). Old scans misspell names, so when little is found, near-spellings are offered.
Refine2 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1862 | 7 |
| 1863 | 3 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 43 |
| 1877 | 26 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 20 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 20 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 6 |
| 1888 | 22 |
| 1889 | 18 |
| 1890 | 1 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 47 |
| 1893 | 63 |
| 1894 | 37 |
| 1895 | 34 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1903 | 2 |
| 1904 | 8 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1910 | 1 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
37 stories
- Condemned at Home, Detained in Port Townsend: Three Men Offer to Buy Their Way Out of the Axe
Three Chinese men held by the collector of customs for being in the United States illegally were to be shipped home, where desertion from the imperial army is punished by beheading. Local Chinese merchants said a substitute could be hired to die in a man's place.
- The Beachcomber and the Princess
A Canadian man is jailed after a gruesome discovery near Victoria harbor, linked to an elopement with a Tahitian princess.
- The Tragedy of a Lonely Laborer
A Norwegian laborer, recently arrived in Port Townsend with a large sum of money, commits a desperate act of self-strangulation while in city jail.
- The Price of a Steamboat Collision
Federal Judge Hanford orders the steam collier Willamette to pay $30,000 for a fatal 1892 collision with the steamer Premier.
- The Deportation of Ah Choong
A Chinese resident is detained in Port Townsend despite possessing a Geary Act certificate, illustrating the arbitrary cruelty of federal exclusion laws.
- The Ghost Ship of Barclay Sound
A British bark, found abandoned and dismantled, leaves a maritime mystery in its wake.
- A Plea for the Drowned Soldiers
A survivor of a tragic drowning incident at Fort Townsend writes to defend the character of his fallen comrades against charges of intoxication.
- The Jefferson County Political Volcano
A local Democratic club launches a full-scale mutiny against the Collector of Customs, accusing him of cronyism and financial improprieties.
- The Port Townsend Democratic Uprising
A raucous meeting of the Young Men's Democratic Club in Port Townsend erupts in chaos as members pass scathing resolutions condemning Collector of Customs James C. Saunders for cronyism and alleged corruption.
- A Fatal Tiller Blow on the Sound
A pioneer fisherman faces manslaughter charges after a tragic, unintended killing of a close friend.
- The Sealing Wars: Customs vs. Navy
Tensions rise at Port Townsend as federal authorities clash over how to enforce restrictive sealing laws on local schooners.
- The Mine That Wasn’t? A Captain Denies a Half-Million-Dollar Gold Swindle
An English capitalist’s suit against Alaska millionaires turned a Port Townsend sailing into a Pacific Coast sensation, with charges of swapped ore, gold-soaked drill cores, and a forceful denial from Capt. James Carroll.
- The $100,000 Tugboat Dispute
A steamship's distress call near Port Townsend has triggered a massive legal battle over salvage rights and the true peril of the Pacific.
- The Whisky Trial That Ended With an Empty Chair
Charles Burns was on trial in Port Townsend for selling liquor to Indians. When the evidence tied his whisky to a Native man's suicide, Burns skipped bail and vanished.
- A Chinese Buyers' Pool, a Ring of Boosters, and a Near-Riot Over Confiscated Opium
At the Port Townsend marshal's sale, Seattle's Chinese merchants tried to buy back a confiscated lot in one block — until local bidders ran the price up for sport.
- The Lumber Industry Faces a Hard Winter
Puget Sound mills struggle through the worst slump in twelve years as global markets dry up.
- The Sad Tale of a Mail-Order Marriage
A romantic courtship by mail ended in divorce, a sheriff's sale, and a supreme court battle over a farm in Leland Valley.
- The Contract Wife Who Would Not Be Shaken Off
Florence Bucklin Byers followed a wealthy Chilean consul to California, then returned to Port Townsend vowing to enforce their handwritten marriage contract—or sue him for divorce.
- A Crepe-Draped Cleveland and the Custom-House Deal
Port Townsend Democrats gather amid patronage bargains, a sacrificed ally, and a prank that put the president's portrait in mourning.
- Storms and Steamers on the Sound
The steamer Rosalie returns to port after springing a leak in heavy seas, as gale winds batter the Puget Sound maritime trade.
- The Postmaster’s Morality Purge
A Port Townsend postmaster suspends a Methodist minister and mail carrier, citing the moral tone of the department—while his own divorce scandal simmers.
- The Silk in Her Bustle: A Port Townsend Smuggling Arrest
A customs inspector grows suspicious of Mrs. M. E. Collins’s unusually pronounced bustle aboard the City of Kingston—and finds a bolt of contraband silk.
- Former County Clerk Sentenced for Embezzlement
William P. Fenimore receives the minimum sentence after a jury recommends leniency due to his 'exemplary character'.
- The Captain Who Vanished After the Bottle Cost Him His Ship
Turned out of a Chilean freighter for drunkenness, old Capt. John Maaeke has disappeared from Port Townsend—and his son in Valparaiso is demanding answers.
- Fire Threatens to Move the Marine Hospital
A devastating fire at the marine hospital in Port Townsend sparks fears that the facility for disabled seamen will be permanently moved to Seattle.