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.
Refine1 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 |
399 stories
- Could Tobacco be the Sound's Next Great Crop?
An experimental harvest in Jefferson County sparks hope that Puget Sound could replace hops with lucrative tobacco farming.
- The Mystery of the 'Swamp Angel' and the Ship Olympia
A century-old newspaper advertisement disguised as a news report used the haunting tale of a lost vessel to peddle a patent medicine for rheumatism.
- The Great Rainout: Seattle’s Masonic Festival Drowned by the Sky
As delegates from across the territory gathered for a grand celebration, an unrelenting downpour forced organizers to cancel races and hope for a dry evening tea.
- A Shaking Coast: Earthquake Strikes Port Townsend
Residents of the seaside town were startled late Wednesday night by a sharp, twenty-second seismic tremor.
- Midnight Fire at the Mill
A sawmill employee barely escapes a late-night cabin blaze, losing his winter supplies to the flames.
- The Pioneer’s Path to Port Hadlock
From gold mining to lumber milling, Samuel Hadlock reflects on the rugged early days of Washington Territory.
- Marine Greyhounds for the Sound
New patrol boats for the Revenue Cutter Service are to be built locally in Port Townsend to crack down on smuggling.
- The Record-Breaking Voyage of the Cassandra Adams
Built in Port Ludlow, this sturdy vessel proves its mettle on the high seas.
- Tragic Drowning of a Sailor off Point Wilson
A young sailor is lost at sea during a sudden squall while the schooner J. M. Weatherwax was under tow.
- The Cyrus Walker Returns to Service
After two and a half years of neglect and decay, the steamer Cyrus Walker has been completely rebuilt from the hull up.
- The Passing of the Pacific’s Pioneer Telegrapher
John Leatch, a veteran operator who laid the wire between Port Townsend and Olympia, dies in San Francisco.
- The Husking Bee at Learned's Opera House
Port Townsend society gathers for a successful amateur performance to benefit the Seamen's Bethel.
- The Tragedy of Joseph Zanish: A Life Lost to the Puget Sound
A sailor’s body washes ashore near Port Hadlock six weeks after he fell from the ship J.B. Brown, sparking an inquest that confirms accidental death.
- The New Boom in Port Townsend
Fresh from the recent election, the new municipal government promises rapid expansion and a bold vision for civic infrastructure.
- The Tragedy of Edward Panicle: A Life Cut Short by Drink and Despair
In the early days of Seattle, a native of Ireland died by suicide at Fort Ludlow, his death attributed to alcohol-induced mental instability—a stark reminder of the era's fragile social safety nets.
- A Masonic Funeral at Port Townsend
After the death of Captain Thomas Stratton, the community rallied to ensure a proper burial in Port Townsend with full Masonic honors.
- The Day the Knights Came to Town
A delegation of Redmen from Port Townsend arrives in Seattle for a ceremonial gathering, greeted by crowds and banquets.
- The Boom Town That Never Was: Port Townsend's Rail Hopes
A local investor promises five hundred men will grade the Port Townsend Southern Railroad within three weeks, fueling dreams of a transit metropolis that ultimately vanished into the fog of history.
- A Tale of Two Trials: Inequality in the Courtroom
A commentary on how disparate legal outcomes for two accused men—John Thompson and a man named Sutton—reveal the systemic influence of wealth, counsel, and community perception on justice in the Washington Territory.
- The Mill That Built a Town: Inside Port Discovery’s Industrial Heart
A rare look inside the massive lumber operation on Port Discovery Bay, where 60 men worked around the clock to feed the timber boom of the Pacific Northwest.
- The City That Wasn't: Port Townsend’s Bold Pitch to Steal Seattle’s Thunder
In January 1889, the Mayor of Port Townsend published a scathing list of 'facts' in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, arguing that his town was the true commercial heart of the Pacific Northwest while Seattle remained a mere backwater.
- The Unsung Paradise of Quilcene
An 1888 letter to the editor paints a portrait of a Jefferson County community so healthy, local doctors had nothing to do.
- The Natchez of Puget Sound: A Commercial Hub Rising from the Mist
A dispatch from Port Townsend reveals a bustling port city defined by its Customs House and steamship trade, sharply contrasting with Seattle's own rapid development.
- The Boom Town That Water Built
A look at the commerce, civic ambition, and social life of Port Townsend as it established itself as the Pacific Northwest’s primary port of entry.