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 |
|---|---|
| 1882 | 101 |
| 1883 | 537 |
| 1884 | 336 |
| 1885 | 624 |
| 1886 | 395 |
| 1887 | 350 |
2,343 stories
- The Swindle of the Polk County Farm
A Seattle man alleges his business partners orchestrated a complex real estate scheme to defraud him.
- The Fight Against 'Ready-Made' News
In 1884, Seattle’s labor printers stood against the rise of syndicated, out-of-town journalism, arguing that local integrity and local jobs mattered more than cheap, imported content.
- The Deserted Husband's Tale of Woe
A Seattle man brings his domestic grievances to Justice Court after his wife reportedly elopes with a man he had taken in as a charity case.
- The Desperate Act of a Woman on Second Street
A mid-afternoon suicide attempt in a Seattle boarding house highlights the quiet, desperate struggles of a woman living on the margins.
- The Adultery Scandal at the Denny Block
A public courtroom spectacle reveals an illicit domestic arrangement in downtown Seattle.
- The Price of Independence
A fiery retort from the Post-Intelligencer defending Seattle's civic spirit against charges of anti-railroad agitation.
- A Terrifying Night Adrift on Puget Sound
Four men cling to the hull of an overturned boat for three hours in the frigid waters of the Sound before a daring rescue saves them from certain death.
- The Preacher Who Turned Court Into a Prayer Meeting
A local street preacher, arrested for his public fervor, turns the tables on the magistrate by forcing a courtroom to its knees.
- The 'Boycott' Against the Marsh Café
When the Queen City Assembly of the Knights of Labor blacklisted a local Seattle eatery over an unpaid debt to a defunct newspaper, it ignited a town-wide showdown over journalistic dignity and worker solidarity.
- The First Socialist Manifesto in the Washington Territory
A bold reader writes to the Post-Intelligencer to challenge a local minister’s sermon, demanding justice for the working class and defending socialist principles as the only path to economic dignity.
- The Iron Rush of Seattle
A prospector's accidental discovery of iron ore in Seattle sparked dreams of industrial wealth, but the path to prosperity proved to be paved with legal delays and broken promises.
- The Captain’s Defense: Fighting the Customs House
When his ship was detained in Seattle on a false rumor of smuggling, a captain fought back against a web of local informants and federal overreach.
- The Sheriff’s Mercy in Union
A coal miner facing eviction due to a grocery debt is granted a reprieve by an empathetic sheriff.
- The Mystery of the 'Man in Woman's Clothes'
A queer identity case arrives at the Seattle Police Court, as a person arrested for cross-dressing faces a judge and a courtroom full of skepticism.
- The Temperance Debate That Rocked Seattle
A fiery, hours-long confrontation at the Woman's Christian Temperance Union convention reveals a deep divide between pragmatists and extremists.
- The Courthouse Brawl of Seattle
A routine legal dispute over the Central Pacific Railway Company explodes into a wild, physical altercation in a Seattle courtroom.
- The Struggle for a Rail Link: Seattle Demands Better Transit
In 1885, Seattle business leaders met with the president of the Northern Pacific Railroad to demand better freight service, arguing that a lack of rail connectivity was choking the city's economic growth.
- A Fourth of July Disaster at the Iron Works
A celebratory cannon salute leaves a local foreman maimed during Seattle's Independence Day festivities.
- The Untimely Passing of a Working Student
A young man who balanced night shifts at the print shop with university studies dies of typhoid fever, leaving a city in mourning for his potential.
- The Sad Mystery of Alfred Peterson
A lonely traveler dies in a Seattle hotel room, leaving behind only tax receipts, a scrap of land, and a collection of melancholy poetry.
- The Forgotten Iron Gorge of the Cascades
A survey of the remote Denny mining claims near Snoqualmie Pass reveals a rugged, dangerous 'wonder land' of hidden mineral wealth.
- The Panic on Spring Street
When malicious rumors hit a Seattle bank, depositors rushed the doors, forcing the bank president to defend his institution's solvency.
- The Ironclad Oath of Labor
When the founder of the Ancient Order of United Workmen visited Seattle in 1885, he brought a philosophy of 'paternal' cooperation to reconcile the brewing tensions between labor and capital.
- Seattle's First Electric Streetcar Test
An experimental electric motor pulls a coach with thirty passengers up a steep incline in a successful trial run.
- The Clerk Who Stole Everything to Run Away
A young Seattle clerk, blinded by a whirlwind romance at a Washington Street boarding house, betrayed his own mother to fund a desperate escape to San Francisco.