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 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1863 | 3 |
| 1871 | 8 |
| 1872 | 109 |
| 1876 | 535 |
| 1877 | 377 |
| 1878 | 279 |
| 1879 | 15 |
| 1880 | 134 |
| 1882 | 98 |
| 1883 | 508 |
| 1884 | 325 |
| 1885 | 563 |
| 1886 | 359 |
| 1887 | 324 |
| 1888 | 314 |
| 1889 | 800 |
| 1890 | 11 |
| 1891 | 340 |
| 1892 | 1,326 |
| 1893 | 1,600 |
| 1894 | 1,228 |
| 1895 | 1,049 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 8 |
| 1898 | 20 |
| 1899 | 366 |
| 1900 | 6 |
| 1902 | 5 |
| 1903 | 152 |
| 1904 | 69 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 74 |
| 1910 | 25 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 5 |
| 1916 | 27 |
| 1917 | 10 |
| 1923 | 9 |
| 1924 | 11 |
| 1925 | 3 |
| 1928 | 10 |
| 1929 | 15 |
11,139 stories
- The Mother, the Boarding House, and the Hostage Baby
A mother is forced to involve the police when a boarding-house keeper attempts to hold her four-year-old son as collateral for an unpaid debt.
- A Sermon on Coxeyism and Industrial Slavery
At the Jewish Synagogue, a lecture connects the ancient Mosaic laws of land and rest to the desperate economic realities of the 1894 Depression.
- The Narrow Streets of Early Seattle
A three-year-old child is severely injured after being struck by a cable car on Front Street, highlighting the dangers of growing city transit.
- The City Lays the Foundation for its Future
On the Fourth of July, 1894, Seattle gathered between Lake Union and Lake Washington to lay the cornerstone of the University of Washington's new main building.
- A Desperate Escape from Cruelty
A Seattle dressmaker seeks legal protection from her abusive husband after he breaks into her home to harass her.
- A Revolver at the Polls: Seattle’s Republican Primary Erupts
Seattle’s Republican primaries collapsed into shouting, challenged voters, fake tickets and a police chief drawing his revolver to declare the polls open.
- The Shadowed Life of a Russian Emigré
A man pursued from London to New York and Denver finds himself under arrest for arson in Seattle, caught in the web of international extradition.
- The Woman Who Refused the Judge
A Seattle woman stands her ground in municipal court, calling out a judge's election fraud and choosing jail over a fine.
- The Palace Coup at the Young Men’s Independent Club
A political faction attempts to seize control of a local club through backroom deals and 'gag rules,' only to be met with a revolt by the membership.
- The Moral Crusade for Seattle's Streets
Proponents of the 'Law and Order' ticket gather to demand the closure of 'lava bed' dives and gambling dens in an impassioned local election rally.
- The Tailor, the Raffle Ticket, and the Entire Afternoon Police Force
A well-dressed Californian sold chances on a $30 suit of clothes to nearly every patrolman in Seattle. Then the drawing night came and went — and the swindled cops hauled him in themselves.
- The Salvation Army’s Plan to Turn a Kitsap Farm Into a Lifeline for Seattle’s Unemployed
With a 250-acre bequest near Sidney and a crowded food-and-shelter depot at Weller and South Third, the Army proposed a co-operative farm, woodyard and prison-gate brigade to put hundreds of jobless men to work.
- A Steep Price for a Ten-Cent Robbery
A cumulative sentence law in Washington State leads to a twenty-year prison sentence for a man who robbed a bridge pedestrian of only a dime.
- Expulsion and Harassment on the Waterfront
A Chinese man arrives in Seattle only to be threatened by a local anti-Chinese group, highlighting the climate of exclusion in 1885.
- Black Lawyer Denied Service at Seattle Hotel
Tacoma attorney Gustave B. Aldrich files a complaint after being refused service at the Hotel Cecil's public dining room.
- Railroad Standoff at the Coal Bunkers
A high-stakes blockade at the Puget Sound waterfront reveals the tense territorial battles between the Great Northern and Northern Pacific lines.
- Betrayal at the Waterfront Lodging House
A visiting Neah Bay man seeking to sell seal skins alleges he was beaten and robbed of his savings by a Seattle saloon proprietor.
- Living on Borrowed Time in Lower Seattle
A scathing editorial decries the 'man-traps' of the waterfront, where buildings are propped up on flimsy planks to accommodate rising street grades.
- Shanties Cleared at University Street
The City Council orders the destruction of precarious housing at the waterfront, forcing residents out to make way for development.
- Smallpox Reaches the City
A Great Northern laborer turns himself in to authorities as fears grow over an outbreak in Snohomish.
- A Violent Dispute at the Windsor Hotel
A disagreement over a satchel and unpaid wages at a local hotel leads to a public fight, tearful police intervention, and a standoff.
- A Russian Immigrant's Alleged Property Fraud
A local man sues his lawyer for allegedly abusing his trust to seize his Washington Street property.
- Waterfront Tug-of-War Over Labor
A captain loading lumber at the Seattle waterfront finds his non-union crew repeatedly intercepted by striking longshoremen.
- The Siege of Commercial Street
A routine arrest of a sailor in a Seattle lodging house escalates into a pitched battle between police and the neighborhood’s residents.
- The Stranger in the King County Jail
Convicted of robbery during a drunken brawl in 1891, a friendless sailor seeks clemency with the support of the city's power brokers.