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 |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 330 |
| 1889 | 821 |
| 1891 | 345 |
| 1892 | 1,428 |
| 1893 | 1,737 |
| 1894 | 1,323 |
| 1895 | 1,115 |
7,099 stories
- The Reverend’s Smuggled Sawdust
A customs inspector discovers nearly a hundred pounds of opium hidden inside a shipment of 'books' addressed to a clergyman.
- The 'Educational Park' That Never Was
When Seattle’s public school superintendent proposed turning the old University of Washington site into a grand, permanent hub for the city’s schools and library, he called it his 'iridescent dream.'
- A Deadly Winter Afternoon on Seattle's Unfenced Sidewalks
While the city celebrated a rare snowfall with coasting, a teenager's death and multiple injuries on elevated, railing-less sidewalks turned the joy into a tragedy.
- The Emancipation Day Celebration of 1892
Thirty years after the Proclamation, Seattle's Black community gathered at the municipal court to assert their political power, pride, and the promise of a unified nation.
- A Reborn Haven in Old Seattle
After the violence of the 1886 anti-Chinese riots shuttered his school, a local merchant defies the lingering hostility to create a space for education and community.
- The Last Request of a Forgotten Pioneer
An elderly immigrant who sought his fortune in the Fraser River gold rush spends his final days pleading for a dignified burial, forcing the city's power brokers to confront the reality of poverty in a booming frontier town.
- The Child Who Danced for Pennies
A twelve-year-old runaway is arrested in a Seattle saloon while performing a wing dance to escape his father's abusive vaudeville routines.
- The Disappearance of Chloe Jackson
A young woman vanishes from a 'devil’s hole' dance hall after a heated confrontation with a jealous partner, leaving a community searching for answers in the shadows of the Seattle waterfront.
- The City Mission's Winter Struggle
A basement mission in 1892 Seattle provides soup, shelter, and strict discipline for the city's growing population of out-of-work laborers.
- The Secret Lunch of the Frugal Merchant
A chance encounter in a 'tough' neighborhood restaurant reveals the hidden economic anxieties of Seattle's business class during a local recession.
- The Trial of the Man Who Named Himself 'Defendant'
A former newspaper man takes the witness stand in Seattle to explain his eccentric public preachings, his 'divine' inspirations, and his rejection of the name Jones.
- The Perilous Midnight Row Across the Sound
After suffering a gruesome injury at a logging camp, a laborer spent a terrifying night lost in the dense fog of Puget Sound, desperately rowing toward medical help.
- The War-Ready Chief of Ballast Island
Grandson of Chief Seattle, 'Tyee Peter' rallies his followers to defend the U.S. against Chile—and reflects on a history of misunderstanding with the military.
- The Revolver at Front and Cherry
A violent property dispute between a downtown merchant and a local mechanic erupts into a courtroom drama.
- The Narrow Escape in Whitechapel
After a laborer was robbed and tossed into the frigid tide flats of Seattle's waterfront, an unlikely group of rescuers saved him from a watery grave.
- The University Student Who Refused the Drill
A Seattle college student takes the faculty to court, arguing that mandatory military training interferes with his ability to work and pay his way through school.
- The City vs. The Tide Flats
When the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad attempted to drive piles for a slip at the foot of Jackson Street, the city of Seattle flexed its legal muscles to prevent the privatization of the waterfront.
- The Violent Politics of the First Ward
A power struggle between two rival Democratic factions in Seattle’s First Ward erupts into a physical brawl, signaling deepening fractures in local party machine politics.
- The Political Brawl Over Seattle’s Debt
At a heated series of ward meetings in 1892, Republicans and reformers clashed over city finances, corruption, and a controversial proposal to tax 'abandoned women and gamblers.'
- The Price of a 'Land Grant' Railway
In 1892, residents of Kent and the Stuck Valley fought back against Northern Pacific’s service cuts and infrastructure neglect, revealing the tensions between corporate rail giants and the communities they built—and broke.
- The Soapbox Fury of Pioneer Place
On a shivering evening in 1892, disgruntled citizens and Populist agitators took to the streets of Seattle to decry 'subsidized editors,' crooked bond issues, and the 'damnable state of things.'
- The Woman Who Sued a Justice for Conspiracy
After being committed to an asylum and accused of chicken theft, Sarah McDonough struck back at the Fremont officials she claimed were plotting to steal her property and liberty.
- The Hotel Arson Scandal
A bitter divorce case in Gilman turns into a criminal conspiracy mystery after a wife testifies her husband plotted to burn down their own hotel for insurance money.
- The Bribe, The Bantam, and the Law
A Seattle man stands trial for bribery after a messy encounter with a deputy marshal at the Northern Pacific depot—a case fueled by accusations of corruption and mutual dishonesty.
- The 1892 Race for Seattle: A City in Construction
As Seattle geared up for the 1892 mayoral election, local candidates debated debt, expansion, and the 'moral' cleanup of the city while the railroad industry reshaped the landscape.