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 Price of Falsehood in the Anti-Chinese Movement
As tensions boiled over in 1886, a Seattle newspaper called out local rabble-rousers for using blatant lies to incite hostility against Chinese residents.
- The Bonfire of the Vanities on Occidental Square
Months after a jubilant, torch-lit victory party in Seattle, the city’s new power-brokers were left holding the bag as lawlessness and economic despair gripped the town.
- Seattle Lawyers Debate Martial Law and Mob Violence
In a tense meeting, the King County Bar Association condemns the recent anti-Chinese expulsions and debates whether to censure lawyers involved in the agitation.
- Seattle’s Chamber of Commerce Grapples with Anti-Chinese Riots
In the wake of the 1886 anti-Chinese expulsion, the city's commercial leadership convened to discuss the city's reputation and its stance on 'law and order.'
- The Battle Over the Memory of the Chinese Expulsion
A fiery rebuttal to external accounts of the 1886 anti-Chinese riots in Seattle.
- Bodies of Colman and Patten Recovered from Lake Washington
After weeks of searching, a homemade underwater viewing device helps recover the bodies of two men murdered on the water.
- The Seattle Bar Confronts Its Own
A committee of influential attorneys seeks to disbar colleagues Junius Rochester and George Venable Smith for their roles in the violent expulsion of Seattle's Chinese population.
- The Mysterious Death on Mercer Island
A secret society lodge mourns the loss of a prominent member killed in an ambush on the shores of Lake Washington.
- Inquest Probes Patten and Colman Deaths on Lake Washington
Testimony from an inquest into the suspicious deaths of Patten and Colman near the shores of Lake Washington.
- The Northern Pacific Railroad's War on Seattle
An 1886 rail schedule change reveals a corporate conspiracy to strangle the city's growth in favor of town-lot speculation.
- The Mercer Island Tragedy
A brutal murder on the shores of Lake Washington leaves a community shaken, as the legal defense mounts a case against circumstantial evidence.
- 1886 Coroner's Jury Rules on Lake Washington Deaths
A jury concludes two men were murdered near the south end of Lake Washington, though no culprit is named.
- A Child's Plea for Help
A three-year-old girl leads an officer to a locked room to rescue her mother from an abusive husband.
- An Unsettled Climate in the Pacific Northwest
A witness reports on the volatile tensions between white labor and the Chinese community in the region.
- The Privatization of Seattle's Waterfront
The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad declares exclusive ownership over tide lands south of King Street, locking the public out of the harbor.
- The Great Jailbreak of 1886
After being convicted of a sensational local murder, a Seattle man pulled off a daring escape from the county jail by using clever DIY tools.
- The Battle for Seattle's Soul
On the eve of a contentious city election in 1886, two rival political factions clashed at the Opera House, setting the stage for a fight over the future of labor, law, and the anti-Chinese riots.
- Chief Justice Waite Visits Chinatown
After a late-night tour of Seattle’s Chinatown, the U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice declares his support for Chinese exclusion.
- A Grand Jury’s Grim Look at Seattle’s Jail
A scathing report from 1888 slams local conditions for youth and calls for urgent reform, while calling out industrial pollution in the Cedar River.
- Seattle's Legal Elite Debate the 'Chinese Question'
A resolution passed by the King County Bar Association sparks a sharp public dispute regarding the legitimacy of martial law and the anti-Chinese expulsion period.
- The Shadow on Lake Washington
A grizzly discovery on Mercer Island leads to a frantic, suspicion-filled murder investigation in 1886 Seattle.
- The Horror at Slaughter
A man named Spafford is arrested for the gruesome killing of his wife in a small village near the White River after he attempted to perform an illegal abortion.
- The Horror on South Eighth Street
A brutal incident in the outskirts of Seattle leaves a neighborhood in shock after a domestic attack.
- The 'Pompous Autocrat' of the Sound
A Seattle newspaper lashes out at a revenue cutter captain who refused to aid a vessel in distress, claiming his uniform shouldn't be 'rubbed the wrong way.'
- The Shadow of the Noose: The Murder Trial of O.B. Miller
A gripping courtroom drama unfolds in Seattle as O.B. Miller faces his third trial for the 1887 murder of two men on Lake Washington.