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 |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1883 | 3 |
| 1884 | 6 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 12 |
| 1892 | 26 |
| 1893 | 27 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 16 |
| 1899 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 9 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1909 | 4 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
26 stories
- The Chehalis Inferno
A devastating blaze sweeps through four blocks of wooden buildings, leaving residents to wonder if firebugs are to blame for the city's second disaster in two months.
- The Courthouse War
A fierce battle between a judge and county officials leads to a standoff, a jail sentence, and a wild threat to tear down the jailhouse to free the prisoner.
- The Political Orator Who Was a Wanted Man
L.E. Wilson, a fiery People’s Party speaker in Lewis County, was unmasked as a fugitive and serial bigamist.
- A Nighttime Train Wreck Near Chehalis
A northbound express train derails after striking a steer, leading to a miraculous escape for the crew and passengers.
- A Christmas Eve Killing in the Woods
A railroad foreman is murdered in a Pe-Ell camp, sparking a failed attempt by a lynch mob to claim the shooter.
- The Tragedy at the Olequa Barn
A drunken dispute between brothers ends in a fatal shooting, leaving the survivor to wake up beside the corpse of his victim.
- A Fatal Drunken Brawl at Oiequa
A tragic shooting follows a night of drinking, leaving one man dead and his brother headed for a second-degree murder conviction.
- Boiler Explosion Leaves Chehalis in the Dark
A mechanical failure at the local mill triggers an city-wide blackout, prompting residents to demand a municipal power plant.
- The Wealthy Pioneer Scammed in Centralia
George Washington, the founder of Centralia, loses $1,500 in a predatory legal scheme targeting his land title.
- Vigilantes of the Big Bottom: A Land War in Lewis County
When an aggressive claim jumper tried to terrorize a homesteader, twenty-five settlers organized a committee of order to run him out of the woods.
- Sabotage on the Tracks: The Napavine Train-Wrecking Plot
A suspicious man is arrested near a trestle after wreckers attempt to derail a Northern Pacific train by pulling spikes and loosening rail plates.
- A Debt, a Demand for Money, and Three Shots on a Winlock Street
Richard Hancock, 'dissipated for some time,' pursued his fleeing wife out of the house and shot her three times before turning the pistol on himself.
- The High Cost of Commuting on the Rails
After seeking work at a local mill, a man attempts to board a moving freight train in Centralia, leading to a life-altering accident.
- The Great Escape from the Chehalis Reform School
Two boys break out of the state reformatory in their nightshirts, only to be recaptured after a desperate clothes-stealing spree in Centralia.
- Ainslie Lumber Mill Resumes Production
After standing idle, the large mill near Chehalis is firing up its boilers, offering a vital economic lifeline to the community.
- Railroad Worker Maimed in Chehalis
A young laborer loses an arm after being forced from a moving freight train by a company employee.
- A Politician's Vulnerable Moment
A future governor breaks down while addressing boys at the state reform school, revealing a hidden side of his history.
- The Breakfast Guest That Wouldn't Leave
A morning meal in rural Washington is interrupted by a massive bear, leading to a desperate struggle at the farmhouse window.
- The Valley Sixty Miles From a Railroad
In 1892, the Big Bottom settlers of Lewis County had no road, no sawmill and no rail line — just hand-hewn homes, packhorses, a tobacco-chewing cat, and a Fourth of July party for 160 neighbors.
- A Young Brakeman Killed on the Tracks
A 21-year-old Northern Pacific employee loses his life in a tragic coupling accident near Centralia.
- A Desperate Hour in a Chehalis Saloon
A mysterious stranger’s public suicide attempt offers a chilling snapshot of frontier instability in late 19th-century Lewis County.
- A Tragic End in the Winlock Mud
A lonely death on a ranch near Winlock highlights the brutal reality for those suffering from epilepsy in 1890s Washington.
- Torchlight, Two Bands, and a Canal: Lewis County Opens the 1892 Campaign
Four hundred Centralia Republicans ride a special train into Chehalis, fill the opera house past overflowing, and cheer loudest for the Lake Washington canal.
- The Governor's Choice, Leaked from Chehalis
A Chehalis powwow and a delegate-apportionment fight revealed Governor Ferry's preference for Senator J. Henry Long—and the Reed family's counter-campaign—in Washington's 1892 governor race.
- A Rough Week in Chehalis
A local train wreck and a string of mishaps keep the town busy.