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.
Refine3 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1891 | 1 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 6 |
| 1894 | 3 |
| 1895 | 6 |
34 stories
- The Judge Who Was Drunk on the Bench and Threatened to Fill a Man with Lead
A legislative committee in Olympia substantiates charges that Chehalis Judge W.W. Langhorne dismissed cases unread, threatened a man with a revolver, and traded court favors for political help.
- The Suicide of H. A. Ray: A Seattle Man’s Tragic End Amidst Scandal and Debt
Prominent waterworks official takes his own life in Chicago after financial ruin and a complex romantic entanglement with a woman he claimed was his sister.
- 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.
- 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.
- The Tragedy on the Chehalis River
A work train plunges into a flooded ravine, claiming the life of an engineer as the waters of the Newaukum River rise to historic levels.
- The Disappearing Mill Owner
A Lewis County lumberman vanishes after a devastating factory fire, leaving his brothers to search for him in a desperate, cross-state manhunt.
- 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.
- A Domestic Crisis in Hoistfort
A woman files assault charges against her husband, citing forced labor and physical threats.
- The Sawdust Menace: A 19th Century Struggle for Our Rivers
Decades before modern environmentalism, Chehalis locals were already fighting the devastating impact of industrial waste on their salmon and trout streams.
- The Reform School With No Prison Walls
At the Washington State Reform School near Chehalis, boys and girls were trusted, taught trades, and paroled into new lives—a radical model for juvenile justice.
- The Great Hotel Hunger: Chehalis Builds to Catch the Rail
As the Northern Pacific Railroad surveys threaten to bypass the town for a rival route, citizens scramble to build a modern hotel and waterworks just to stay relevant in the race for territorial dominance.
- 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 Circus Brawl Breaks Out in Chehalis
A local deputy sheriff attempts to arrest a carnival worker for short-changing a farmer, only to be beaten by a mob of show employees.
- 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 Narrow Escape of John Long
A young man is nearly killed after being dragged fifty feet by a train at the Chehalis depot.
- The Political Erasure of Lewis County
Citizens in rural Washington cry foul as the 1889 constitutional convention districting map threatens to strip their county of political representation.
- The Iron Road Through the Wilderness
By 1891, the rush for transcontinental rail connections was transforming the remote timberlands of Lewis and Pacific counties, promising to turn quiet river valleys into bustling industrial hubs.
- 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 Temperance Conflict: Saloons vs. Druggists
A bitter feud over illicit sales, city ordinances, and Sunday gambling in Chehalis.
- The Bar Association That Never Was
A local legal organization in Chehalis collapses into petty feuds, pointed insults, and accusations of judicial misconduct.
- The Push for Better Roads in Lewis County
Chehalis merchants and commissioners pivot from legislative talk to tangible road improvements to save winter trade.
- A Hammer-Wielding Wife in Chehalis
A domestic dispute in Chehalis turns violent when a wife allegedly attacks her husband with a hammer after he accuses her of infidelity.