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 | 3 |
| 1858 | 13 |
| 1859 | 27 |
| 1860 | 6 |
| 1861 | 6 |
| 1863 | 5 |
| 1872 | 1 |
| 1876 | 11 |
| 1877 | 11 |
| 1878 | 12 |
| 1879 | 5 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 56 |
| 1884 | 25 |
| 1885 | 43 |
| 1886 | 26 |
| 1887 | 70 |
| 1888 | 34 |
| 1889 | 76 |
| 1890 | 6 |
| 1891 | 48 |
| 1892 | 267 |
| 1893 | 263 |
| 1894 | 243 |
| 1895 | 182 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 7 |
| 1899 | 30 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1903 | 64 |
| 1904 | 848 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 758 |
| 1910 | 5 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1916 | 9 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 4 |
| 1925 | 1 |
43 stories
- The Siege of Tacoma: A City Divided by Hatred
While Seattleites marched through the rain to condemn Chinese residents, the city of Tacoma mobilized into an organized, exclusionary force that would soon see the forced removal of hundreds.
- The Day Tacoma Forced Out Its Chinese Neighbors
In a pre-planned act of collective expulsion, hundreds of residents marched through the rain to force the city's Chinese population to flee to Lakeview, marking a dark chapter in Pacific Northwest history.
- The Mob Rule That Swept Tacoma
While city leaders in Seattle urged calm, residents in Tacoma forcibly expelled the Chinese community, marking a dark escalation in the regional movement to purge Asian workers.
- Chinatown Ash and Ember: A City Under Siege
A devastating fire levels the Chinese quarter in Tacoma, leaving the community in ruins and stoking the fires of anti-Chinese agitation.
- The Smallholder’s Victory Against the Railroad Giant
In a landmark 1883 ruling, the General Land Office denied the Northern Pacific Railroad's claim to homestead land within Tacoma, protecting a local settler's right to his property.
- The Violent Expulsion of Chinese Workers from Tacoma
While Seattle officials debated the law, a vigilante mob in Tacoma took matters into their own hands, forcibly ejecting Chinese residents from the city.
- The Campaign to Exclude Chinese Workers
In 1885, a newly formed committee of Seattle citizens launched an aggressive effort to purge Chinese labor from the city, circulating petitions to prevent property owners from leasing to Chinese residents.
- The Myth of the Promised Land: 1885
A reader challenges the city's booster press, exposing the gap between industrial promises and the reality of a struggling population.
- The Brutal Execution of Chief Kanaskat
A vivid and harrowing account of the 1856 Puyallup conflict and the killing of the Klickitat leader.
- The Tragedy on Trestle No. 4
A father's desperate attempt to walk his children to safety during a heavy snowstorm ends in a devastating train accident on the outskirts of Tacoma.
- The City’s Legal Train Wreck
A ruling against Tacoma’s property tax scheme for street improvements threatens to bankrupt local progress, leaving the city in a legislative stalemate.
- The Rogue Marshal of Tacoma
Citizens formally impeach the City Marshal for cozying up to brothel owners and ignoring the law.
- The Fight for Puyallup: A Last-Minute Land Grab
Before leaving office, Interior Secretary Teller attempted to block land titles for the Puyallup people, favoring the expansion of a local corporation.
- The Tragedy on Meridian Street
A double murder-suicide in Tacoma marks a violent end for a couple married just three months.
- The Price of a Puyallup Valley Land War
A long-standing dispute over a donation land claim ends in a deadly shooting on a farm near Sumner.
- Fatal Forest Hazard Claims Life Near South Prairie
A falling tree at a railroad contractor's camp kills one worker and injures eight others, exposing the perilous conditions of logging near forest fires.
- The Shadow of the Anti-Chinese Movement in Puyallup
A local meeting of citizens and the Sheriff turns into a mass swearing-in of deputy sheriffs as anti-Chinese agitation reaches a fever pitch.
- The Tragedy at Meeker’s Cabin
A quiet day in the woods turns fatal when an open door and a gust of wind ignite a powder horn, destroying a home and claiming lives.
- Puyallup People Wait on Delayed Land Patents
A century-old battle for property rights reveals how corporate interests and federal delays threatened to dispossess the Puyallup people of their ancestral home.
- The Swindled Worker of the South Prairie Line
A laborer finds that the Northern Pacific Railroad's subcontracting system is a trap of unpaid wages and unreachable bosses.
- Tacoma’s Merry Municipal Mayhem
While Seattle navigates its own growing pains, its 'younger sister' Tacoma finds itself in a state of total civic disorder, from impeached marshals to liquor license wars.
- The Deadly Rivalry at the Bargetown Lake
Two farmers, blinded by their competition for the hand of a local woman, met at daybreak for a fight that ended in blood and arrest.
- The Desperate Struggle at the Steilacoom Asylum
A man awaiting commitment to the insane asylum attempts to take his own life in the halls of the institution.
- The 'Lingerer' and the Moral Purge of Tacoma
A fiery 1885 editorial spat reveals the tension between town boosters and a 'Law and Order' movement intent on policing the morality of the emerging city.
- A Father's Desperate Act in the Tacoma Streets
A Victoria man crossed the border to reclaim his daughter from a fractured home, sparking a public confrontation.