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 |
267 stories
- The Fight Over the Puyallup Indian Reservation
Tacoma’s Commercial Club maneuvers to open reservation lands to development, sparking local controversy.
- Puyallup Land Sales Spark Tension With Federal Agent
Agent Eells defends his role in the controversial sale of tribal lands, claiming the Puyallup people are being manipulated by real estate speculators.
- The Riotous Push for Exclusion
A massive, chaotic anti-Chinese protest in Tacoma turns violent, drowning out local leaders who argue for the legal rights of Chinese merchants.
- Exclusion in Tacoma: Chinese Merchants Fear for Their Safety
Despite assurances from local business leaders and the Mayor, Chinese merchants hesitate to return to Tacoma following previous expulsion efforts.
- A Death-Trap Elevator in the Ball Block
An 18-year-old stenographer is critically injured after stepping into an open elevator shaft in downtown Tacoma, highlighting a pattern of mechanical neglect.
- The Tragic End of Etta Harris
A daughter is murdered by her own father in Tacoma, exposing a twisted history of obsession, jealousy, and fatal control.
- The Ousting of Professor Willers
A prominent Tacoma linguist and ordained minister is kidnapped by a group of men following allegations of 'unnatural conduct' with his students.
- The Secretary Asks the Puyallups Whether They Are Fit to Hold Their Own Land
Interior Secretary John W. Noble met 200 Puyallup people on the reservation and promised to carry their wish to sell to President Harrison — after satisfying himself that they could be trusted with the money.
- The Shackled Sailors of the Karoo
A federal judge in Tacoma intervenes to protect a crew 'inveigled' onto a British ship, exposing a brutal system of forced labor and maritime exploitation.
- The Puyallup Land Dispute: A Forgotten Fight for City Growth
In 1892, Representative John L. Wilson proposed liquidating the Puyallup Indian Reservation to spur the growth of Tacoma, highlighting the long-standing tension between tribal sovereignty and urban expansion.
- The Horror in the Cabin: A Tacoma Tragedy
A brutal murder of a fruit dealer in his sleep reveals the violent shadow of immigrant debt and desperation in 1892 Tacoma.
- The Cabin on South Nineteenth Street
A brutal murder in Tacoma’s Italian community shocks the city, leading to a swift conviction of a man who carried holy relics to his own trial.
- The Sudden End of a Tacoma Tycoon
A wealthy real estate developer and pillar of the financial community takes his own life following financial struggles.
- Tacoma’s Chinese Merchant Question Turns to Threats of Violence
A visiting Chinese businessman tests whether Tacoma will admit Chinese merchants, while the Trades Council calls them “a pestilential social element” and a crowd waits at the depot.
- A Nighttime Murder in Tacoma
A popular patrolman is stabbed to death by strangers while off-duty, sparking a vigilante threat in the streets.
- Chinese Merchants Return to Tacoma
A trading company opens in the Bostwick Block, sparking fears of renewed anti-Chinese violence.
- Chinese Merchants Return to Tacoma Streets
For the first time since the forced expulsion of 1885, Chinese business owners walk the streets of Tacoma openly.
- Four Killers Confined in Pierce County Jail
A grim summary of four separate homicide cases in Tacoma, as of August 1892, including one death caused by a drunken assault.
- The Battle for Steilacoom Lake
A landmark lawsuit reveals the vanished history of Washington's oldest grist mill and the early water wars of Pierce County.
- The Political War of the Sound: Tacoma versus Seattle
As gubernatorial candidate John H. McGraw barnstorms the state, Tacoma’s political elite launch a bitter, personal smear campaign against him, citing his connection to Seattle's growth.
- A Brutal Encounter on C Street
A prominent cashier is left bleeding on a Tacoma sidewalk after an altercation with his former lodger.
- The Great Cascade Washout of 1892
A Chinook wind and torrential rain trigger massive landslides and bridge collapses, paralyzing rail travel across Washington.
- The Great Tacoma Cylinder Heist
A local businessman is drugged and swindled out of a small fortune in company stock while bar-hopping in Tacoma.
- Exposing the Opium Dens of Opera Alley
A local expose reveals that teenage messenger boys are being drawn into the city's opium dens and disreputable houses, triggering a promised police crackdown.
- Point Defiance Dynamite Disaster
A workplace explosion at Point Defiance Park leaves one man dead and several others gravely injured.