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.
Refine1 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 |
3,195 stories
- A Judge Refuses to Seat Jurors Because Tacoma Has No Money to Pay Them
Judge John Stallcup's one-man budget protest shut down his Tacoma courtroom—and exposed a broken system of delinquent taxes and unpaid jurors.
- Tragedy at the Puyallup Indian School
A young student is killed in a firearm accident during a gathering on the reservation.
- The Ghost Husband of Tacoma
A woman remarries after believing her husband died in a British train wreck, only to discover he is alive and working as a railway guard.
- The Nativists Break Ranks: A.P.A. Refuses to March With the Hibernians
Tacoma's Fourth of July celebration splits in two as the American Protective Association, objecting to Irish Catholic marchers, stages its own morning parade — and the city council votes to march in both.
- Mining Syndicate Collapses After Tragedy
A judge appoints a receiver for two local coal mining companies following the death of their president and mounting unpaid wages.
- The Mysterious Death of Gotlieb Eggimann
A quiet man planning a new life on a farm is found dead in a Tacoma gulch, fueling rumors of a calculated crime.
- The Mystery of the Missing Draft
A Swiss immigrant looking to buy a farm in Tacoma disappears, leaving behind his tools and unanswered questions about a $660 payment.
- The Child Acrobat's Ordeal
A young performer rescued from a traveling act bears the brutal marks of a stove poker and a buckled strap, sparking a court battle over his custody.
- Typhoid Fears Reach Tacoma’s Water Supply
A fatality linked to the Clover Creek watershed raises alarms about the city's drinking water quality.
- The Criminal Past of an Accused Hold-up Man
John Burke, arrested for the fatal shooting of a local druggist, revealed to have a history of brushes with the law across the state.
- Miners Clash at a Wilkeson Roadhouse
A quarrel over a woman and drinks ends in a shooting, sparking a community uprising in the coal-mining town.
- The Price of a Lost Limb
A teenager files suit after a gruesome factory accident left him permanently disabled while working on machinery.
- The Battle for Cheaper Lights
Mayor Campbell's administration faced intense pushback from the city council while attempting to dismantle an electric lighting monopoly.
- Smelter Boarding House Reduced to Ash After Brawl
A drunken dispute between boarders turned into an explosive inferno at the smelter district, leaving residents fleeing for their lives.
- Domestic Abuse in the Care System
A Tacoma widow seeking work finds the woman paid to watch her children was beating them with a leather strap.
- Refugees Fleeing the Russian Empire Reach Tacoma
Two Jewish merchants arrive in Tacoma after a thousand-mile sledge journey to escape military persecution in Vladivostok.
- Logging Camp Dispute Leaves Man Near Death
A violent confrontation at a Kapowsin logging camp results in a shooting that hospitalizes one worker and lands another in jail.
- The Con Man and the Tacoma Jail
After swindling banks for a half-million dollars, a notorious criminal is captured in Tacoma and offers an interview from behind bars.
- The Millionaire Forger in a Hospital Bed
A notorious mail robber and master forger is caught in Tacoma after a nationwide manhunt, but the city isn't letting him go just yet.
- A Predatory Property Theft
An Indigenous woman fights to reclaim land she says was swindled from her in a saloon transaction.
- The Fight Over Who Owns the Reservation
A legal battle over assessing Puyallup Indian lands triggers a debate on citizenship and taxation in the Superior Court.
- An Illiterate Man's Ten Acres Stolen for Ten Dollars
A local Indigenous man has sued to reclaim land he says he was swindled out of while intoxicated.
- Lost in the Quinault Wilderness
After a three-week search, the fate of a Tacoma hunter who vanished into the mountains is finally understood.
- Congress Opens Puyallup Reservation Lands to Private Sale
A federal decision ends long-standing ambiguity, allowing the Puyallup people to sell or lease their allotted lands and subjecting the property to taxation.
- 1904 Whitworth College Students and Faculty Challenge Board's Authority
A campus in crisis as trustees move to fire the president and faculty, sparking student protests and rumors of internal power struggles.