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 |
|---|---|
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 7 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 3 |
| 1883 | 37 |
| 1884 | 21 |
| 1885 | 30 |
| 1886 | 16 |
| 1887 | 59 |
| 1888 | 27 |
| 1889 | 60 |
| 1890 | 4 |
| 1891 | 44 |
| 1892 | 220 |
| 1893 | 223 |
| 1894 | 200 |
| 1895 | 154 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 4 |
| 1899 | 26 |
| 1903 | 54 |
| 1904 | 784 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1907 | 7 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 716 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 7 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
2,734 stories
- The Widow’s Bargain
An elderly woman signs away her property in exchange for the county's promise to provide her care for the remainder of her life.
- The Parkland College Sewage Standoff
Despite pressure from the Public Works Commissioner, the president of Parkland College refuses to move a cesspool, claiming it poses no threat to city water.
- The Divorce Case Slugfest
A bitter custody and alimony dispute turns physical in a Tacoma law office.
- The Asphalt Monopoly on Pacific Avenue
Tacoma’s city government faces pressure as questions arise over paving specifications that seem designed to benefit a massive asphalt trust.
- Ghosts in the Voting Booth: Election Fraud Suspected in Tacoma
Registration rolls are found to be packed with names of men who don't exist and addresses that aren't there, raising alarms of election rigging.
- A Violent Scuffle in Old Town
A longtime Tacoma patrolman is hospitalized with severe injuries after attempting to arrest a disruptive sailor in a waterfront saloon.
- The Saturday Night Highwaymen
A masked gang terrorized citizens on the edge of town, holding up two men at gunpoint in a single night.
- The Persistent Mystery of the Criswell House
Neighbors are in an uproar after two women broke into a Tacoma home to reclaim an infant, the latest in a string of strange baby-related incidents involving Mrs. Charles Criswell.
- The Shadowy Business of the Slot Machine King
A divorce trial involving a Tacoma slot machine operator reveals a hidden world of illicit gambling and domestic abuse.
- Showfolk Stranded in South Tacoma
A traveling circus troupe is left destitute on a station platform after a management dispute leaves them without food, funds, or transport.
- The Recurring Scandal of the Red Light District
A citizen's letter alleging the return of vice signals in the 'Sandberg district' forces the city council to address the mayor's controversial tolerance of restricted zones.
- The Fight for Point Defiance
A concerned citizen accuses park superintendent Nelson Bennett of using 'railroad and not park ideas' to destroy the natural beauty of Point Defiance.
- Harness Maker’s Mysterious Disappearance Leaves Family Destitute
After vanishing with his life savings, a local craftsman resurfaced in San Francisco claiming total amnesia, fueling rumors of foul play.
- The Plea of an Ex-Convict
A man caught breaking into a North End residence claims poverty drove him to steal, sparking a brief glimpse into the struggle for survival in 1910s Tacoma.
- Elevator Mishap at Hunt Mottet Hardware
A 14-year-old employee was critically injured while operating a freight elevator in downtown Tacoma.
- Explosion Rocks Rooming House on Pacific Avenue
A defective chimney sparks a blaze in a three-story rooming house, leading to a mysterious explosion that shook the entire structure.
- A Whitworth Student's Despair
After reading 'trashy' novels, a 16-year-old student attempts suicide twice in one day.
- A Detective's Bizarre Extortion Claim
A Tacoma private investigator is accused of kidnapping a woman who claims he harassed her after a dispute over a $1,000 demand.
- The Saloonkeeper’s Misrepresented Nationality
A group of Norwegian citizens in Tacoma take a public stand against a local businessman claiming their heritage for political gain.
- The Great Moonlight Water Pipe Heist
The Tacoma Light and Water Company sues the city after the Mayor and Board of Public Works seized their pipes under the cover of darkness.
- A Rope of Rags, a Jar of Coal Oil, and a Tacoma Arson Plot
Fire Chief Bruemmer found a carefully laid fuse running through a mortgaged tenement—just before the owner left town for Neah Bay.
- A Wife Followed Her Husband to Tacoma. Then She Swallowed Laudanum.
William Woodard's wife tracked him from Portland to the Auburn House, where she found him living with Mollie Agnew. A suicide attempt, an adultery charge and a stack of newspaper clippings followed.
- Three Banks, One Creamery, and a Race Against the Clock
Seattle and Tacoma banks claw over the last assets of an insolvent creamery, ending with a sheriff's sprint to the wharf before an injunction could land.
- The Iron Horse Comes to Tacoma
Thousands gather at the waterfront in 1887 to witness the arrival of the first direct Northern Pacific train from the East, marking a new era of connectivity for the Pacific Northwest.
- The General Who Laid Out Tacoma
Maj. Gen. John W. Sprague—Northern Pacific superintendent, Tacoma's first mayor and a founder of its bank and chamber—died at 74, leaving a city he helped place on the map.