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 |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 121 |
| 1877 | 188 |
| 1878 | 155 |
| 1879 | 36 |
| 1880 | 7 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 11 |
| 1884 | 5 |
| 1885 | 17 |
| 1886 | 12 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 6 |
| 1889 | 12 |
| 1890 | 2 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 104 |
| 1893 | 88 |
| 1894 | 34 |
| 1895 | 27 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 5 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 22 |
| 1904 | 16 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1909 | 125 |
| 1910 | 136 |
| 1911 | 140 |
| 1912 | 60 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 3 |
| 1922 | 3 |
| 1923 | 3 |
| 1924 | 2 |
188 stories
- A Correspondent Reports on the Nez Perce Conflict
Writing from Olympia in 1877, a local correspondent describes Nez Perce leaders’ refusal to relocate and the surprise attack that sparked a war many understood as a defense of home.
- The Snohomish Assassination Plot: A Lottery of Death
In February 1877, a local deputy reveals that Governor William Pickering was the target of a sinister lottery scheme to determine who would carry out his murder.
- The Hangman's Verdict: John Thompson Convicted of Murder in Snohomish
A trial that captivated the entire Territory ends with a death sentence for a man accused of killing his friend during a drunken brawl over a card game.
- The Price of Growth in Early Snohomish
While town elites built elegant homes and secured university futures for their sons, a diphtheria outbreak devastated the river settlements, revealing the stark human cost of frontier expansion.
- The Great Land Grab: Citizens Unite to Stop the Railroad's Theft of Public Soil
In a packed meeting at Reinig’s Hall, Snohomish leaders condemn the Northern Pacific Railway for hoarding millions of acres while building a secret coal line, vowing to fight Congress to return the land to settlers.
- The Railroad That Stole Our Land: How Seattle’s Interests Blocked Snohomish’s Future
A furious letter to the editor exposes how political maneuvering in Washington D.C. and Seattle kept vital federal lands locked up, denying homesteaders their rightful homes while railroad tycoons played games with territory.
- The Swift and Terrible Justice of the Gallows
A condemned man is rushed to the gallows in just five days, sparking outrage over the speed of the judicial process in Snohomish.
- The Great Snohomish River Canoe Disaster: A Tale of Terror, Whales, and Pluck
Four prominent local businessmen nearly lost their lives when a massive whale capsized their boat in the dark, but one man’s calm courage saved them all.
- The Railroad's Land Grab: How Northern Pacific Hoarded Snohomish’s Future
A local resident exposes the legal loopholes allowing the railroad to retain millions of acres in Western Washington, arguing that this concentrated ownership is strangling settlement and keeping land prices artificially high.
- The Loggers' Stand Against the Mill Cartel
Facing a coordinated effort to depress timber wages, loggers in the Snohomish valley chose to halt production, sparking a classic confrontation between labor and capital.
- The Struggle for the Pacific Northwest’s Iron Backbone
As the Northern Pacific Railroad languished in 1877, the Governor of Washington Territory demanded the company fulfill its land grant promises to break the cycle of land speculation and stagnation.
- Debating the Northern Railroad's Route to Puget Sound
As the Northern Pacific Railroad eyed a Portland terminus to maximize its land grants, a fierce editorial demands the company fulfill its promise to connect the Columbia River to Puget Sound or forfeit its territory.
- The Judge Who Lobbied for the Church
A scathing critique of Washington Territorial Judge Roger B. Greene, accused of using his office to force tax exemptions for church property through a back-door deal.
- The Stranger at the American House
A quiet traveler claiming to be a homesteader is revealed to be a double-murderer hiding from an Oregon bounty.
- The Sheriff’s Hammer: Snohomish’s Last Stand Against the 'Nuisance'
In March 1877, Judge J.R. Lewis and the local Grand Jury launched a coordinated assault on vice, seizing brothels and fining operators, while simultaneously exposing corruption in county bonds.
- The Land Grabbers of Snohomish: How Loggers Hoarded Tide Marshes
A local editorial exposes the speculative tactics of transient loggers who are buying up fertile river bottomlands for quick profit, leaving the valley's agricultural potential in limbo.
- The Mill Barons Who Took the Wealth and Left the Ruins
A scathing editorial in the 1877 Snohomish Sun condemns Washington Territory’s timber magnates for draining local resources while contributing nothing to schools, roads, or community development.
- The Newspaper Feud of 1877
A Snohomish editor accuses a local county official of petty corruption and personal vendettas, exposing the raw tensions of early frontier governance.
- The Forgotten Soldiers: A Post-War Reckoning
Decades after the Civil War, Snohomish's local paper draws a bitter parallel between the veterans who fought to 'free the negro' and the rising tide of impoverished, displaced laborers struggling for survival in 1877.
- The Riverboat Captain Who Was Everyone’s Personal Errands Boy
Before the age of reliable logistics, the Snohomish riverboat captain was the community’s unofficial delivery service, tasked with everything from baby shoes to engine parts.
- The Great Snohomish Desertion: A Husband Left Penniless by His Wife’s Flight
In a scandal that gripped the small river town in early 1877, a man returned from a logging trip to find his wife had vanished with their cash, leaving him stranded and destitute.
- The Great Cascade: A Pilgrimage to the Roar of Snoqualmie Falls
In July 1877, three travelers walked the rugged trail from Snohomish to Fall City, documenting the lush farms, the hospitality of settlers, and the awe-inspiring power of the falls—a testament to the beauty and isolation of early Washington Territory.
- The River Eats the Office: A Snohomish Flood Story
In January 1877, the Snohomish River rose so high that it swallowed the rear of the Northern Star newspaper office, threatening to wash away the town's press along with its ink.
- The Great Grasshopper Panic: Why Washington Farmers Are Bracing for a Locust Apocalypse
Professor Riley predicts an unprecedented crop of grasshoppers across the Northwest and beyond, urging immediate preparation as eggs hatch in offices from Minnesota to Missouri.
- The Man Who Lost His Mind to a Will: A Snohomish Tragedy
A wealthy local man, stricken with paralysis after a legal dispute over his inheritance, is now confined in the Washington Asylum for the Insane. His family’s fortune may have cost him his sanity.