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 |
|---|---|
| 1907 | 3 |
| 1908 | 16 |
| 1909 | 28 |
| 1910 | 10 |
57 stories
- Railroad Strike Paralyzes the Northwest
A massive walkout of switchmen leaves freight stranded from Duluth to the Pacific, forcing shops to close and threatening regional industry.
- The Fight for Western Autonomy
Spokane conservationists organize to challenge federal control over forests, water, and mining rights.
- A Judge, a Railroad, and a Grand Jury: Spokane's 1909 Corruption Sweep
Judge M. J. Gordon faces six indictments over a $28,000 bad check and embezzlement from the Great Northern, while the state insurance commissioner and secretary of state are pulled into the grand jury's net.
- Poindexter's Manager Claims the Farmers and Working Men Are His
Rufus R. Wilson returns from a statewide swing insisting the Progressive Republican League has 96 newspapers and 80 percent of Yakima farmers behind Miles Poindexter for Senate — against a field of millionaires.
- Five Million Apples and a Telegraph From Roosevelt
In December 1908, Spokane promised 80,000 square feet of fruit, international prizes and a presidential telegraph—all to crown itself the apple capital of the world.
- The Great Northern Stays: Hillyard's Railroad Shops to Grow, Quashing Talk of a Move to Newport
Great Northern surveyors lay out a quarter-million dollars' worth of new locomotive and coach shops at Hillyard — and in doing so, put to rest the rumor that the railway might pull up stakes and relocate its repair yard to Newport.
- The Great Northern's Bad-Luck Stop: Freight Wreck at Elk
A through eastbound freight slammed into the caboose of a local train at Elk, smashing six cars and tying up traffic for hours—just the latest wreck at a town with a reputation.
- Saloon Keepers Challenge Dry Vote, Test Case Heads to Higher Court
After Spokane County townships vote dry, John W. Kritzer of Elk opens his saloon, gets fined $25, and appeals—setting up a legal fight over local option.
- Gold Under the Lawns: A Sewer Dig Strikes It Rich in Spokane
City workmen excavating a sewer in a fashionable Spokane neighborhood turn up ore assaying over $2,000 a ton — and neighbors start talking about sinking shafts in their front yards.
- A Minister's Daughter Confesses to Forgery—and Promises a Tell-All Book
Winifred Moter, now Mrs. A. G. Daniels, waived examination on a $300 check charge and was bound over to superior court, while her father, a Newport minister, was expected to arrange bail.
- Spokane Wins Freight-Rate Fight Against the Railroads
The Interstate Commerce Commission orders cuts from Chicago and St. Paul, a victory that promised cheaper goods and a broader home market for Newport and the Inland Empire.
- The $5 Billion Plan to Remake the Arid West
At the National Irrigation Congress in Spokane, Interior Secretary Ballinger and Chief Forester Pinchot squared off over whether public bonds or private capital should reclaim the West.
- The Judge, the Railroad and the Case That Fell Apart
Prosecutors in Spokane can barely get evidence before the jury as M. J. Gordon, a former Washington chief justice, stands accused of embezzling $9,200 in railroad settlement money.
- A Land-Fraud Prosecutor Warns the Homestead Loophole Is Closing
Fresh from prosecuting land fraud, F. M. Goodwin opens a Spokane law office and predicts Congress will tighten the Timber and Stone Act and the homestead commutation loophole.
- A Schoolteacher's Last Note: 'God Knows I Am Not the Cause of This'
Rosa Baumberger, 24, came to Spokane from the Metaline schoolhouse and died by her own hand in a hotel room, leaving a note that insisted on her innocence and a friend who begged the papers not to stain her name.
- The Tungsten Under the Schoolhouse: Stevens County's Buried Fortune
A state geologist confirms the richest tungsten deposits in the Northwest lie beneath state school lands north of Deer Park — and the state must decide whether to lock in 30-year leases or keep the mineral wealth for its school fund.
- Spokane Grants the Right to Speak on Its Streets
After two years of fighting, Spokane lets citizens take the soapbox — and the first permit goes to a woman evangelist and slum worker.
- Dynamite Blast Near Spokane Kills One and Points to a Safe-Blowing Plot
Police believed three men were extracting nitroglycerine from dynamite for safecracking when the charge went off; one died, another was near death, and a third landed in jail.
- A Spokane Judge Blows Smoke Through Washington’s Cigarette Ban
The state’s new cigarette prohibition was unconstitutional, Judge Sullivan ruled, because a law titled as regulation could not impose outright prohibition.
- The Wreck That Nearly Came Through Newport
A loose rail derailed an engine near Hillyard just as two soldier trains were passing through the region. Speed—or the lack of it—was all that prevented a disaster.
- Spokane Digs a Street Beneath Its Streets
The Spokane Inland Railway breaks ground on a four-thousand-foot concrete tunnel under Front Avenue, with two underground stations and a three-year timeline.
- A $56 Check Sends a Housekeeper to Prison for Up to 14 Years
Mrs. Maybelle Coitrell, desperate for work, forged a Spokane millionaire's name—and drew a sentence that outweighed the theft many times over.
- Great Northern Refuses to Pay the Salary Loan Sharks
The railroad tells a Spokane court that an employee's wage assignment is usury, setting up a test case over predatory lending.
- A Ledge of Bismuth: Deer Park's Tungsten King Assays Rich
Miners drifting into the Tungsten King hit an eight-foot ledge assaying $1,100 a ton in bismuth, with silver and gold besides.
- Spokane County Clerk Accused of Turning Court Funds Into His Own Interest Account
C. E. Atkinson was arrested after a grand jury indicted him for depositing litigants’ money to his personal credit and collecting the interest.