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 |
|---|---|
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1891 | 9 |
| 1892 | 46 |
| 1893 | 69 |
| 1894 | 60 |
| 1895 | 44 |
235 stories
- The Sky Turned to Smoke: Forest Fires Choke Puget Sound
Fires across Whatcom, Skagit and the Olympic Mountains destroyed bridges, barns and a shingle mill, derailed a Great Northern train and left Puget Sound under a suffocating haze.
- The Salmon War at Point Roberts: Lummi Tribe Battles Cannery Giant Over Treaty Fishing Rights
A federal judge is set to decide whether the Alaska Packing Association's fish traps illegally block the salmon run, pitting Indigenous treaty rights against a quarter-million-dollar cannery industry.
- Twenty-Three Miners Died. An Old Miner Blamed the Air.
After an explosion at Blue Canyon in Whatcom County killed 23 men, a veteran miner wrote to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the mines were not properly ventilated—and that inspectors and bosses ignored miners who knew better.
- The Opium Smuggler's Revenge
A Whatcom man claims he was framed by corrupt officials in a botched smuggling sting, and he's ready to tell all in court.
- The Waldron Block Inferno
A landmark four-story brick building in Fairhaven is destroyed by fire, leaving the community reeling after a disastrous attempt to control the blaze with faulty equipment.
- An International Love-Feast at the Boundary
Washington and British Columbia celebrate the completion of the Fairhaven & Southern Railroad with silver hammers and toasts to a shared future.
- The Elopement That Gripped Whatcom
When a thirteen-year-old girl ran away with a suitor, the resulting pursuit and public scandal exposed the harsh limits of autonomy and safety for youth in the 1890s.
- The Mayor's Fists in Whatcom
A City Council meeting spirals into chaos as the mayor orders the violent ejection of a dissenting councilman.
- Tragedy at Blue Canyon Mine
A Seattle carpenter falls forty-eight feet to his death after being struck by a coal car at a Whatcom County mine.
- A Bloody Brawl at Blue Canyon
A quiet laborer is left battered after a saloon dispute over a wrestling match turns into a targeted assault.
- Tragedy on the Lummi Reservation
An elderly Lummi man is found dead in his cabin, with suspicion turning toward his young wife and her rumored lover.
- The Disappearance of the Traveling Minister
A Presbyterian preacher sets out from Seattle for the wilderness outposts of Acme and Nooksack and vanishes without a trace.
- A Violent Train Ride to Justice
An emigrant inspector draws his weapon on a prisoner during a heated rail journey, only to be cleared of charges by a federal court.
- Corruption Scandal Sweeps Whatcom
Former city officials are arrested for embezzlement while the community demands a grand jury to investigate municipal rot.
- Boodle and Bust in Whatcom
An embattled treasurer and a jailed clerk highlight a city spiraling into scandal as citizens call for a grand jury.
- A Scandal in Fairhaven's Coffers
How one official's massive theft transformed city tax enforcement forever.
- The Forged Deed of Fairhaven
A landmark land title dispute is settled in court after the discovery of a printing date discrepancy.
- The Deadly Logic of the Cabin Trap
A man sets a shotgun trigger to protect his home, with fatal consequences for a stranger.
- An Undocumented Arrival in Whatcom
A Chinese man found hiding in a tool box on a rail car bound for Seattle illustrates the brutal reality of the Exclusion era.
- The Woodin Mill Burns Down
A fire sparked by a friction belt destroys a major Fairhaven lumber mill, leaving forty-seven men jobless in an already struggling economy.
- A Brutal Robbery at a Wealthy Fruit Farm
After withdrawing a large sum of money for wages, a fruit farmer in the Hall’s Prairie area was shot by intruders in his own home.
- The 'Dummy' Notes That Toppled a Bank
A financial scandal in Whatcom County exposes a web of fake assets and political maneuvering between rival cities.
- The Fight for Point Roberts’ Shoreline
A powerful fishing association is accused of manipulating land filings to secure a monopoly on the valuable tide lands, pushing out local competitors.
- A Squall Off Chuckanut: The Mail Steamer Buckeye Goes Down
The steamer Buckeye capsized in Bellingham Bay in 1893, leaving passengers and crew clinging to a lifeboat and raft. All but one survived.
- The Buckeye Went Down in a Gale—and One Passenger Almost Made It
The steamer Buckeye broke up in the Salish Sea; a rescued stockman described how shifting cattle, a swamped lifeboat, and freezing water killed H. Kautzman within sight of help.