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 | 62 |
| 1858 | 29 |
| 1859 | 52 |
| 1860 | 27 |
| 1861 | 101 |
| 1862 | 87 |
| 1863 | 69 |
| 1864 | 32 |
| 1865 | 11 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 812 |
| 1877 | 678 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 180 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 911 |
| 1884 | 499 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,324 |
| 1890 | 287 |
| 1891 | 1,115 |
| 1892 | 2,855 |
| 1893 | 2,829 |
| 1894 | 2,116 |
| 1895 | 1,830 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 62 |
| 1898 | 196 |
| 1899 | 446 |
| 1900 | 114 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,332 |
| 1904 | 1,126 |
| 1905 | 124 |
| 1907 | 53 |
| 1908 | 351 |
| 1909 | 1,545 |
| 1910 | 413 |
| 1911 | 160 |
| 1912 | 73 |
| 1914 | 261 |
| 1915 | 300 |
| 1916 | 545 |
| 1917 | 332 |
| 1918 | 45 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 18 |
| 1923 | 185 |
| 1924 | 151 |
| 1925 | 64 |
| 1928 | 14 |
| 1929 | 19 |
2,231 stories
- The Final Edition of the Snohomish Sun
After three years of chronicling the growth of Puget Sound, the publisher of the Snohomish Sun shutters his paper, citing bankruptcy, personal heartbreak, and the 'paralyzed' logging industry of 1879.
- The Boom on Front and Columbia
As Seattle grew in the summer of 1878, new tenements began rising on the waterfront, promising modern conveniences in the shadow of the bustling docks.
- The Price of a Whitewash Job
A working man in Tacoma learns the hard way that 'at par' is a relative term when his employer tries to pass off devalued currency for honest labor.
- The Giant of Wawawai
A crew grading a road near the Snake River unearths the remains of a man estimated to be thirty feet tall.
- The Wild Foot Race on Commercial Street
Before the city grew, Seattle’s main thoroughfare hosted a high-stakes sprint that drew crowds to the rooftops and left bettors stunned.
- The Unreliable Peer: A Seattle Critique of Jury Bias
An 1878 editorial laments that the 'glory of English law' is being tarnished by jurors who prioritize class bias over evidence.
- The Tramp Economy of Early Seattle
A reporter encounters a 'bummer' among the weeds of Mission Bay, revealing the harsh, transient reality of laborers who roamed the Pacific Coast in the 1870s.
- The Alpine Music of South Seattle
South Seattle residents protest the discordant 'Alpine music' of roaming livestock that kept the neighborhood awake.
- The Midnight Hazard on Front Street
A pedestrian falls into an open trench, highlighting the lack of basic safety measures in a growing, construction-heavy Seattle.
- Primary Meeting Erupts in Laughter
A political primary meeting takes a humorous turn when a physician makes a pointed jab at the judiciary.
- Washington Territory Moves Toward a Constitutional Convention
Before Washington became a state, residents debated the necessity of a constitutional convention and the potential riches of federal land grants.
- The Hidden Stakes in Seattle's Founding
A legal dispute over Dr. David Maynard’s 640-acre donation claim reveals the overlooked property rights of his late wife, Lydia A. Maynard.
- The Great Seattle Land Foreclosure of 1878
A sweeping list of hundreds of local property owners faced with losing their land to the county for unpaid taxes, signaling the precarious nature of early Seattle real estate.
- The Delinquent Tax Rolls of Territorial Seattle
A haunting, granular list of property owners from 1875 and 1876 whose land was seized by the county, documenting the precarious nature of early Seattle ownership.
- Seattle's 1878 Auction of Property for Unpaid Taxes
When the city of Seattle moved to liquidate the private property of its citizens to cover a year of unpaid taxes.
- Seattle’s 1878 Auction of Delinquent Tax Properties
When the city's growth outpaced its residents' pockets, dozens of Seattle properties were put on the auction block to cover delinquent taxes.
- The Price of Failure on the Duwamish
As Seattle grew, a wave of court-ordered property auctions flooded the local papers, displacing families and settling debt with the cold finality of the sheriff’s gavel.
- The Price of Seattle’s Growth: A 1878 Land Liquidation
A wave of court-ordered property auctions in 1878 reveals the precarious nature of land ownership and debt in early Seattle, as local families and businesses faced the loss of their holdings.
- A.A. Denny’s Seattle Addition Lots Sold at 1878 Sheriff’s Sale
A sheriff’s notice reveals the brutal efficiency of debt collection in 1878, as land in Denny’s Addition and the Duwamish River banks are liquidated to satisfy private loans.
- The Price of Seattle's Expansion: A Sheriff's Sale
Legal notices from 1878 reveal a community grappling with debt, foreclosures, and the relentless churn of land ownership in the rapidly developing territory of Washington.
- A.A. Denny's Addition Property Sold for 1878 Judgments
A wave of sheriff's sales across King County in 1878 signals the brutal fallout of debt and property litigation in a young, boom-and-bust frontier city.
- The Price of Development in 1878
A wave of land foreclosures hits King County as local settlers see their riverfront properties seized to satisfy debt.
- The Price of Panic: Seattle's 1878 Foreclosure Wave
A legal notice detailing the seizure of property in Seattle and King County reveals a landscape defined by debt, land disputes, and the brutal finality of the Sheriff’s gavel.
- The Forgotten Sick of 1876
Dr. G.A. Weed’s ad for the Seattle Hospital promises care for those without homes, offering medical and surgical treatment at a time when the city was still finding its infrastructure.
- The Price of Early Seattle: A 60x120 Lot for Sale
Before the skyscrapers and the tech giants, a simple real estate listing in the 1876 press reveals the humble origins of land ownership in a budding Seattle.