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 |
5,298 stories
- Labor Dispute Leads to Stand-off on City Dock
Striking railroad workers, unpaid and hungry, threaten their contractor after being stranded in Seattle.
- The Waterfront Exclusion
Citizens are being physically hustled off the docks as a new, exclusionary policy takes hold during passenger boat arrivals.
- Boston Capital Eyes Seattle Cable Cars
A visiting financier negotiates a massive infrastructure deal to bridge Seattle’s steep hills with new technology.
- The Tragic End of a Seattle Art Teacher
After struggling to establish her art classes in Seattle, a young California woman takes her own life using poison purchased at a local drugstore.
- Old-Timer Assaulted by Land-Grant Lobbyist
A pioneer settler is attacked on Main Street by a man hired to lobby against land reform, fueling local outrage against corporate influence.
- A Bloody Brawl on Commercial Street
A long-standing feud between a bartender and a steamer water tender erupts in public, leaving both men facing legal trouble.
- The Inside Story of Seattle's Rail Woes
John Leary reveals why plans for a railroad to the Cedar River coal fields have stalled, exposing the delicate dance between local boosters and coal barons.
- Thrown Off the Train for Three Miles
A railroad conductor enforces a strict, rigid, and brutal fare policy against a weary worker in Centralia.
- The Battle of the Kittitas Toll-Gate
A road construction project in the mountains has sparked a local rebellion, pitting frustrated residents against the private toll-road operators.
- Hotel Showdown at the Brunswick
A local hop farmer and a married woman are caught in a tense, armed confrontation in a hotel room.
- The Dream of a Seattle Ship Canal
Proposals to link Lake Washington, Lake Union, and the Puget Sound via canals promised to unlock vast timber and coal riches, but the path forward remains a tangled mess of congressional bills and engineering hurdles.
- The Judge and the Brothel
A Tacoma magistrate’s attempt to move his court away from a neighboring brothel backfired when the City Council ordered him to clean up the street instead.
- The Herald's Scathing Feud with the P.-I.
When North Yakima was scolded by Seattle’s 'royal' newspaper for suggesting a statehood convention, the new local paper hit back with a venomous letter and a call for better manners.
- The Con Man Who Conned a Town
Before he was caught, a master swindler known as 'Gen. Ward' charmed the elite of Spokane Falls and eloped with a banker's daughter.
- Uproar Over the Removal of the Yakima Agency
Local outrage mounts as the federal government ousts an Indian agent despite tribal protests.
- A Bloody Dispute Over a Debt in Wenatchee
A local man is fighting for his life after a heated confrontation over unpaid money turned into a violent gunfight.
- Indigenous Couples Legally Wed in Shelton
Four Indigenous couples at Skokomish hold a ceremony to secure legal recognition of their long-standing marriages.
- A Gunsmith’s Final Misfire
A lifelong firearms expert and pioneer gunsmith meets a tragic, accidental end at his home near Shelton.
- A Train Derails in the Smoky Woods
A Satsop Railroad locomotive plunges off the tracks after hitting a fallen tree in the fire-choked timberlands near Shelton.
- Longshoremen Halt the Coal Dock
A standoff over wages at the Seattle coal docks ended with a demonstration that forced non-union laborers to walk off the job.
- The Great Courthouse Location Battle
Prominent citizens join a protest against building the new county courthouse on a high hill that is inaccessible and inconvenient.
- The Railroad Stakes a Claim on the Tide Lands
The Columbia and Puget Sound Railroad issues a public warning regarding ownership of Seattle's tide lands.
- Passing of Kotiocken, Son of Kamiakin
The death of a Yakima Indian leader highlights the ongoing tensions regarding assimilation and the encroachment of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- Primary Election Fraud Alleged in King County
Citizens of the People's Party accuse local political rings of rigging ward primaries through intimidation and mass-importing voters.
- Surveyors Map a Path for the Lake Washington Ship Canal
A mysterious but well-funded crew begins the long, arduous work of designing a canal to connect the Sound to Lake Washington.