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 |
|---|---|
| 1861 | 6 |
| 1862 | 5 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1876 | 7 |
| 1877 | 6 |
| 1878 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1884 | 2 |
| 1885 | 12 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 3 |
| 1889 | 9 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 13 |
| 1892 | 26 |
| 1893 | 19 |
| 1894 | 19 |
| 1895 | 10 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1899 | 3 |
| 1903 | 4 |
| 1904 | 5 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1908 | 4 |
| 1909 | 11 |
| 1910 | 4 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 9 |
| 1916 | 13 |
| 1917 | 5 |
| 1923 | 4 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
38 stories matching agenc
- Colville Agency Indigenous Displacement
Newspaper reports indicate that Indigenous people at the Colville Agency in Washington Territory are being actively forced off their ancestral lands by encroaching white settlers.
- The Price of a Day's Pay: Seattle’s 1887 Labor Brokers
A deep dive into the predatory practices of late 19th-century employment agencies that thrived on the desperation of transient laborers.
- The Shadow Over the Hop Harvest
A recruitment advertisement for labor captures the simmering racial tensions and exclusionary practices of the 1885 Washington hop fields.
- The Unseen War for the Puget Sound Pantry
An 1882 look at how San Francisco's economic grip and 'unfriendly agencies' were stifling the potential of Washington Territory's fishing industry.
- The Pony Express Rider of Grand Coulee
A young, nameless conductor pulls off a daring rescue mission to uncover why telegraph riders were vanishing, leading to a grim discovery in the rugged depths of the Washington interior.
- The 'Tramp' and the Steamer Ticket
A traveler, left penniless on the docks of Tacoma, finds an unexpected reprieve through a local act of charity.
- The Real Estate Hustle of 1888
Before the skyline, there were the speculators: a look at how early Seattle developers used the 'Great City' narrative to sell lots in mud-soaked additions.
- The Unflinching Defense of Mrs. Dudley
Facing a court in a high-stakes trial, a woman demands the right to testify in her own defense, challenging the gendered biases of her era.
- The Wild Goose Chase of 1887
Two con artists fleeced immigrant laborers in Seattle by selling them jobs on farms that did not exist.
- Uproar Over the Removal of the Yakima Agency
Local outrage mounts as the federal government ousts an Indian agent despite tribal protests.
- The Industry of Cheating the Line
A look at the cat-and-mouse game between railroad conductors, ticket scalpers, and the detectives hired to catch them.
- An Indian Agent Defends His Administration
Agent C.W. Young addresses allegations of monopoly and mistreatment of the Indigenous population at his reservation.
- The Daily Hustle in 1884: Seattle’s Employment Market
A local advertisement offers a window into the hard-pressed economic life of the 1880s, where employment bureaus doubled as commercial clearinghouses for everything from Chinese hop pickers to ship crews.
- The Price of Independence
A fiery retort from the Post-Intelligencer defending Seattle's civic spirit against charges of anti-railroad agitation.
- Garbage, Disease, and Dead Animals: Seattle's 1889 Growing Pains
Newly inaugurated Mayor Wheelwright lays out an ambitious and desperate sanitation plan as city council grapples with the fallout of the Great Seattle Fire and the perils of rapid, unregulated urban expansion.
- The Great Stink of 1882
When Makah schoolgirls in Neah Bay proved to their matron that rotting whale blubber smelled better than imported Limburger cheese.
- A Tribe Executes Its Own Murderer Before the Agent Arrives
The Colville band hangs a man who killed a fellow Indian and committed a fresh crime, administering last rites before the government agent can reach camp.
- Harvest Hands Are Scarce, and the Bunch Grass Is Turning to Hay
Kittitas farmers face a labor shortage, prematurely ripened grain and a dry-weather hay crop as barley and fall wheat come in.
- The Tall Tale of a Shipwreck Survivor
A man claiming to be a shipwreck survivor arrives in Seattle with an incredible story, only for the local press to tear his narrative to shreds.
- The Bold Ambitions of Bellingham Bay
A committee of local leaders assembles at the Whatcom Hotel to plan a regional future of railroads, universities, and industrial growth.
- The Struggle for Local Self-Government
The Post-Intelligencer defends Seattle’s municipal independence against territorial legislative overreach.
- A False Rumor Nearly Wrecks a Spokane Firm — and the City Rallies With $166,000 in Offers
The Portland Board of Trade reports Sweeny & Co. failed with $75,000 in liabilities; within days the firm proves itself solvent and the city's reputation is on the line.
- The Brutality of the Ring on Sunday
An editorial denounces a lawless prize-fight in Seattle and the city officials who allowed it to happen.
- The Yakima River Train Wreck
A tragic collision at a rocky bluff on the Yakima River leaves seven dead and exposes a reckless culture of railroad speeding and negligence.
- Fatal Debt: A Dispute Over Sewing Machine Collections Ends in Murder
A Seattle sewing machine manager, Arthur M. Peck, was fatally shot at his residence after a heated collection dispute with a client in Olympia escalated to lethal violence.