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 | 1 |
| 1859 | 2 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 2 |
| 1862 | 1 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 22 |
| 1877 | 15 |
| 1878 | 7 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 4 |
| 1883 | 15 |
| 1884 | 8 |
| 1885 | 27 |
| 1886 | 6 |
| 1887 | 13 |
| 1888 | 9 |
| 1889 | 41 |
| 1890 | 9 |
| 1891 | 84 |
| 1892 | 107 |
| 1893 | 152 |
| 1894 | 121 |
| 1895 | 166 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 2 |
| 1899 | 11 |
| 1900 | 3 |
| 1903 | 71 |
| 1904 | 19 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 11 |
| 1909 | 62 |
| 1910 | 10 |
| 1911 | 4 |
| 1912 | 1 |
| 1914 | 8 |
| 1915 | 3 |
| 1916 | 24 |
| 1917 | 26 |
| 1918 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 3 |
| 1925 | 2 |
123 stories matching bond
- The Warehouse That Wasn't: Seattle’s Missing Link to Global Trade
Two importers walk away from the city because it lacks a bonded warehouse, exposing a critical infrastructure gap that threatens Seattle's economic future.
- The Seattle Bond That Broke the Rules
A legal dispute over a $15,000 appeal bond reveals the messy, high-stakes nature of early Seattle commerce and the scrutiny of contract law.
- The Great Sweep: Jefferson County Goes Republican for the First Time
In a historic political shift for Washington Territory, the newly elected county officers in Port Townsend take office, marking the first time Jefferson County has been governed exclusively by Republicans.
- Domestic Violence in Pioneer Seattle
A husband is arrested and held on bond after threatening his wife's life in court.
- The Barn That Was a Courthouse: King County’s Shameful Jail and Office Conditions
An editorial exposé reveals that King County’s records are stored in a 'mere barn' and prisoners live in conditions 'a disgrace to a humane community,' urging the sale of bonds for new buildings.
- The Disappearing Clerk of Commercial Street
A dry goods clerk accused of larceny abandons his bond and flees to Port Townsend under an assumed name.
- The Classroom of 1885: Eyesight, Health, and the 'Teacher's Burden'
Before the era of standardized testing, Seattle educators gathered to debate the physical design of the classroom, the 'proper' seating of pupils, and the creeping dangers of nearsightedness.
- The $10,000 Gamble: How Seattle Citizens Bought Their Way to the World
In a desperate bid to secure a transcontinental rail link and outmaneuver rival Tacoma, local merchants pooled their own money to subsidize the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway.
- Seattle's Saloon Keepers Face the 'High License' Squeeze
As 1885 begins, the city cracks down on liquor sellers, leaving many owners struggling to pay their bonds—and prompting some to consider an honest day's work instead.
- City Council Members Dodge Responsibility on James Street
While private citizens were forced to fulfill their contracts, two city council members allegedly abandoned their own street improvement project without penalty.
- The Northern Pacific Stakes its Claim
Railroad giants bond the Dr. H. A. Smith farm for a new Seattle terminus.
- Charged with Forcible Expulsion
Three men are arrested for conspiracy against the U.S. government following the forced expulsion of Chinese residents from Snohomish.
- The Great Seattle Gamblers' Bailout: How the City's Elite Let Off the Hook
In a crowded courtroom, dozens of men accused of running illegal gambling rings were released on massive bonds, while the sheriff’s office scrambled to account for thousands in cash.
- The Waterfront Tug-of-War: A Seattle Infrastructure Battle
A heated debate on the floor of Congress reveals the growing pains of Seattle’s ports as the territory fights for federal status to manage its booming trade.
- The Mysterious Disappearance of a Local Hotelier
After securing bond on a criminal charge, a local business owner vanished after borrowing money and cigars from a business partner.
- The Struggle for Local Control Over Seattle's Saloons
A new 1886 ordinance tightened the grip of the City Council on the city’s liquor trade, imposing strict licensing, background checks, and Sunday bans in an attempt to regulate the chaos of the frontier economy.
- The Promised Rail Line from Seattle to Gray's Harbor
Investors from New York set their sights on a massive rail expansion to connect Puget Sound to the coast.
- Who Should Own the Canal That Would Make King County?
In a long letter to the editor, a Seattle correspondent takes apart the bill letting King County buy the Washington Canal — and warns that handing the region's only outlet to a private company would 'sell the birthright of the future citizens.'
- The 'Kid Mayor' of Michigan Found in Port Townsend
A brilliant young con artist once known as the 'Kid Mayor' has fled the Washington Territory after his real identity—and a trail of fraudulent bonds—finally caught up with him.
- The Price of the Iron Horse
Boosterism, county subsidies, and the hidden cost of corporate expansion in Walla Walla.
- The Brutal Assault of a Seattle Resident
In an era of casual domestic violence, a man was held to account after beating his wife in their home.
- The Great Timber Land Swindle
A Seattle man is held on $300 bail after a witness confessed to filing multiple fraudulent land claims using fake names.
- The Horror at Slaughter
A man named Spafford is arrested for the gruesome killing of his wife in a small village near the White River after he attempted to perform an illegal abortion.
- Blood on the Waterfront: A Bloody July 4th in LaConner
A quiet holiday celebration in the Skagit County mill town turned violent when a local businessman was stabbed in a saloon dispute.
- The Fiendish 'Joke' at the Seattle Waterfront
A saloon keeper is arrested for a brutal assault on an intoxicated man, having stuffed a burning newspaper into the man's throat as a spectacle for his patrons.