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 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 4 |
| 1876 | 16 |
| 1877 | 13 |
| 1878 | 15 |
| 1879 | 1 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 15 |
| 1884 | 7 |
| 1885 | 3 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 5 |
| 1888 | 11 |
| 1889 | 24 |
| 1891 | 14 |
| 1892 | 13 |
| 1893 | 23 |
| 1894 | 28 |
| 1895 | 38 |
| 1897 | 1 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 6 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 9 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 19 |
| 1910 | 4 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1914 | 2 |
| 1915 | 2 |
| 1916 | 5 |
| 1917 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
71 stories matching descript
- The Hunter and the Runaway
A determined civilian investigator tracks a suspect across the West, certain he’s bagged a notorious fugitive, while the target sits in a Seattle jail cell for the minor crime of selling liquor to Indians.
- The 1888 Rental Crisis in Puyallup
As the timber industry boomed and population surged, local workers found themselves in a housing crunch that sounds all too familiar today.
- The Bricklayer Shortage of 1888
As Seattle began its rapid expansion, contractors scrambled to find enough skilled labor to keep pace with the building boom.
- The Forger Who Could Not Outrun the Telegraph
A determined sheriff tracks a cunning forger from the Midwest to the Pacific Northwest by leveraging a new network of law enforcement telegrams.
- The Battle Against 'Charivari' Noise
When the city council of Vancouver, Washington, decided that raucous wedding serenades were 'disgraceful' to the public order, they took a stand against the tradition of the charivari.
- The Palace on the Hill: A Glimpse into Seattle’s Victorian Splendor
A rare 1885 look inside the 'stately' McNaught residence, a mansion built to impress at Third and Marion.
- The Ghost of the River
A tragic mix-up in identity leaves a drowned man's body buried in a shallow grave until friends intervene.
- Inferno in the Olympics
Citizens gather on Church Hill in Port Angeles to watch a massive timber fire burning in the Olympic Mountains.
- The Settler's Faith in Horse Heaven
Life on the frontier requires more than just endurance; it demands a resilient, if sometimes wavering, belief in the future of the arid landscape.
- The Art of the Vanishing Embezzler
A Los Angeles mill employee absconds with funds, hides out in Seattle under an alias, and stays one step ahead of the detectives in a city-wide cat-and-mouse game.
- The Fight Against Hired Guns
A proposal at the constitutional convention seeks to ban the use of private armed guards like the Pinkertons in Washington state.
- The Struggle for Space: Seattle’s Overcrowded Schools in 1887
An 1887 inspection of Seattle's public schools reveals a city straining against its rapid growth, featuring dilapidated buildings, overcrowding, and a desperate search for adequate space for its pupils.
- The Barber and the Vanishing Man
A man disappears from a train under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a baffled barber and a trail of questions.
- The Strange Disappearance of Nellie McNeil
After a frantic police search, a woman reported missing is discovered living in a rooming house above a local saloon.
- Abandoned and Alone in a Growing City
A woman arrives in Seattle looking for a new start, only to be left destitute by a husband who vanished with their life savings.
- The Ghost of a Property Blunder
Years after a land sale to the federal government for a Seattle lighthouse, officials find a clerical error that threatens the entire title to the property.
- The Future of East Seattle: A New Coney Island for the Northwest
As cable cars crowd toward Lake Washington on Sundays, developers Stern & Miller promise a pleasure resort of hotels and dancing pavilions that will eclipse all others.
- The Marriage and Landing of Chinese Merchants
A customs decision allows the wives of three Chinese merchants to enter Seattle, citing the legal status of marriage.
- The Coney Island of the Northwest: East Seattle’s Forgotten Boom
A late 1880s real estate pitch aimed to transform Mercer Island into a glittering, elite playground for Seattle's elite, promising a future rivaling New York's greatest amusement parks.
- The Quest for a Snoqualmie Pass Railroad
A citizen's pitch for a specific route through the Cascades to connect Seattle with the riches of Eastern Washington.
- The Wild West of Seattle Land Speculation
A single week in April 1889 shows the frantic, high-velocity churn of property ownership as Seattle’s real estate fever hit a boiling point just months before the Great Fire.
- The Real Estate Poet of West Seattle
In an era of aggressive land speculation, developers sold West Seattle not just as property, but as a vision of the Mediterranean transplanted to the Pacific Northwest.
- The Passing of the Duke of York
The leader of the Clallam people, a historic figure and friend to early pioneers, dies in Port Townsend with plans for a monument in his honor.
- The Exclusion of 1888
A new federal law mandates harsh restrictions and identification requirements for Chinese laborers, forcing them to exit and enter through only six designated ports, including Port Townsend.
- The Sheriff’s Shabby Costume: A Prisoner’s Trick to Escape the Penitentiary
In a bizarre twist of early Washington Territory justice, a sheriff attempted to smuggle a prisoner into the territorial penitentiary by disguising him in shabby clothes. The trick failed, but not before the warden made a memorable quip.