Research the archive
Narrow 22,457 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 | 59 |
| 1858 | 23 |
| 1859 | 27 |
| 1860 | 12 |
| 1861 | 86 |
| 1862 | 77 |
| 1863 | 63 |
| 1864 | 31 |
| 1865 | 10 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 799 |
| 1877 | 667 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 179 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 731 |
| 1884 | 393 |
| 1885 | 837 |
| 1886 | 483 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,301 |
| 1890 | 266 |
| 1891 | 1,023 |
| 1892 | 2,551 |
| 1893 | 2,661 |
| 1894 | 1,989 |
| 1895 | 376 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 20 |
| 1898 | 76 |
| 1899 | 445 |
| 1900 | 106 |
| 1901 | 1 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,202 |
| 1904 | 993 |
| 1905 | 112 |
| 1907 | 17 |
| 1908 | 42 |
| 1909 | 939 |
| 1910 | 163 |
| 1911 | 141 |
| 1912 | 62 |
| 1914 | 239 |
| 1915 | 271 |
| 1916 | 479 |
| 1917 | 289 |
| 1918 | 39 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 14 |
| 1923 | 142 |
| 1924 | 126 |
| 1925 | 58 |
837 stories
- The Massacre at Squak Valley
A coroner's jury investigates the brutal 1885 killing of three Chinese hop-pickers, uncovering a mob's systematic effort to ethnically cleanse the valley.
- Squak Valley Rioters Remanded to Jail
Seven men accused of the murder of Chinese miners at Squak waive their preliminary examination.
- The Smallholder’s Victory Against the Railroad Giant
In a landmark 1883 ruling, the General Land Office denied the Northern Pacific Railroad's claim to homestead land within Tacoma, protecting a local settler's right to his property.
- 1885 Trial Examines Killings of Three Chinese Men in Squak Valley
A trial in Seattle reveals the cold-blooded coordination behind the 1885 anti-Chinese expulsions in Squak Valley, where white laborers and land owners conspired to drive out local workers with gunfire.
- The Governor’s Plea for Order During the Anti-Chinese Riots
Governor Watson C. Squire issues a stern warning against the vigilante violence sweeping across Puget Sound in 1885.
- The Shadow of the Anti-Chinese Expulsions
As tensions boiled over against Chinese laborers in Washington Territory, a trial in Seattle reveals the deadly climate of vigilante violence and the complicity of local officials.
- The Shadow of the Anti-Chinese Expulsions in Squak Valley
Court testimony reveals a night of armed intimidation and a lethal 'misunderstanding' at a hop farm in 1885.
- The Campaign to Purge Seattle’s Chinatown
In 1885, as anti-Chinese sentiment surged across the Pacific Northwest, a Seattle city official led a raid on the city's Chinatown, marking an early, aggressive move in the movement to drive the Chinese community out of the city.
- The Squak Valley Massacre Trial
A courtroom drama unfolds as witnesses testify regarding the violent night in 1885 when white men raided a Chinese hop-picking camp.
- The Expulsion from Seattle
While Washington Territory’s leaders exchanged telegrams regarding the forced removal of Chinese residents from Tacoma, the Seattle press reported on the 'peaceable' but total displacement of the city's Chinese population.
- Three Chinese Men Murdered in Squak Valley, 1885
A brutal anti-Chinese attack in the Washington Territory ends in murder and injury, prompting a somber funeral in Seattle.
- The Governor’s Tightrope Walk During the Anti-Chinese Riots
How local officials navigated the tense atmosphere in Seattle before the arrival of federal troops in 1885.
- The Judge's Warning Against Mob Rule in 1885 Seattle
Facing rising anti-Chinese violence, Chief Justice Greene of Washington Territory warned grand jurors that economic cycles and social grievances do not justify the 'folly of Xerxes'—mob violence.
- The Violent Expulsion of Chinese Workers from Tacoma
While Seattle officials debated the law, a vigilante mob in Tacoma took matters into their own hands, forcibly ejecting Chinese residents from the city.
- The Violent Expulsion of Seattle's Chinese Community
In November 1885, following the forced removal of Chinese residents in Tacoma, a tense public meeting at the Seattle Opera House debated the 'Chinese Question' while labor leaders and city elites sought to avoid the bloodshed that defined neighboring towns.
- The Snoqualmie Hop Field Massacre
A contract labor dispute turns deadly as vigilantes attack Chinese workers in the Snoqualmie Valley.
- Vigilante Mob Targets Coal Creek Chinese Miners
A masked party of men armed with firearms forced Chinese laborers from their homes, leaving their settlement in flames.
- The Expulsion of Tacoma’s Chinese Residents
A celebratory procession and public speeches in Tacoma mark the return of twenty-seven men indicted for the forced removal of the city's Chinese population.
- 1885 Editorial Urges Chinese Exclusion in Washington Territory
A committee of Seattle citizens formalizes their campaign to purge the city of Chinese laborers, framing their economic anxiety as a struggle for the 'Caucasian race.'
- Chinese Hop Pickers Murdered by White Mob in Squak Valley
A violent, racially motivated attack on Chinese hop pickers leaves three dead as anti-Chinese hostility intensifies in the territory.
- The Tragedy of William Hatton: A Lost Soul in Seattle
A man’s desperate struggle with opium and poverty ends in the cold waters of Seattle’s harbor.
- The Mob Violence Trial That Shook 1885 Seattle
A jury acquits a man accused of murdering Chinese laborers in Squak Valley, sparking chaotic courtroom protests.
- Seattle Rallies Against Chinese Labor at the Standard Theater
An overflow crowd packs the Standard Theater to demand the total exclusion of Chinese laborers and the termination of the Burlingame Treaty, revealing the deep economic anxieties of the era.
- The Siege of Seattle's Anti-Chinese Agitators
As a community split over the exclusionary movement, labor activists gathered at the Standard Theater to defend their peers against legal indictment and internal unrest.
- Seattle's Public Reckoning with Anti-Chinese Sentiment
Mayor Yesler convenes a massive meeting at Frye's Opera House to address the growing agitation against Chinese residents in the territory.