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 |
| 1858 | 1 |
| 1859 | 6 |
| 1860 | 3 |
| 1861 | 8 |
| 1862 | 6 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1872 | 15 |
| 1876 | 39 |
| 1877 | 30 |
| 1878 | 26 |
| 1879 | 3 |
| 1880 | 13 |
| 1882 | 6 |
| 1883 | 30 |
| 1884 | 13 |
| 1885 | 33 |
| 1886 | 17 |
| 1887 | 17 |
| 1888 | 9 |
| 1889 | 34 |
| 1890 | 3 |
| 1891 | 28 |
| 1892 | 59 |
| 1893 | 51 |
| 1894 | 73 |
| 1895 | 66 |
| 1897 | 4 |
| 1898 | 6 |
| 1899 | 12 |
| 1900 | 1 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 18 |
| 1904 | 12 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 4 |
| 1908 | 9 |
| 1909 | 21 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1911 | 2 |
| 1914 | 3 |
| 1915 | 6 |
| 1916 | 8 |
| 1917 | 6 |
| 1918 | 2 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 2 |
| 1924 | 2 |
| 1925 | 2 |
| 1928 | 2 |
| 1929 | 3 |
33 stories matching publish
- The Price of Silence: How Big Rail Controlled the Press
When the Northern Pacific Railroad forced a Spokane newspaper to drop its investigation into timber fraud, it exposed the industry's grip on the territory's news.
- The Pastor Who Refused to Be Shamed
When an anonymous article smeared a local minister, his Seattle congregation stood by their leader with a bold, public defense of his character.
- The Alarm Bells of North Seattle
A look at the logistical challenges of firefighting in 1885 Seattle, where volunteer companies managed city safety via university and church bells.
- The Struggle for Civic Access: The WCTU’s 1885 Fight Against Liquor Licensing
A local chapter of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union pushes for a formal transparency process, demanding public notice and character checks for liquor license applicants in early Seattle.
- A Coroner’s Clash in the Coal Fields
A King County coroner disputes a secret inquest held by mine officials, sparking a public confrontation over workplace death and legal accountability.
- The 'Mrs. Maber' Scam: A Community Charity Betrayed
A woman who conned the Ladies’ Relief Society and private citizens out of rent and groceries is publicly outed by the organization after she repeatedly skipped job opportunities.
- The Newspaper Feud That Defined Pioneer Politics
When the 'Tacoma Ledger' accused a political rival of switching parties for personal gain, a blistering public retort revealed the cutthroat world of territorial power brokers.
- Seattle Labor Unions Boycott Local Papers
The Knights of Labor organize against the 'importation of reading matter' intended to displace local printers.
- The Seattle-Shore Line Deadlock
A standoff between the Northern Pacific Railroad and the Oregon Improvement Company leaves the vital Shore Line trackage idle.
- The Ghosting of Yakima City
When the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed the original town of Yakima City, they didn't just move the station—they forced the entire town to uproot itself.
- The Fight Against 'Ready-Made' News
In 1884, Seattle’s labor printers stood against the rise of syndicated, out-of-town journalism, arguing that local integrity and local jobs mattered more than cheap, imported content.
- The Election of 1885: A Glimpse into Seattle's Growing Pains
As Seattle prepared for a municipal election in the summer of 1885, city officials published formal notices for a contest to fill leadership roles, highlighting a city governed by ward-based representation during a pivotal era of expansion.
- 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.
- The Fight for the Indemnity Belt
How Washington settlers fought to reclaim land from corporate control, breaking the grip of the Northern Pacific Railroad.
- The Fight for the University’s Future
An editorial debate over the Territorial University’s location and future highlights the tension between Seattle’s growth and the necessity of territorial unity.
- The Insurance Company That Refused to Pay
After his steamboat, the Wildwood, burned at the dock in Olympia, Thomas Quail publicly denounced the insurance companies that refused to settle his claim.
- The Strange Career of Captain Mauritzen
A crafty imposter poses as a Scandinavian official and newspaper correspondent to fleece local islanders and investigate a non-existent murder.
- The Jury That Saw No News
Confined for ten days during the anti-Chinese riots of 1885, a sequestered jury was kept in the dark about the city’s upheaval—until they caught a stray remark about New York politics.
- 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 Man Who Walked the Entire Union
A formerly enslaved man recounts his epic, cross-country trek to the Puget Sound, fueled by a simple curiosity to see the nation for himself.
- The Squatter’s Defense
A Seattle homesteader fights back against accusations of ‘land grabbing’ in an era of rapid frontier development.
- The City's Ladder Was Too Short
When the volunteer fire company staged a demonstration at Frye's Opera House, the Mayor found the equipment wanting—and the resulting public spat was published in full.
- The City Council Seized Our Engine: A Firehouse Rebellion
When the city government stripped Seattle Engine Company No. 2 of their apparatus to give it to a new company, the firefighters organized a defiant public meeting to protest the 'unwarranted usurpation of authority.'
- The Quest for a Clean City
A proposed 'Liernur System' could turn Seattle's sewage into marketable fertilizer while solving a desperate public health crisis.
- The Hop Pickers' Labor Pipeline
Business leaders in 1885 Seattle formalize the recruitment of Chinese labor to fuel Washington's booming hop harvest.