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 | 62 |
| 1858 | 29 |
| 1859 | 52 |
| 1860 | 27 |
| 1861 | 101 |
| 1862 | 87 |
| 1863 | 69 |
| 1864 | 32 |
| 1865 | 11 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 812 |
| 1877 | 678 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 180 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 911 |
| 1884 | 499 |
| 1885 | 838 |
| 1886 | 492 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,324 |
| 1890 | 287 |
| 1891 | 1,115 |
| 1892 | 2,855 |
| 1893 | 2,829 |
| 1894 | 2,116 |
| 1895 | 1,830 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 62 |
| 1898 | 196 |
| 1899 | 446 |
| 1900 | 114 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,332 |
| 1904 | 1,126 |
| 1905 | 124 |
| 1907 | 53 |
| 1908 | 351 |
| 1909 | 1,545 |
| 1910 | 413 |
| 1911 | 160 |
| 1912 | 73 |
| 1914 | 261 |
| 1915 | 300 |
| 1916 | 545 |
| 1917 | 332 |
| 1918 | 45 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 18 |
| 1923 | 185 |
| 1924 | 151 |
| 1925 | 64 |
| 1928 | 14 |
| 1929 | 19 |
484 stories
- The Seattle Legal Crisis of 1887
When an error in the law's title threatened to invalidate every court order in the territory, the Seattle Bar Association gathered to decide if the wheels of justice had ground to a halt.
- The Tragic Death of Mollie Flippen
After surviving a notorious criminal past in Portland, a woman’s life ends in a horrific fire at a Seattle boarding house.
- When the Law Stops the City
A judicial ruling in Tacoma paralyzes street improvements, sparking a bitter feud between city officials and property owners.
- The Pen Is Mightier Than the Pistol
A Tacoma newspaper editor survives a point-blank assassination attempt after writing a stinging column about a local rival's reputation.
- The 'Cubic Air' Ordinance and a Courtroom Stand-Off
A legal clash in Seattle pits local officials against a law that criminalized living conditions for the Chinese community.
- The Governor’s Sudden Exit
After maintaining order during the 1885 anti-Chinese riots, Washington’s Republican Governor Watson C. Squire is ousted by a Democratic administration, leaving a polarized territory behind.
- The Tragedy at Cle Elum
A head-on collision between a work train and a locomotive leaves construction workers dead and local physicians scrambling in the wake of the worst accident on the Northern Pacific line.
- A Deadly Medical Dispute in Snohomish
A doctor in the Snohomish valley faces fatal violence after a long-standing property dispute with a local family spirals into a shooting.
- The Fraser River Gold Rush and the Fear of 'Foreign' Highways
How the 1858 gold fever in British Columbia forced the United States to confront its own regional expansionism and the presence of a 'foreign highway' at its northern border.
- A Widow's Justice: The High Cost of the Saloon
After a liquor-fueled murder left a young mother destitute, a Rockford jury issued a landmark verdict holding the saloon keeper financially responsible for the tragedy.
- The Tragedy of the North Star: A Lost Crew and a Community’s Grief
Fifty-two days after departing for San Diego with a heavy timber load, the brig North Star is officially presumed lost, leaving a community to reckon with the perils of the Pacific and the cost of the lumber boom.
- The Great Skagit Flood of 1887
Thousands of acres of farmland are submerged as the Skagit River hits record-breaking, catastrophic levels.
- The Shadow Over Lake Washington
As the controversial Miller murder trial neared its conclusion in 1887, witnesses scrambled to untangle a web of shifting alibis, mysterious lake boatings, and a missing Winchester rifle.
- The Treasury Scandal of 1887
A team of expert auditors discovers that King County’s former treasurer, George V. Hill, systematically pilfered thousands of dollars using creative accounting and 'lost' tax records.
- The Bank Clerk Who Slapped the Boss
Josie Holmes, a local bank clerk, finds herself in jail for her role in a financial scandal, but her reputation in Seattle remains that of an indomitable figure who refused to bow to her corrupt employer.
- The River That Could Drown a Valley
A brewing legal and ecological battle in the White River valley pits farmers against a railway company, as shifting waters threaten to swallow millions in property.
- The Iron Rush: Seattle’s Early Fight Against Monopoly
When mining magnates and railroad tycoons clashed over the future of Washington's natural resources, Seattle’s civic leaders took a stand to protect local control.
- The Brutal Reality of Convict Leasing in the Washington Territory
A scathing look at the state's profit-driven 'convict lease' system, where human beings were treated as disposable capital and exploited for labor with zero accountability for their survival.
- The Mother Who Fled a Tyrant
A mother escapes her husband’s brutal control and property schemes after enduring years of abuse, turning to the law to secure her child’s safety.
- The Weight of the Mill: A Logger’s Victory on Puget Sound
For years, loggers were cheated by mill-owned scales that rigged the weight to keep pay low—until the Papal Mill Company broke the cycle.
- The Price of a Franchise: Seattle's Streetcar Bribery Scandal
A witness testifies that $2,000 was offered to 'stand in' with the company, exposing the grimy underside of Seattle's early transportation expansion.
- The Deadly Trifle: A Pharmacy Scandal in 1887 Seattle
A high-stakes criminal investigation unfolds after a mysterious book agent is implicated in the poisoning death of Richard Lyons.
- The Strange Tale of Henry B. Mayo
A Seattle death, a suicide note, and a landlord's theory that a man took his own life to save a condemned killer from the gallows.
- The Jailhouse Scare: Seattle's Dynamite Terror
After dynamite bombs were discovered near the city jail, the authorities tightened their grip, trapping prisoners in silence and fueling public anxiety over labor unrest.
- The Jailer’s Trust: A Domestic Tragedy in Tacoma
A prisoner allowed a day-pass to visit his wife leaves behind a trail of blood and a horrific crime scene after a fit of uncontrollable jealousy.