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 |
440 stories
- A Deadly Boundary Dispute at 'Hickory Hollow'
A long-standing neighborhood conflict over a fence and water rights erupts into a double homicide in the woods north of Seattle.
- A Life Cut Short by the Rails
A superintendent at the Stetson & Post Mill dies in a horrific workplace accident involving a runaway freight car.
- The Birth of the Big Steel Dream
A British entrepreneur plans to transform a massive site on the shores of Lake Washington into a steel empire, promising jobs for thousands.
- The Great Port Gamble Murder Trial: A Game of Wagers and Blood
In a dramatic courtroom showdown in Seattle, the trial of Ira Hummel for the murder of Michael Michelson revealed a sordid tale of gambling debts, blackmail, and a fatal argument over a silver watch.
- The Chinese Exclusion Crisis: Seattle’s Marshal Refuses to Free Detainees
District Attorney White and Judge Walsh clash over the legality of holding forty Chinese residents under federal exclusion laws, revealing a deep rift between local enforcement and constitutional rights.
- The Smuggler's Shield: How a Seattle Customs Chief Defended Himself in Tacoma
In the height of the 1888 opium smuggling scandal, Chief Inspector Gardner takes the stand in Tacoma, claiming he was set up by political rivals to cover his own failures.
- The Waterfront Cold War: Seattle's 1888 Seamen's Strike
Tensions boil over on the Puget Sound as sailors fight a planned wage reduction, leading to a massive standoff in Port Townsend.
- The Boss-Led Machine vs. The Citizen Movement
Ahead of a critical 1888 municipal election in Seattle, a local editorial exposes how machine politics and saloon back-rooms are attempting to subvert the democratic process.
- The Iron Horse Reaches Snohomish
After years of reliance on slow steamboats, the town of Snohomish gains a permanent link to the outside world via the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railway.
- The War for the Riverfront
A ruthless railroad tug-of-war in Snohomish County pits the Northern Pacific against the Seattle road for control of the Snohomish River valley.
- The Great Seattle Railroad Blockade
A federal court issues a stinging injunction to halt the construction of rival railroad lines in Washington Territory, sparking a corporate war between the Union Pacific and local interests.
- The Tragedy of Owen Hughes
After losing his savings in a series of failed business ventures and railroad deals, an aging hospital steward chooses to end his life at a Seattle hotel.
- The Tragic Cost of a Pharmacist’s Error
A Seattle family sues for damages after a drug store clerk accidentally sells a lethal poison in place of medicine for their seven-month-old daughter.
- Trapped in the Gears: A Dockworker’s Fight for Justice
A severe workplace accident at the docks leads to a massive lawsuit that highlights the dangers faced by laborers in the rapidly expanding Seattle waterfront economy.
- The Blasting Accident That Halted the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway
A foreman’s mistake triggers a deadly rockslide, marking a grim day of labor on the outskirts of 1888 Seattle.
- The Romantic Politics of the Frontier
When Congressional candidate Charley Voorhees fell in love with a woman outside the Northwest, the local women took it as a personal insult—and voted him out of office.
- The Tariff Trap: How Washington’s Congressman Warned Against the 'Grasping Monopolies'
Rep. Scott Finn delivers a fiery two-hour speech in Congress, arguing that protectionist tariffs don't help workers but instead feed trusts and hurt farmers.
- The Man Who Lost His Fingers to a 'Careless' Machine
A Seattle planerman sues his employers for $7,500 after industrial machinery mangled his hand, claiming the company’s negligence caused the accident.
- The Great Assessment Scam: How King County Taxpayers Were Fooled by 'Blunders'
A local reporter exposes the absurdity of county tax assessments, where landowners receive notices for huge back-taxes on property they already paid off, forcing them to chase down exhausted commissioners in a cycle of bureaucratic error.
- The Empty City: How a Housing Shortage Stalled Pullman’s Growth
In November 1888, the newspaper admits that 'there is not a vacant house, store, or room in town,' forcing potential residents to look elsewhere—a crisis of affordability and infrastructure that mirrors modern debates.
- The Jealousy Hunt: A Tacoma Man’s ‘Crime of Passion’ and the Women Who Caught Him
In a scandal that gripped Tacoma in May 1909, George Essel Khrnin was arrested for assault after his wife tracked him down from Seattle. But the real drama unfolded as two other women—accusers and witnesses alike—joined the hunt, turning a domestic dispute into a public spectacle.
- The Steamboat That Dared the Rapids
Captain James W. Troup pilots the steamer *Hasalo* through the treacherous Cascades of the Columbia River in a feat of navigation that thrilled onlookers and defied death.
- The Beer Garden vs. The Hospital: A Tacoma Land Grab Turns Violent
When a liquor seller tried to build a beer garden on land encroaching on the Fannie Paddock Hospital, the hospital staff fought back with guards and lawyers, sparking a legal battle over property lines in old Tacoma.
- The City That Couldn't House Its Own: Why Seattle’s Boom Was Failing Its People
As manufacturing giants flock to the Pacific Northwest, a local editorial warns that a lack of hotel rooms and store space is driving merchants away—urging citizens to form a committee to solve the housing crisis before it kills growth.
- The Great Funeral of the Dead Man's Flats
Seattle prepares for a bizarre civic spectacle: a mass burial of thousands of dead men in a reclaimed swamp, complete with a parade and a $5 entry fee.