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 |
11,738 stories
- The Tragic End of a Lonely Immigrant
A German immigrant, once prosperous and educated, dies by suicide in a lonely cabin on the Grant Street Bridge after years of decline and heartbreak.
- The 'High-Handed' Abduction of Non-Union Sailors
A group of laborers were forcibly removed from their ship at Port Gamble by a union crowd and sent penniless to Victoria under false pretenses.
- The Tragic End of Etta Harris
A daughter is murdered by her own father in Tacoma, exposing a twisted history of obsession, jealousy, and fatal control.
- A Knife Fight in the Bay: Union Sailors Ambush a Non-Union Crew
A boarding master tries to ship five strikebreakers onto an Alaska salmon schooner at Port Townsend. Twelve union men are waiting in the water, and the fight that follows leaves every non-union sailor hurt and swimming for shore.
- A Leap from the Window at 1718 Madison
Assistant city electrician E.C. Buckley barely escaped a brutal assault after his landlord, driven by baseless jealousy, armed himself and hunted him down.
- The Ousting of Professor Willers
A prominent Tacoma linguist and ordained minister is kidnapped by a group of men following allegations of 'unnatural conduct' with his students.
- Violence Erupts Against Non-Union Workers
A violent confrontation occurs at a Seattle boarding house as anti-labor tensions boil over.
- The Centralia Medical Scandal
Two physicians and a nurse are arrested for a 'surgical operation' that led to the death of an elderly business owner.
- A Pioneer's Desperate End
After business reverses and personal tragedy, a pioneer hardware merchant dies by suicide in his North Seattle store.
- The Ghost of the Yesler Will
Henry Yesler, Seattle's pioneer mogul, left behind a vast fortune and a city convinced he bequeathed it all to them—but the document is missing.
- A Woman Kidnapped from Her Home
A Chinese immigrant couple is torn apart as conspirators use a bogus larceny charge and a U.S. Marshal to traffic a woman into potential enslavement.
- The Missing Will That Would Have Given Seattle a Library
Henry Yesler's widow and two doctors are arrested, accused of burning a will that left the pioneer's fortune—and his mansion—to the city.
- Smallpox Outbreak Hits Seattle Lodging Houses
City health officers scramble to contain a sudden spike in cases as the disease spreads through the southern district.
- An Arson Plot Unearthed in a Rented Shack
A struggling family, searching for kindling in their attic, discovers a lethal trap set to torch their home.
- City Council Uncovers the Seamy Side of Seattle
After a wave of burglaries, council members go on a late-night tour to witness the reality of city vice for themselves.
- The Perpetual Motion Inventor's Wild Night
Dr. Hannibal Mills, a local crank obsessed with his 'perpetual motion' machine, shoots a saloon keeper after a drunken argument.
- The Horror of the Seattle Police Dungeon
A man held for seven days without charges in a 'black hole' recounts the squalor, lice, and mental torture inflicted by the local department.
- 1893 Fire Chief Arrested in Citizenship Fraud Case
Seattle's fire chief faces a federal charge of naturalization fraud, allegedly lying about his residency to secure his position.
- Seattle's Chinese Community Resists Mandatory Registration
Local merchant groups and the Chinese Six Companies instruct laborers to defy the Geary Act until the Supreme Court rules on its constitutionality.
- The Puget Sound Smuggling Ring Scandal
A government inspector uncovers a vast operation allegedly smuggling Chinese migrants and opium into the Pacific Northwest, implicating customs officials and steamship lines.
- A Revolver in the Mouth: Immigration Conflict on the Steamship Mogul
Tensions boil over in Tacoma as federal inspectors clash with ship officers while attempting to enforce strict Chinese exclusion policies.
- Officer Censured for Beating a Citizen
A police commissioner’s inquiry reveals that an officer brutally beat an innocent Black man at Second and Union, raising questions about police conduct in early Seattle.
- A Secret Birth on the Walk to Tacoma Avenue
A young woman collapsed from labor pains while climbing a steep Tacoma hill, forcing a druggist to assist in an unexpected roadside delivery.
- Pearl Buttons and a Will Deepen Lake Washington Mystery
A missing woman’s will is discovered, while two travelers stumble upon evidence at Lake Washington that deepens the mystery.
- Habeas Corpus Intervention for Chinese Merchants
A local judge intervenes to stop the deportation of Chinese merchants aboard the SS Victoria in Tacoma harbor.