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 |
1,115 stories
- The Business of the Ballpark: Baseball's Early Labor Disputes in the Northwest
In 1891, the Pacific Northwest Baseball League met in Tacoma to institute strict player contracts and salary caps, signaling the end of the 'wild west' era of professional athletics in Washington.
- Seattle’s Water Gamble: A Public Utility Success Story
While critics argued over bond debt and construction costs in 1891, the city's new water system proved to be an instant and lucrative revenue stream for the young municipality.
- The Barber Who Ran for Mayor: A Dream of Detective Work
When an unsuccessful mayoral candidate applied for a municipal detective job in 1891, his bizarre, globe-trotting proposal sent the Ballard City Council into fits of laughter.
- The Tragedy of a 'Shake' on Jackson Street
A despondent man attempts suicide in a Seattle saloon after being abandoned by his partner.
- The City’s Botched Annexation Plan
Seattle’s attempt to annex surrounding lands hits a legal wall after a drafting error excludes parts of Ballard by mistake.
- The Shadowed Streets of Old Tacoma
A late-night robbery on Jefferson Street leaves a local man penniless and sparks public outrage over a surge in city crime.
- The Great Annexation Vote: Seattle’s 1891 Expansion
Facing a mountain of debt, the city of Seattle calls for a special election to annex territory and consolidate its financial future.
- The Jailhouse Wedding
A desperate romantic gesture in the Seattle county jail—a marriage between a woman and an accused burglar—leaves the prosecuting attorney convinced it is merely a legal ploy to dodge a prison sentence.
- Seattle’s $26 Million Gamble: The City That Voted on Its Own Future
In January 1891, Seattle voters faced two massive ballots: one to annex the booming town of Ballard, and another to issue $860,000 in bonds for street widening and debt relief. It was a defining moment of civic ambition.
- The Senator’s Farewell: Mrs. Squire’s Lobby Battle and a Pledge to 'All the People'
As Watson Squire prepares to leave Seattle for Washington D.C., his wife recounts the chaotic reality of their election victory at the Olympia hotel, while he pledges impartial service to the entire state.
- The City That Beat the Fraud: Seattle’s Census Integrity
While Portland faces a third recount for dishonesty and Salem inflates its numbers with transient workers, Seattle and Tacoma emerge from the federal census audit with clean records.
- The Man Who Stopped the Sparks: Seattle’s Invisible Safety Net
When a fallen trolley wire killed two horses on Front Street, local engineer W.D. Gordon built a mechanical brain to save lives—and it worked every time.
- The Gun Behind the Bureau: A Seattle Shooting’s Reluctant Witness
In January 1891, a tense arraignment revealed how a teenager’s hesitation and a hidden shotgun led to an assault charge in downtown Seattle.
- The Blue Law Brawl: Saloon Keepers vs. The Temperance Crusade
In North Yakima, the Women's Christian Temperance Union declares war on Sunday commerce, arresting boxers and threatening every saloon owner in town.
- The Tide Flat Mystery: A Carpenter’s Body Found Beneath the Rails
Three weeks after bridge carpenter Abner Abbott vanished in Seattle, his bloated remains were pulled from the water under a railroad trestle. With $400 still on his person and bruises on his face, police and citizens alike debated whether it was a tragic accident or a cold-blooded murder.
- The State’s Office is a ‘Sailor’s Boarding House’: Olympia’s Desperate Search for a Capitol
With state officers scattered across the city in “miserably-ventilated” rooms and valuable records stored in sheds, Representative Collins introduces a bill to erect a temporary building on business property.
- The Seal Pup Wars: A Local Naturalist vs. The Smithsonian’s ‘Sense-Keeper’
James G. Swan, a long-time Neah Bay resident and customs inspector, challenges Henry W. Elliott’s decades-old claim that newborn fur seal pups sink like stones, offering eyewitness testimony from Captain Elijah McAlmond that they swim.
- The Knights of Labor’s Bold Bet: Criminalizing the 'Blacklist'
Seattle’s labor leaders draft a radical bill to make it a felony for employers to force workers out of unions.
- The Sedro Man Who Outsmarted Seattle’s Lottery Sharks
A traveling salesman from Sedro-Woolley walks away unscathed from a sophisticated confidence game in downtown Seattle, exposing the city's most prominent bunco ring.
- The Railroad That Never Was: How Wall Street Strangled Seattle’s Future
In January 1891, a top Northern Pacific executive visits San Francisco and delivers a devastating blow to the region's economic hopes, citing a 'stringency of money market' that will halt all new railway construction in Washington and Montana.
- The Battle for Seattle’s Soul: Saloon Owners vs. The City Over 'Music with Booze'
In a landmark legal clash in 1901, three prominent saloon proprietors sued the city to block a $1,000 tax on their establishments, arguing that entertainment and alcohol should remain legally intertwined.
- The Clerk Who Stole His Boss’s Fortune to Gamble Away
Leander Miller returns from a political trip in Olympia to find his confidential clerk, J.H. Corcoran, has drained his accounts through gambling debts.
- Workingmen Protest Indigenous Competition
A petition from Washington State laborers demands restrictions on Indian employment in lumber mills.
- The City Hall Sewer Crisis
After intense debate, the Seattle City Council moves to settle a long-standing payment dispute with engineer Benezette Williams to ensure the completion of critical sewer infrastructure.
- Tacoma Votes to Expand City Infrastructure
Citizens approve a massive bond issue to fund a new City Hall and retire outstanding warrants.