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 | 11 |
| 1858 | 4 |
| 1859 | 6 |
| 1860 | 6 |
| 1861 | 28 |
| 1862 | 19 |
| 1863 | 9 |
| 1864 | 2 |
| 1865 | 3 |
| 1871 | 3 |
| 1872 | 43 |
| 1876 | 159 |
| 1877 | 146 |
| 1878 | 97 |
| 1879 | 12 |
| 1880 | 29 |
| 1882 | 19 |
| 1883 | 102 |
| 1884 | 123 |
| 1885 | 159 |
| 1886 | 74 |
| 1887 | 81 |
| 1888 | 81 |
| 1889 | 217 |
| 1890 | 36 |
| 1891 | 164 |
| 1892 | 377 |
| 1893 | 356 |
| 1894 | 368 |
| 1895 | 332 |
| 1897 | 3 |
| 1898 | 20 |
| 1899 | 83 |
| 1900 | 11 |
| 1902 | 9 |
| 1903 | 165 |
| 1904 | 154 |
| 1905 | 18 |
| 1907 | 6 |
| 1908 | 42 |
| 1909 | 203 |
| 1910 | 48 |
| 1911 | 35 |
| 1912 | 16 |
| 1914 | 28 |
| 1915 | 44 |
| 1916 | 81 |
| 1917 | 39 |
| 1918 | 5 |
| 1922 | 1 |
| 1923 | 13 |
| 1924 | 22 |
| 1925 | 14 |
| 1928 | 3 |
| 1929 | 5 |
164 stories matching public
- The 'Educational Park' That Never Was
When Seattle’s public school superintendent proposed turning the old University of Washington site into a grand, permanent hub for the city’s schools and library, he called it his 'iridescent dream.'
- The Attorney General Says the Bible Doesn't Belong in Public School
A ruling out of Olympia that Bible reading in the common schools is unconstitutional sets the state's country editors howling — and the capital's own dailies suddenly have nothing to say.
- The Man Who Took the Bribe to Expose It
Representative Metcalfe’s daring sting operation against Senatorial corruption has turned him into a hero for reformers and a target for powerful enemies.
- The Saloon Turf War: Seattle's 1891 Zoning Scandal
A surprise move by the Board of Aldermen to eliminate limits on where liquor could be sold triggers a fierce public outcry against perceived civic corruption.
- 1891 Commission Rejects Private Control of Seattle Harbor
A landmark 1891 report reveals the state's fierce battle against private interests to reclaim Seattle's tide lands and shoreline for public use.
- The Growing Pains of Aberdeen's Public Schools
School directors move to expand the new school site, requesting the city vacate a public alleyway to make room for construction.
- Close Washington Street to Wagons: Olympia's 1891 Dream for the Public Square
As the new county courthouse nears completion, the superintendent in charge proposes grading the square level with Seventh Street, banishing heavy teams, and laying winding, shrub-lined walks with a pavilion for evening concerts.
- The Man Who Exposed the Bribe: Metcalfe’s Stand Against Olympia’s ‘Boodle’ Gang
In a rare display of moral courage in Washington's early political history, Representative Metcalfe turned a bribe into evidence, sparking a war with corruptionists that the paper defends as necessary for good government.
- Tacoma’s Police Chief Under Fire
Accusations of public intoxication and failure to enforce gambling laws turn the city council into a battlefield.
- The Fight to Save Seattle’s Schools from a Legislative Raid
Seattle educators and school board officials are scrambling to block a state bill that would force the city’s education tax dollars to subsidize rural school districts.
- The New Rules of Mortality
Aberdeen codifies the role of the health officer in managing public sanitation and mandatory reporting for every birth and death.
- The Great Tide Land Grab
A legal battle over the ownership of Seattle's waterfront reaches a fever pitch as investors stake claims on mud-flats using federal 'Valentine scrip.'
- The Boss and the Franklin Street Fix
Olympia’s public-works fight spills into council: a contractor says the job is done, Boss Sickles says otherwise, and the city engineer is caught in the middle.
- The Taxpayer Who Couldn’t Sue the State
Washington’s Supreme Court dismisses the Agricultural College case, ruling that a private resident cannot halt state spending in equity—only the attorney general can.
- Washington Tide Land Bill Would Create Sales Commission
A new bill moves through the state legislature to codify how the state will survey and sell off the submerged lands along the shoreline.
- The Day Seattle Decided Its Own Future
On a January day in 1891, the city held a massive, complex special election to authorize bonds for massive public infrastructure, paving the way for the city’s rapid growth.
- The Judge and the Gambling Den
Jefferson County’s legal establishment formally accuses their Superior Court judge of frequenting gambling houses and pre-judging cases.
- 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.
- The Price of Friendship in the Melon Patch
A local farmer laments the 'friends' who think helping themselves to his crop is all in good fun, pushing his farm toward financial ruin.
- Seattle's Great Annexation Election of 1891
Voters head to the polls to decide the future footprint of a booming frontier city as Seattle proposes to annex neighboring Ballard and outlying precincts.
- The Auditor's Office Feud
A public spat between the Yakima Herald and Auditor Myron R. Ellis over the hiring of partisan clerks and the outsourcing of county printing contracts.
- She Owned Her Own Bedding: A Hoquiam Wife's Public Reckoning
When W. E. Ulmer filed notice that he would no longer pay his wife's bills, Ida V. Ulmer went straight to the paper — to point out that he had never paid them in the first place.
- Olympia’s Firefighters Needed Rubber Suits, Beds—and a Paycheck
An editorial urges the city to equip, house and compensate its firemen, noting that volunteers had spent their own money and lost clothing fighting the steamer Eastern Oregon fire.
- The Price of Progress: Seattle’s Legal Tug-of-War Over Street Grades
In 1891, the city was forced to reckon with the constitutional requirement of paying damages to property owners before regrading streets, a lesson that paralyzed public works and exposed the city's precarious financial state.
- The Eight-Hour Day That Was Amended to Death
A bold proposal to limit public works labor to eight hours faces a grim fate in the Washington State Senate, where 'amendments' have stripped the bill of its power before it can even reach the House.