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 |
2,855 stories
- The Contingent Death Warrant
A love affair turned lethal in Seattle, as a jilted woman penned a gruesome ultimatum to her lover.
- A Christmas Eve Killing in the Woods
A railroad foreman is murdered in a Pe-Ell camp, sparking a failed attempt by a lynch mob to claim the shooter.
- The Ambush Near Dubuque
Two farmers were shot dead in the snow by young men lurking in the woods, leaving the community reeling.
- Street Grading Blunder Ruins Home
A Seattle property owner sues for $10,000 after city street work triggers landslides.
- City Hall Under Siege
Mayor Ronald is coerced by a stormy aldermanic caucus into appointing J. M. Wolfe to the Board of Public Works.
- The Bitter Battle for the Yakima Depot
A railroad official defends the controversial move of the townsite to North Yakima, dismissing long-standing charges of corruption and 'outrage'.
- The Fight for the River
Tensions mount over water rights as a local paper argues that irrigation for agricultural growth should take precedence over Indigenous fishing rights.
- The Water Wars of the Yakima River
Two competing land companies engaged in a legal and physical standoff over irrigation rights, leaving laborers arrested and local farms in limbo.
- Financial Scandal Hits North Yakima
Local investors panic as a national building and loan association faces allegations of a 'gigantic steal.'
- The Shadowy Harvest of a Disgraced Register
A local editor calls for the disbarment of Ira M. Krutz, a former land office official accused of 'champerty and maintenance' by leveraging insider knowledge for legal fees.
- Fatal Mine Explosion at Roslyn
A safety-lamp error leads to a crushing industrial accident at a local coal mine.
- Tragic Logging Accident Claims Young Life
A 26-year-old worker perishes near Hill’s sawmill after a falling tree causes a fatal strike.
- The Grave Robbery Insurance Scam
A Seattle man faked his own death using a stolen corpse to collect a massive insurance payout, but a lover's confession blew the lid off the plot.
- Vigilante Justice in Ellensburg
A mob of 'whitecaps' forced an officer to surrender his prisoner, a Chinese man accused of harassment, for a public whipping.
- Brutal Attack on Asian Train Passenger
Two railroad employees threw a Chinese passenger from a moving train, causing severe injuries.
- The macabre post-mortem of a sideshow giant
After a circus performer died in Ellensburg, local authorities and doctors went to gruesome lengths to extract profit from his corpse.
- The 'Whitecap' Land Pirates of Lake Wenatchee
A vigilante gang is terrorizing settlers and extorting newcomers on government land in Okanogan County.
- The High-Stakes Fight for Sunnyside Land
A legal battle over valuable desert land reveals a history of failed filings, rejected appeals, and government corruption in the Sunnyside district.
- A Killing With No Witnesses on the Yakima River
J. E. Hendricks shot and killed Richard Sea on July 15, 1892. The paper notes Sea's criminal record and reports that only the two men were present.
- Vigilantism and Alcohol Sales in Old Town
Authorities and local citizens move to apprehend men selling liquor to Indigenous people in Yakima.
- The Great Yakima Land Grab
Federal authorities investigate a complex web of land transfers between the Northern Pacific Railroad and its own irrigation subsidiaries.
- The Boodle Ring Exposed in Kittitas
A leaked cache of letters reveals how Republican candidates were buying influence in the 1892 Senate race.
- The Political Brawl Over the Seattle Canal
A Yakima newspaper accuses a 'Seattle ring' of bribery and electoral intimidation as local races heat up.
- The Coupling Pin Murder: Unidentified Man Found Slain Near Thorp
A well-dressed stranger, brutally beaten and stripped of identifying papers, is found dead along the Northern Pacific tracks—his killer still at large.
- The Engineers' Plan for Grays Harbor
A government report details an ambitious $150,000 scheme to redirect the Chehalis River's flow, potentially deciding the fate of competing town sites.