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.
Refine2 on
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 1 |
| 1858 | 2 |
| 1859 | 3 |
| 1860 | 1 |
| 1861 | 1 |
| 1876 | 5 |
| 1878 | 3 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 12 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 8 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 1 |
| 1888 | 2 |
| 1889 | 5 |
| 1890 | 43 |
| 1891 | 8 |
| 1892 | 34 |
| 1893 | 49 |
| 1894 | 46 |
| 1895 | 34 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1903 | 18 |
| 1904 | 3 |
| 1908 | 7 |
| 1909 | 7 |
| 1910 | 5 |
| 1911 | 3 |
| 1916 | 1 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
34 stories
- The Explosion at Deadman's Point
A colossal blast of two and a half tons of dynamite levels waterfront shanties and shatters windows miles away.
- The Trial That Nearly Triggered a Lynching
A Whatcom jury's acquittal of George Bwiloos for a brutal murder left the town in an uproar, sparking a desperate, failed manhunt by local citizens.
- The Trial That Stoked a Mob: The Swiloos Case
After an accused murderer was acquitted, the citizens of Whatcom waged a campaign of social ostracism against the jury, reflecting deep racial tensions and extrajudicial outrage in 1892 Washington.
- The Elopement That Gripped Whatcom
When a thirteen-year-old girl ran away with a suitor, the resulting pursuit and public scandal exposed the harsh limits of autonomy and safety for youth in the 1890s.
- The Mayor's Fists in Whatcom
A City Council meeting spirals into chaos as the mayor orders the violent ejection of a dissenting councilman.
- Tragedy at Blue Canyon Mine
A Seattle carpenter falls forty-eight feet to his death after being struck by a coal car at a Whatcom County mine.
- Young Boy Killed by Electric Streetcar
A tragic streetcar accident claims the life of an 11-year-old child in Fairhaven.
- Mountain Gives Way on Lake Whatcom
A landslide in the middle of the night destroys a picturesque farm and leaves its owners fighting for their lives in the frigid lake water.
- The Wild Life and Vanishing Legacy of Betsy Jones
A century-old property dispute in Bellingham unearths the chaotic, cross-continental saga of a woman whose life defied Victorian conventions.
- The Tragedy of the 'White Flag' Marriage
A Whatcom County murder trial reveals a disturbing domestic web of poison, jealousy, and child exploitation.
- The Deadly Farce of Frontier Justice
When a Whatcom jury ignored the law to acquit a man who murdered his wife and her lover, the press decried an epidemic of 'momentary insanity' defense.
- A Life Lost in the Sewer Trenches
A laborer was crushed by falling rock in a Whatcom sewer trench while his comrades helplessly watched.
- The Firebug of Fairhaven
A former assistant fire chief is arrested in Fairhaven after being caught hiding under a building just as a new fire broke out.
- Tragedy at the Cornwall Mill Wharf
An engineer perishes in the fog while securing a log raft in Whatcom.
- The Great Whatcom Railroad Brawl
Construction crews for two rival railroads face off in a pitched battle over a trestle crossing, turning a civil dispute into a physical struggle on the tracks.
- The passing of Edward Eldridge, a Whatcom pioneer
A sailor-turned-settler who played a pivotal role in the early development of Bellingham and Whatcom County dies at 73.
- A Horse-Thieving Liveryman’s Great Escape
After mortgaging his entire business and selling off his neighbor's property, a British Columbia liveryman makes a desperate flight across the border into Washington.
- The Shadow Trade at Nooksack River
A government agent describes the precarious intersection of logging, displacement, and the illicit opium trade on the Lummi Reservation.
- The Pride of the Vagabond
A man in Whatcom chooses starvation over begging, highlighting the grim extremes of dignity and survival in the 1890s labor market.
- City Councilman Physically Ejected After Accusing Mayor of Fraud
A fiery public confrontation at a Whatcom council meeting leads to the forced removal of a councilman by the town marshal.
- Mining Dispute Turns Violent in Whatcom
A representative of a Seattle development company is arrested for assaulting a mining expert at the Blue Canyon mine.
- Steamer Triumph Lost to Fire in Fairhaven
A ferry boat plying the Puget Sound trade caught fire from a loose spark while its watchman slept, resulting in a total loss of the vessel.
- The Pioneer’s Tale: A Life in the Early Puget Sound
Captain Henry Roeder, one of Whatcom County’s earliest settlers, recounts his journey from the California gold fields to establishing the region’s first sawmill.
- A Violent Day in the Pacific Northwest
A wave of tragedy sweeps through the region, from a brutal stabbing in Northfield to a tragic accident in Whatcom.
- Border Towns Beg for Smallpox Quarantine — but the Health Board Can't Stop the Trains
Asiatic smallpox is spreading in Vancouver and New Westminster, and Whatcom's mayor warns that daily trains could carry infection into every Puget Sound city. The board of health says the law only lets it quarantine ships.