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 |
1,830 stories
- The Federal Labor Agent Who Walked Seattle’s Strike Map
In 1895, a U.S. Labor Department investigator arrived to untangle seven years of strikes and lockouts—and expected his hardest case in the Coeur d’Alene mines.
- Seattle’s First Basketball Craze Was a Bruising, Nine-Man Battle
In 1899, the Y.M.C.A. and Seattle Athletic Club prepared for a rough indoor championship match at the Armory—played with nine men a side and almost no mercy.
- The Imaginary Mine of Seattle's Would-Be Count of Monte Cristo
A charming elderly German claimed a Mexican mine, a California ranch and a German inheritance—then paid for gifts with checks no Seattle bank would honor.
- A Splinter, a Week of Pain, and a Fatal Case of Lockjaw
Five-year-old Willie Williamson died at a Commercial Street lodging house after a tiny wound in his foot turned to tetanus.
- The Lost Heir Who Never Was
A charming stranger said he was hunting a brother and a family fortune. His new friends found out the fortune was fiction—and their money was gone.
- Receivers, Rail and a Wall Street Rally
Receivers Bryant and Brown cut costs, lay new side track and enlarge the Smith's Cove dock—and Eastern bondholders reward the Seattle Lake Shore & Eastern with a Wall Street surge.
- The Customs Inspector Who Planned to Print His Own Money
A Port Townsend official's plaster-of-Paris counterfeiting scheme unraveled after his mistress went to police — then he caught a midnight boat for Victoria.
- The Forger Who Called Himself 'Apache George' Dies in the County Jail
George Wendelin, a smooth-talking check passer who left Seattle firms holding worthless paper, is struck down by apoplexy before his case can go further.
- The Man Who Spent Like a Lord—and Might Have Been Nobody
A mysterious newcomer at Seattle’s Northern Hotel flashed gold and convinced much of the lobby he was Lord Sholto Douglas, brother of Oscar Wilde’s lover—until a skeptic began asking questions.
- Seattle's Schools Stay Open While Two Boards Square Off Over Scarlet Fever
When the Board of Health ordered South and Rainier schools closed during a scarlet fever scare, the school board filed the order and refused to shut the doors.
- The Fire Commissioner, the Cockfight, and the Deed to His Mother
Seattle’s joint council weighs whether George T. Masel was a freeholder or merely a meddler—while a West Seattle cockfight and a suspiciously late property transfer steal the show.
- The Burglar Who Hid Behind a Show Case—and the Shoes That Gave Him Away
Richard Ford, a notorious clothing-house thief, got out of the King County Jail for four hours. A neighbor's sharp eyes and a pair of shoes ended the run.
- Hops of Port Blakely: The Cast-Off Clothes Protégé Who Saved a Captain
A Post-Intelligencer reporter hears from John Corbett how an Indigenous man named Williams earned a lifetime of beer, boarding-house meals, and the run of the Port Blakely mill.
- A Railroad and a Tide-Flat Fight: Who Gets to Fill Smith's Cove?
Great Northern objected to a plan by W. F. Hayes and Frank Shay to fill the tide flats between Pike Street and Smith's Cove, setting up a hearing over who controls Seattle's shoreline.
- Farewell to the Old University: Seattle's Alumni Gather One Last Time in the Original U.W. Buildings
Nearly two hundred graduates, regents and old students filled the University of Washington's original downtown rooms for a farewell banquet, portraits of the founders, and a toast to the classes that would carry the school to its new campus.
- A Fatal Nap on the Great Northern Track
John Elwell, a twenty-year Snohomish County resident, lay down on the rails near Monroe and was struck by the morning passenger train.
- The Dredge That Built a Dyke — and Then Went to Dig Seattle's Ship Canal
At La Conner a 200-horsepower suction dredge finished carving Swinomish Slough, pumping mud a thousand yards to wall off the tide. Next week the Anaconda leaves for Seattle and the south canal.
- Fire Chief Ousted in Late-Night Commission Coup
A divided fire commission removes Chief Allen for 'incompetency' and taps ex-Chief Kellogg, prompting a furious protest from the mayor.
- A New Chief for the Seattle Fire Department
Captain W. H. Clark steps in as acting chief amidst political maneuvering and department instability.
- Dynamite Found in Tacoma Jail Cell
Under Sheriff Paulhamus discovered a two-pound dynamite cartridge hidden in a window ledge, thwarting a suspected jailbreak attempt.
- The Ballard Burglary That Left a Trail
A botched break-in at a Ballard hardware store left behind the tools of the trade, complete with the thief's initials.
- The Chicken Inspector of West Street
A local market inspector faces a lawsuit and a petition for his removal after condemning a display of spring chickens as unfit for consumption.
- A Rough Night in the Tenderloin
A Skagit man's night out in Seattle ends in a police cell after he attempts to force a young girl to accompany him.
- The Illegal Dam Blocking the Yakima River
A local resident exposes how a private timber dam is choking off fish runs and violating state law near Easton.
- A Disturbance in Chinatown
A man brandishing a revolver on Washington Street is subdued by police after causing a panic among his neighbors.