Research the archive
Narrow 22,457 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 | 59 |
| 1858 | 23 |
| 1859 | 27 |
| 1860 | 12 |
| 1861 | 86 |
| 1862 | 77 |
| 1863 | 63 |
| 1864 | 31 |
| 1865 | 10 |
| 1871 | 11 |
| 1872 | 140 |
| 1876 | 799 |
| 1877 | 667 |
| 1878 | 526 |
| 1879 | 64 |
| 1880 | 179 |
| 1882 | 130 |
| 1883 | 731 |
| 1884 | 393 |
| 1885 | 837 |
| 1886 | 483 |
| 1887 | 484 |
| 1888 | 440 |
| 1889 | 1,301 |
| 1890 | 266 |
| 1891 | 1,023 |
| 1892 | 2,551 |
| 1893 | 2,661 |
| 1894 | 1,989 |
| 1895 | 376 |
| 1896 | 2 |
| 1897 | 20 |
| 1898 | 76 |
| 1899 | 445 |
| 1900 | 106 |
| 1901 | 1 |
| 1902 | 34 |
| 1903 | 1,202 |
| 1904 | 993 |
| 1905 | 112 |
| 1907 | 17 |
| 1908 | 42 |
| 1909 | 939 |
| 1910 | 163 |
| 1911 | 141 |
| 1912 | 62 |
| 1914 | 239 |
| 1915 | 271 |
| 1916 | 479 |
| 1917 | 289 |
| 1918 | 39 |
| 1919 | 5 |
| 1920 | 1 |
| 1922 | 14 |
| 1923 | 142 |
| 1924 | 126 |
| 1925 | 58 |
3,446 stories
- The Great Tacoma Water Grift
How a corrupt water monopoly swindled the city out of nearly $1.5 million for a tainted water supply, leaving residents with a decade of filth.
- Washington Court Rules Fathers Have No Legal Duty to Support Illegitimate Children
A landmark decision from the state supreme court highlights a massive legal loophole regarding parental responsibility.
- Federal Investigation Exposes Land Grabbing on the Yakima Reservation
A government inquiry uncovers how a syndicate of white men seized control of vast swathes of tribal land, prompting new, restrictive leasing rules.
- The Great Spokane Title Crisis
A landmark Supreme Court ruling has suddenly rendered thousands of property deeds void, threatening the downtown core of Spokane.
- Federal Court Dismisses Claims on Puyallup Shore Lands
A landmark judicial ruling clears the way for industrial development by stripping the Puyallup Tribe of their claims to Tacoma’s valuable tidelands.
- The Carbonado Mine Disaster
Thirty-two miners killed in a devastating explosion at the Carbonado coal mine.
- Supreme Court Rules on Tideland Ownership
A landmark decision confirms that Indigenous nations hold title to tidelands within reservation boundaries.
- The Art of Survival: A Spokane Woman’s Fight Against Her Husband’s Cruelty
In a case drawing attention from Hillyard to the city courts, Maud Coverly accuses her husband of starvation tactics and physical abuse, revealing the precarious legal standing of working women in 1902.
- The Absinthe Defense: How a 'Swissess' and a Headache Saved a Murderer's Life
In the high-profile Spencer trial in Spokane, witnesses testified that Edward Spencer drank absinthe to sober up before killing Ella Mundt. The court heard he was 'jolly' until the end.
- The Campaign to Exclude Japanese Farmers from Seattle Markets
White truck farmers in the White River Valley organize a campaign to ban Japanese immigrant competition from the Pike Place Market.
- Safe-Crackers Raid Local Steam Laundry
A band of robbers broke into the Tacoma Steam Laundry, held two employees at gunpoint, and used nitroglycerine to blast open the safe.
- The Ghost Stories of the City Reservoir
While typhoid fever rages in Tacoma, the city council struggles to address public panic over rumors of bodies dumped in the water supply.
- Predatory Saloon Keeper Targets Puyallup Landholder
An Indian man faces the potential loss of his property after signing a document he believed was a loan mortgage, but which turned out to be a deed.
- City Hall Balances the Books on the Backs of Women
Mayor Wright’s new municipal policy involves collecting fines from the city's 'fallen women' to cover routine operating expenses.
- The Midnight Flight of a Telephone Lobbyist
A franchise promoter vanishes before a bribery investigation, leaving behind a locked room and a trail of conflicting telegrams.
- The Bribe That Killed the Telephone Franchise
A Tacoma councilman reveals a $132,000 bribery attempt, blowing up a major deal to challenge the local telephone monopoly.
- The Con Man Who Sold the Seattle Circus
A clever swindler fleeced the city's elite by selling them on imaginary contracts for a Ringling Brothers circus that was never coming to town.
- Rejected Suitor Shoots Tacoma Woman and Ends His Life
A young worker targeted by a spurned admirer survives the shooting while the assailant commits suicide outside her home.
- City Faces Lawsuit After Fatal Electrocution
Lawyers prepare to sue the city over the deaths of two men who were killed while turning on electric lights.
- The Scandal of the Sandberg District
City council members launch a blistering investigation into a protected 'vice syndicate' they allege is forcing hundreds of women into a restricted district.
- The Great Telephone Wars of Tacoma
A rival phone company manager staged a bizarre arrest of his competitor to derail a franchise bid—only for the plot to unravel at the police station.
- A 1909 Newspaper Campaign Against Japanese Immigrants
A local labor newspaper warns that the white working class of Everett faces the same economic ruin as San Francisco due to competition from Japanese laborers.
- The Tragic Sinking of the Steamer Clallam
A devastating storm claims the lives of dozens as the Puget Sound Navigation Company’s new steamer founders in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
- Steamboat Clallam Sinks Near Victoria in 1904
A new passenger steamer sinks in the mist of Puget Sound near Victoria, adding a somber chapter to a recent string of local disasters.
- Tacoma Mourns Five Residents Lost on the Steamship Clallam
Tacoma reels from the loss of five residents in a deadly steamboat sinking as questions of seaworthiness arise.