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 |
1,332 stories
- A Minister Vanishes into Thin Air
Rev. Thomas Sullivan, a prominent Tacoma mission leader, has disappeared without a trace, echoing a mysterious vanishing act from his past in Chicago.
- The Theater vs. The Saloon
A surprising social trend sees Walla Walla residents choosing stage entertainment over the local drinking houses.
- Main Street Gunplay Leads to Jail Time
A night of drinking in Walla Walla ends in arrests and fines for two local men.
- The Short-Timer’s Escape
With only forty days left on his forgery sentence, a trusty prisoner at the state penitentiary slipped away from his garden duties and vanished.
- Heavy Rains Spell Disaster for Palouse Grain
A three-day deluge in the Palouse region is expected to result in thousands of dollars in lost barley and wheat harvests.
- The Struggle for Walla Walla's Main Street
A local newspaper editor warns that the town's fragmented, 'cut-throat' merchant culture is paving the way for corporate monopolies to destroy local livelihoods.
- Prominent Rancher Ends His Life
Struggling with illness and domestic separation, William H. Foster died by his own hand in a family barn.
- Huntsville Merchants Declare War on Trading Stamps
Local business owners unite to end a lucrative, one-sided loyalty program that had been draining local profits.
- The Walla Walla Carnival of 1903
Thousands flocked to the Stadium for a midsummer spectacle featuring live acts, exotic shows, and the coronation of a carnival queen.
- The Great Walla Walla Prune Crisis
A labor strike on the Puget Sound puts Walla Walla’s entire fruit harvest at risk as packaging supplies vanish.
- The Last of the Pioneer Trees
A landmark locust tree, planted in 1865, is cut down to make room for modern concrete sidewalks in front of the Gem saloon.
- The Expansion of Bremerton’s Navy Yard
Captain Barclay requests four million dollars to build a massive new dry dock, citing the urgent future needs of the Puget Sound station.
- Labor Day Parade Marches Through Walla Walla
Despite a drizzling rain, 350 union members and city officials celebrated the holiday with a parade, speeches, and athletic competition at Singleton’s Grove.
- An Eccentric Pioneer Found Alone and Helpless
After marrying a much younger woman and deeding away his property in a scandal that made local news, a reclusive tailor has been found paralyzed in his home.
- School Board Ignores Call for Fiscal Transparency
Three years of broken promises leave Walla Walla taxpayers in the dark regarding the district's eighty-thousand-dollar annual expenditure.
- The Rapid Bankruptcy of a Marriage
Actress Mabel Hite recounts a whirlwind three-week marriage to a spendthrift heir who burned through a $20,000 fortune in a spree of champagne and faro banks.
- The Schools Board’s Secret Accounting
While the County Treasurer follows the law, the School District No. 1 board refuses to show taxpayers where the money goes.
- The Governor Against the Rails
Governor Miles C. Moore denounces the corrupting influence of the railroad lobby in Washington state politics.
- The High-Stakes Gamble to Legalize Gambling
A legislative challenge in Olympia tests a state ban on gambling, backed by a shadowy, well-funded coalition of operators.
- The Council's Expensive Water Report
Walla Walla officials are paying $500 for a new water study despite already possessing a comprehensive 1893 report.
- The Wheat Market Grinds to a Halt
Farmers withhold their harvest as prices sag and rain threatens the crop across Eastern Washington.
- The Price of a Local Home
Walla Walla shifts the financial burden of securing a charitable home to the county commission, sparking a debate over the scope of municipal responsibility.
- The Battle for Walla Walla’s Tap
In 1903, hydraulic engineer Otto Weile presented a landmark report to the city council, arguing that the future of Walla Walla’s growth depended on securing the waters of Mill Creek.
- The Great Band Union Battle
A touring bandleader faces a boycott in Walla Walla for failing to secure union cards for his musicians, sparking a public labor dispute.
- The Great 'Lacum Duckum' Campus Cold War
After Whitman College students staged a 'ducking' of classmates for skipping a reception, a retaliatory social boycott by the women of Reynolds Hall has divided the campus.