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 | 4 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1876 | 1 |
| 1877 | 5 |
| 1880 | 2 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1884 | 3 |
| 1885 | 4 |
| 1886 | 1 |
| 1887 | 3 |
| 1888 | 1 |
| 1889 | 10 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 11 |
| 1893 | 11 |
| 1894 | 10 |
| 1895 | 11 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1903 | 12 |
| 1904 | 4 |
| 1905 | 2 |
| 1908 | 2 |
| 1909 | 16 |
| 1914 | 1 |
| 1915 | 1 |
| 1916 | 6 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1923 | 1 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
16 stories matching code
- The New Penal Code Left the Red Lights Burning
Washington's 1909 criminal code accidentally protected brothels from local crackdowns, and Northport's city fathers could only watch the glare.
- Olympia Legislative Chaos
A bitter brawl erupts in the Washington House over a new criminal code, featuring accusations of 'jobbery' and an eleventh-hour ban on private-home gambling.
- Sunday Amusements Legalized in Washington
A new state criminal code moves to modernize public life, allowing theaters, baseball, and billiards on Sundays.
- A Legislature in the Homestretch: Saloons, Gambling and a Fight Over Pledges
With days left in Olympia, Washington lawmakers weigh local option, an anti-racetrack law, a sweeping criminal code and a bill aimed at unions and suffragists.
- The 1909 Legislature Went Home With a $10 Million Tab and an Unfinished Scandal
Washington's eleventh session adjourned with record spending, a sweeping new criminal code, a local-option liquor law, an equal-suffrage referendum — and an insurance investigation the House only agreed to after the acting governor threatened to drag them back.
- Olympia Moves to Outlaw the Insanity Defense — and Gag the Press on Murders
With the 1909 session half gone, Washington's legislature advances local option and an anti-racetrack gambling bill, while a sweeping new criminal code would strip juries of the insanity plea and bar newspapers from covering homicides before trial.
- City Inspector Cracks Down on Defective Chimneys
Building Inspector Hebblethwaite condemns six chimneys in a single week for fire safety violations.
- 651 Bills, 13 Laws: Inside Olympia's Frantic Last Two Weeks
A deadlocked local-option fight, a women's eight-hour bill that ended in fisticuffs, and a marriage law barring 'drunkards' and the 'feeble-minded' — the 1909 legislature's chaotic home stretch.
- The Unspoken Code of the Union Card
When a worker breaks his word to an employer, he does more than lose a job—he tarnishes the reputation of every laborer in the city.
- A Judge's Bureaucratic Headache
A state law requiring judges to be present for jury selection creates an impossible logistical nightmare for district courts.
- The Joyride of a Lifetime on the Puyallup Line
A young man who 'borrowed' a streetcar from the barns and navigated it nine miles into the countryside now faces serious felony charges.
- Small-Town Rumors and a Wife's Escort
A scandalous rumor involving the alleged abduction of a local farmer's wife turns out to be a misunderstanding of medical logistics.
- The War on Cigarettes
A new, stringent state law bans the possession of cigarette papers and wrappers, sparking debate over government overreach.
- Eight Days, $7 Million in Requests, and a Labor Agenda Left to Die
Washington's 1909 legislature entered its final week with appropriations far outrunning revenue, more than 30 liquor bills pending, and nearly every labor measure quietly sidetracked.
- The Governor Wants Every State Office in His Own Hands
Governor Hay will ask the legislature to make every statewide office but his and the lieutenant governor's appointive — a cabinet government for Washington — while a commission tries to untangle a legal code nobody can read.
- The Last-Week Jam in Olympia: Liquor, Primaries and a Budget Nobody Counted
With the 60-day session expiring, Washington's lawmakers settle local option, rewrite the primary ballot, kill the initiative and abandon the joint budget committee — leaving taxpayers to foot a three-mill levy.