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.
Refine
Show the numbers
| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 7 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1861 | 7 |
| 1862 | 13 |
| 1863 | 1 |
| 1872 | 8 |
| 1876 | 45 |
| 1877 | 20 |
| 1878 | 21 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1882 | 2 |
| 1883 | 25 |
| 1884 | 18 |
| 1885 | 32 |
| 1886 | 15 |
| 1887 | 19 |
| 1888 | 24 |
| 1889 | 52 |
| 1890 | 12 |
| 1891 | 44 |
| 1892 | 86 |
| 1893 | 111 |
| 1894 | 81 |
| 1895 | 111 |
| 1897 | 5 |
| 1898 | 14 |
| 1899 | 17 |
| 1900 | 7 |
| 1902 | 3 |
| 1903 | 34 |
| 1904 | 31 |
| 1905 | 4 |
| 1907 | 5 |
| 1908 | 12 |
| 1909 | 43 |
| 1910 | 13 |
| 1911 | 1 |
| 1912 | 2 |
| 1914 | 5 |
| 1915 | 9 |
| 1916 | 13 |
| 1917 | 2 |
| 1919 | 1 |
| 1923 | 13 |
| 1924 | 4 |
| 1925 | 2 |
998 stories matching agent
- The Neah Bay Standoff: A Clash of Court and Cabinet
A territorial judge, a stubborn Indian Agent, and an injunction gone wrong sparked a tense, potentially violent jurisdictional battle at Neah Bay.
- A Tribe Executes Its Own Murderer Before the Agent Arrives
The Colville band hangs a man who killed a fellow Indian and committed a fresh crime, administering last rites before the government agent can reach camp.
- The Olympia Safe Heist and the Culture of Corruption
A government agent discovered a $39,000 deficit in the Olympia sub-treasury, only for the missing funds to vanish entirely after the agent allegedly returned control to the defaulting official.
- The Neah Bay Sealing Conflict
A local captain alleges a corrupt scheme involving a government agent and a private trader to monopolize the sealing industry at the expense of Indigenous laborers.
- Sawmill Company's 2,700-Acre Timber Land Fraud Exposed
A government investigation exposes how powerful sawmill companies in Washington Territory used dummy entrymen to systematically steal thousands of acres of federal forest land.
- The Insurance Cartel's War on Competition
Seattle underwriters clash over a 'non-intercourse' rule designed to force agents to abandon independent companies.
- The Struggle Over Tribal Land Allotments
Federal agents pressure the Yakima Nation to accept land in severalty, eyeing surplus territory for white settlement.
- The Milwaukee Road Sets Its Sights on the Pacific
A townsite agent confirms the expansion of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad to the coast following massive terminal land buys in Tacoma.
- The Special Agent's Plea for Peace
Michael T. Simmons, newly appointed Indian Agent, calls for an end to liquor sales and unauthorized violence in the Puget Sound region.
- The Tulalip Residents' Stand
A group of residents of the Tulalip Reservation sign a collective protest against an Indian Agent's interference in their logging operations and relationship with their white neighbors.
- County Board Orders Isolation for Tulalip Reservation
As a smallpox epidemic looms, Snohomish County officials order the Tulalip Indian Agent to restrict movement to contain the outbreak.
- The Sheriff vs. The Reservation Agent: A Neah Bay Standoff
When a federal agent refused to obey a district court order, a deputy sheriff took a midnight steamer to enforce the law—only to be met with a threat of the guardhouse.
- Defiance on the Puyallup Reservation
A railroad developer ignores the Indian Agent’s orders to stop grading on tribal lands, setting the stage for a potential military standoff.
- The 'Gold Mine' of the Indian Wars
In 1891, a sensational book about the life of Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Bighorn hit the Seattle market, promising agents a 'gold mine' of sales.
- Farmers Clash Over Costly County Services
A delegation of farmers attempts to defund the local county agent and club leader, sparking a debate over the value of agricultural services.
- The Forced Relocation of the Spokane Tribe
As winter approaches, government agents scramble to move Spokane families to the Coeur d'Alene reservation, offering small frame houses as an incentive.
- The Persistent Pest in the Parlor
A classic 1878 dispatch on the 'improved' book agent who swears he never bothers anyone—right before being forcibly ejected into the street.
- Railroad Agent Hanged in Effigy
Public anger against the Northern Pacific Railroad boils over in Yakima County, leading to the symbolic execution of a company agent.
- The Shadow of War on the Puget Sound
Federal agents quietly canvas local shipping companies to inventory vessels capable of transporting cavalry and forage, sparking fears of American involvement in the Russo-Japanese War.
- Puyallup Land Sales Spark Tension With Federal Agent
Agent Eells defends his role in the controversial sale of tribal lands, claiming the Puyallup people are being manipulated by real estate speculators.
- A Railroad Land Agent’s Half-Million-Dollar Hole in Spokane
Paul Schulze’s defalcation as Northern Pacific land agent grew to $400,000–$500,000, with a Spokane syndicate trying to protect its property.
- The Great Timber Land Heist
Federal investigators uncover a widespread scheme where syndicates used ‘fictitious names’ and paid off desperate men to seize Washington’s valuable timber lands.
- The Oregon Land Agent’s Smear Campaign
When a rival state agent spread wild lies about 'timber forty feet deep' and 'streets of sawdust,' early Snohomish settlers fought back to set the record straight.
- The Shipwreck of the Persevere
A vessel founders near Cape Flattery, leading to a precarious encounter with local tribes and a recovery effort by Indian Agent H.A. Webster.
- The Fire Insurance Panic
Seattle insurance agents threaten to hike rates due to the city's dangerously narrow alleys.