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 |
|---|---|
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1865 | 1 |
| 1876 | 3 |
| 1877 | 2 |
| 1878 | 4 |
| 1880 | 1 |
| 1883 | 5 |
| 1884 | 4 |
| 1885 | 10 |
| 1886 | 3 |
| 1887 | 4 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 6 |
| 1891 | 7 |
| 1892 | 14 |
| 1893 | 25 |
| 1894 | 19 |
| 1895 | 21 |
| 1898 | 1 |
| 1899 | 2 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1903 | 7 |
| 1904 | 2 |
| 1908 | 3 |
| 1909 | 6 |
| 1910 | 3 |
| 1916 | 3 |
| 1917 | 2 |
166 stories matching constabl
- Accidental Shooting of W.I. Price
A prosecutor declines to charge a local constable for a shooting deemed accidental.
- The Rowdy Landlords of Ninth and Elph
A morning disturbance at a Tacoma boarding house reveals a volatile scene when a constable attempts to serve an arrest warrant.
- The Constable Who Charged for Mileage on Every Duck
A local anecdote about a frontier constable’s creative approach to fee collection.
- The Constable, the Warrant, and the Empty Jail Cell
A Newport constable accused of beating a man badly enough to send him to a Spokane hospital is himself wanted by the sheriff — and nowhere to be found.
- The Constable Who Stole a Deadbeat's Pants
When a persistent debt collector found a local man evading his dues, he turned to an unconventional, and highly public, method of enforcement at a popular swimming spot.
- The Pullman College Rebellion
A campus dispute over room assignments leads to a standoff between students and local constables.
- The Electrified Rescuer
A Ballard grocer and a constable lose their suspect when a woman claiming to be possessed by electricity intervenes.
- The Seduction Warrant
A Woodinville rancher avoids the altar until a persistent constable and a threat of criminal charges force his hand.
- The Constable Who Wouldn't Quit
A Franklin constable survives a gunshot wound to the head and returns to the beat, only to find the man who escaped his custody.
- A Wharfside Standoff Over a Sewing Machine
A passenger aboard a steamer bound for Alaska attempted to physically resist a constable serving an attachment writ for a debt owed to the Singer Sewing Machine Company.
- The Cancer Doctor and the Constable
A self-styled German physician who promised to cure cancer is arrested in Seattle, charms his way through a bail hearing, then slips out of town by steamer.
- The Constable Who Invited a Fugitive to Stay the Night
An accused shooter was tracked down by a local officer, only to be offered an overnight stay in a cabin before walking free.
- A Mother Stands Her Ground Against the Law
When an irate father tried to have his son arrested, his wife stepped in to stop the police in their tracks.
- Fatal Shooting at Franklin Coal Mine
A quarrel between roommates at the Franklin coal camp ends in a point-blank execution, leaving the community reeling and the assailant in custody.
- Wife Stopped at Wharf in Debt Dispute
Constable intercepts a woman fleeing to join her husband, seizing property to cover outstanding debts.
- A Wife’s Revenge Against a Craps-Playing Husband
An angry spouse leads a constable to raid a gambling den to recover stolen household money.
- The Maniac of Huntsdale: Constable Harrow’s Fatal Standoff
A local constable shoots and kills a man described as 'crazy' in the woods near Georgetown, sparking questions about mental health custody and frontier justice.
- A Robbery, a Room at the Hotel, and a Prisoner Who Walked Away
With no jail to hold her, a woman accused of robbing a rancher in the Riverside cribs was lodged at the Newport Hotel — and vanished before breakfast. Old Town suspects a conspiracy, and a Sandpoint grand jury is listening.
- The Constable Who Shot a Boy
A Newcastle constable is convicted of assault with a deadly weapon for shooting a runaway teen he was attempting to detain.
- A Sudden Arrest at Seventh and King
A husband called the constable to a downtown lodging-house to arrest his wife for 'improper association,' only to drop the charges once he realized the consequences.
- The Sting on Washington Street
A bold bribery attempt backfires when a Seattle constable and a city official lure a man into a trap, leading to a dramatic arrest.
- The Ludlow Saloon Shield: How a Mill Worker’s Beating Was Ignored by the Law
In Port Gamble, Washington Territory, a brutal assault on an edgerman was dismissed by a local justice of the peace, leaving the victim powerless against his attacker in a display of judicial indifference.
- The Fugitive Barman of Newport
After dodging a Sunday liquor charge by fleeing the state, a former saloon owner is apprehended upon his return to Newport.
- The Constable Who Shot an Innocent Boy
A case of mistaken identity and an assault charge reveal the chaotic nature of frontier justice in late 19th-century Washington.
- A Drunken Ex-Policeman Tries to Shoot a South Seattle Butcher
Frank Krebs, a butcher and former officer, is arrested after a cleaver-and-revolver quarrel with John Murphy.